This Day In Music History: The Monkees and Last Train to Clarksville

On this day in music history we got an early lesson on how powerful TV could be. It was on this date November 5, 1966 that the Monkees had their first #1 hit in America when “Last Train to Clarksville” was at the top of the pop charts. So today is the 40th anniversary of The Monkees first #1 single in America. Would this song have been a big hit in America without being heard on TV every week? Maybe, but I doubt it would have reached #1. Their competation that week came from Herman's Hermits, The Four Tops, Johnny Rivers, and ? and the Mysterians. Most of that was heavy competation for a new band unless they had their onw TV show. The song was not a world wide #1 hit. In other countries where their show was not on the air it made the top 40 but only in America did it reach #1. Their next single would become their first world wide #1 hit. The songwriters were Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. They wrote the theme to their show and had written many hits earlier for other artist. Later they would have some hits on their own. Bobby Hart said he got the idea for the song when he heard the Beatles “Paperback Writer.” He thought the lyrics said something about a last train. When he realized the song had nothing to do with a train he thought they should write their own song about a train. The Clarksville town that he and Boyce wrote about was in Arizona. Clarksville became the fourth American city to be mentioned in a number one song title.

The song was really a protest song. You see the man was leaving his Army basic training camp in the morning. He was going off to Vietnam to fight in the war. He was calling his girlfriend to tell her that he bought her a ticket on the last train to Clarksville so he could see her one more time because “I don’t know if I’m ever comin’ home.”

As many know the group was upset that they were kept out of the recording process of the records when it came to laying down the instruments. When their next #1 would come in a few weeks the feelings of animosity would reach a breaking point. Unfortunately it would also hasten the beginning of the end that would eventually come. Still fans of the Monkess should celebrate as this is the 40^th anniversary of their first #1 hit song.