Tommy Boyce; Co-Wrote Hit Songs in ‘60s

Tommy Boyce, who with Bobby Hart formed one of the top songwriting teams of the mid-1960s, has killed himself, it was learned Friday.

Boyce, who with Hart also wrote most of the material for Don Kirshner’s made-for-TV “The Monkees,” was 55, Nashville police said.

He was found dead Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His wife found the body and she told police he had left a suicide note.

In the early 1960s Boyce and Hart wrote “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Valleri” and “I’m Not Your Steppingstone.”

They also wrote the 1964 hit single “Come a Little Bit Closer” for Jay and the Americans. It reached No. 3 on the pop charts that year.

Boyce was born in Charlottesville, Va., and moved with his family to Los Angeles as a child. He was taught to play guitar by his father, a minister.

His first success was in 1959, when a song he penned, “Be My Guest,” became a Top 10 hit for Fats Domino.

After teaming up with Hart, the duo wrote “Pretty Little Angel Eyes” and “Under the Moon of Love,” two songs that hit the charts in 1961.

Boyce briefly pursued a solo singing career, recording for RCA in late 1962. He had a minor hit with “I’ll Remember Carol.”

In 1966 Boyce and Hart were named musical directors for the NBC-TV situation comedy series “The Monkees.”

Among other songs, they wrote “The Monkees Theme (Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees).”

The two men later recorded a Top 40 tune, “Out and About,” and followed it up with a Top 10 hit, “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.”

In 1975 the two joined former Monkees Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones to tour and record an album for Capitol, “Jones, Dolenz, Boyce and Hart.”

Boyce and Hart split up in the mid-’70s, although both continued to work in the music industry. Boyce went to England and worked with Iggy Pop and Meatloaf before returning to the United States, while Hart worked in the United States for such groups as the Partridge Family.

The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia credits the team with more than 300 compositions and sales of more than 42 million records.