Sidney Thomas Boyce was an American singer songwriter. He was a part of the songwriting team

Boyce and Hart Sidney Thomas "Tommy" Boyce (September 29, 1939 – November 23, 1994) and Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman; February 18, 1939) were an American duo of singer-songwriters. In addition to three top-40 hits as artists, the duo is well know ...

with Bobby Hart. Boyce was born in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

in 1939. Before writing songs with Hart he released three singles as a solo artist in 1962, that all charted within the 100s section of the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

. At his fathers request, he wrote a song called " Be My Guest" intended for

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. Boyce waited six hours outside the hotel room Domino was staying in, persuaded him to take a demo and promised to listen to it. Shannon, Bob; Javna, John (1986). ''Behind The Hits:Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll''. New York: Warner Books. p. 141.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase or receive ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. A different ISBN is assigned to e ...

0-446-38171-3. Domino recorded the song in 1959, eventually selling over a million copies and going to no. 8 in the US. In 1959, Boyce met Bobby Hart. With him he wrote many hit songs, most notably for

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

. Other songs include " Come a Little Bit Closer" for Jay and the Americans, "

(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" is a rock song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was first recorded by the English band the Liverpool Five in early 1966 but remained unreleased before summer of that same year. In the meantime, the Ame ...

" for

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

. For the Monkees, they wrote "

Last Train to Clarksville "Last Train to Clarksville" is a song by American rock band the Monkees. It was released as the band's debut single on August 16, 1966, and was later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966.''The Monkees ...

", " I Wanna Be Free", "

Valleri "Valleri" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart for the Monkees. The single peaked at #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent two weeks at #1 on the ''Cash Box'' chart in early 1968, and reached #1 in Canada and #12 in the UK. B ...

" and the shows theme song " (Theme From) The Monkees". Boyce wrote both biggest hits for Curtis Lee, " Pretty Little Angel Eyes" and " Under the Moon of Love". In 1965, he wrote "

Action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

" for

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singing, singer. His biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", ...

which became the theme song for Where the Action Is. In 1973, Boyce released an worked under the pseudonym Christopher Cloud. He also used the alias "Tomme" for the album, and a photo of his face covered by a cloud was used as the album cover for his first and only album released under Christopher Cloud. He also produced songs for

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

including " Daddy Cool/

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the lead role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenpla ...

" while living in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. He moved to Tennessee where he remained until his death. Boyce died in Nashville, Tennesee on November 23, 1994 after taking his own life with a firearm. He had struggled with depression, and had a brain

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

before his death. He left behind his wife, Carolyn. According to the ''Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'', Boyce and Hart wrote more than 300 songs together and song featuring works by the two had sold an estimated 42 million records.Murrells, Joseph (1978). ''The Book of Golden Discs'' (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 217.

0-214-20512-6.

Songwriting credits

Not included songs written with Bobby Hart * " Be My Guest" for

- 1959 * " Pretty Little Angel Eyes" for Curtis Lee - 1961 * " Under the Moon of Love" for Curtis Lee - 1961 * " Hello Pretty Girl" for

Ronnie Dove Ronald Eugene Dove (born September 7, 1935) is an American pop music, pop and country music singer who had a string of hit pop records in the mid to late 1960s and several country chart records in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Ronnie Dove, th ...

- 1964 * " Peaches 'N' Cream" for

The Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

- 1965 * "Brand New Boogie at 10AM", "Friendly Sabotage", "Celebration", "Do You Want Me for Five Minutes?", "Thank God For Rock'n Roll" and "I Heard It All Thru The Wall" for his Christopher Cloud album

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyce, Tommy Suicides by firearm in Tennessee 1994 suicides 1994 deaths