A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You
Encyclopedia
"A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" is a song by Neil Diamond
that was released by The Monkees
in 1967 (see 1967 in music
). Davy Jones
sang the lead vocal (this was Jones' first lead vocal on a Monkees single). It went to #1 in the US Cashbox charts and #2 on the Billboard charts. The record's B-side was Michael Nesmith
's "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", which also charted on Billboard, peaking at #39.
Neil Diamond never made a studio recording of the song (as he had done with "I'm a Believer
"), but he did perform the song in his live shows of 1967. At least one recording of such a performance exists and circulates.
was in charge of the Brill Building
stable of songwriters in New York City
(which included Neil Diamond), and was also music supervisor for both the Monkees television series and their record releases (through Colgems Records
). While the band members themselves chose which songs they would record, Kirshner tended to favor his writing stable for record releases, single
s in particular. B-sides to singles, which paid the same royalty
rates as A-sides, were reserved as a kind of bonus for the Brill Building writers.
While the Monkees were willing to cooperate with Kirshner, he was not willing to reciprocate, or to listen to many (if any) of their ideas. Michael Nesmith led the band through a struggle for more creative control, and the chance to play their own accompaniment on records. He in particular wanted his songs featured on Monkees singles, at least as B-sides. Early in 1967
, the band recorded two songs for selection as their next single, "All of Your Toys
" and a remake of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", both with Micky Dolenz
on lead vocals.
With Diamond's "I'm a Believer
" already a hit (it would prove to be the group's biggest, and the biggest-selling single in the US that year), Kirshner gave Diamond first shot at writing a followup, and turned a deaf ear to the group's efforts. He persuaded Davy Jones to record a solo session with producer
Jeff Barry
, in January 1967, where Barry produced Diamond's newest offerings, and also his own "She Hangs Out", with session musician
s. "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "She Hangs Out" were chosen by Kirshner for the next Monkees single. He also authorized pressing and distribution of the single with picture sleeve (Colgems 66-1003); something he technically was not supposed to do without approval. Kirshner's reasoning was that a third Monkees hit in a row, done his way, would solidify his position as musical boss in the project. He also pressed a number of promo
copies, bearing the label "My Favorite Monkee - Davy Jones Sings".
The Monkees themselves were irritated enough that an entire album, More of the Monkees
, had been issued with no input from them save their vocals, at the sessions. They lobbied the show's producers, Bob Rafelson
and Bert Schneider
, for an increased role in their music output, now having some self-produced music (working with Chip Douglas
) to back them up. When copies of Kirshner's single appeared in Canada
, and the song began to get airplay in both Canada and the US, Kirshner was fired, on the grounds that he had issued an unauthorized record. The single was withdrawn in Canada, and cancelled in the US. Since the title had already been announced, and the song heard in the media, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" was retained as the next A-side, but "She Hangs Out" was dropped as the B-side, in favor of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere". (A remake of "She Hangs Out", with the Monkees playing, would appear on their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.)
While both mono and stereo mixes of "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" were made (with the mono version featuring handclaps), the master recording
s of the song disappeared after the 1960s. Later issues were made from dub
s of the earlier mixes, until the multi-track master was found by Rhino Records. A new stereo remix, complete with the handclaps, was issued as a bonus track on the two CD deluxe version of Headquarters
released by Rhino Records in 2007.
The backing vocals are not identified in any Monkees Greatest Hits collections, but The Monkees Tale suggested that they may have been by Neil Diamond himself.
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
that was released by The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
in 1967 (see 1967 in music
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
). Davy Jones
Davy Jones (actor)
David Thomas "Davy" Jones is an English rock singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of the Monkees.-Early life:...
sang the lead vocal (this was Jones' first lead vocal on a Monkees single). It went to #1 in the US Cashbox charts and #2 on the Billboard charts. The record's B-side was Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
's "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", which also charted on Billboard, peaking at #39.
Neil Diamond never made a studio recording of the song (as he had done with "I'm a Believer
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
"), but he did perform the song in his live shows of 1967. At least one recording of such a performance exists and circulates.
Don Kirshner vs. The Monkees
Music impresario Don KirshnerDon Kirshner
Don Kirshner , known as "The Man With the Golden Ear", was an American song publisher and rock producer who is best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups, such as The Monkees, Kansas and The Archies.-Early life:Don Kirshner was born to Gilbert Kirshner, a tailor,...
was in charge of the Brill Building
Brill Building
The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood...
stable of songwriters in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(which included Neil Diamond), and was also music supervisor for both the Monkees television series and their record releases (through Colgems Records
Colgems Records
Colgems Records was a record label which existed from 1966 to 1971. It was a joint venture between Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, and RCA Records, to issue records by The Monkees and other artists affiliated with Screen Gems. The label would also issue soundtrack...
). While the band members themselves chose which songs they would record, Kirshner tended to favor his writing stable for record releases, single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s in particular. B-sides to singles, which paid the same royalty
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
rates as A-sides, were reserved as a kind of bonus for the Brill Building writers.
While the Monkees were willing to cooperate with Kirshner, he was not willing to reciprocate, or to listen to many (if any) of their ideas. Michael Nesmith led the band through a struggle for more creative control, and the chance to play their own accompaniment on records. He in particular wanted his songs featured on Monkees singles, at least as B-sides. Early in 1967
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
, the band recorded two songs for selection as their next single, "All of Your Toys
All of Your Toys
"All of Your Toys" is a song by Bill Martin, a friend of Michael Nesmith of The Monkees, who recorded the song in 1967.The Monkees hoped to make "All of Your Toys" their third single, and the first to feature them actually playing the accompaniment, which they had not for their first two singles...
" and a remake of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", both with Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
on lead vocals.
With Diamond's "I'm a Believer
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
" already a hit (it would prove to be the group's biggest, and the biggest-selling single in the US that year), Kirshner gave Diamond first shot at writing a followup, and turned a deaf ear to the group's efforts. He persuaded Davy Jones to record a solo session with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
, in January 1967, where Barry produced Diamond's newest offerings, and also his own "She Hangs Out", with session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s. "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" and "She Hangs Out" were chosen by Kirshner for the next Monkees single. He also authorized pressing and distribution of the single with picture sleeve (Colgems 66-1003); something he technically was not supposed to do without approval. Kirshner's reasoning was that a third Monkees hit in a row, done his way, would solidify his position as musical boss in the project. He also pressed a number of promo
Promotional recording
A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...
copies, bearing the label "My Favorite Monkee - Davy Jones Sings".
The Monkees themselves were irritated enough that an entire album, More of the Monkees
More of The Monkees
More of The Monkees is the second full-length album by The Monkees. It was recorded in late 1966 and released on Colgems label #102 on January 9, 1967. It was number one on the Billboard 200 for 18 weeks—the longest of any Monkees album. It also went to number one in the UK. In the U.S...
, had been issued with no input from them save their vocals, at the sessions. They lobbied the show's producers, Bob Rafelson
Bob Rafelson
Robert "Bob" Rafelson is an Emmy Award winning American film director, writer and producer. He was an early member of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s and is most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of...
and Bert Schneider
Bert Schneider
Berton "Bert" Schneider is an American movie producer, who was behind a number of important and topical films of the late-1960s and early-1970s. The son of Abraham Schneider, onetime president of Columbia Pictures, the younger Schneider tended toward the rebellious. He briefly attended Cornell...
, for an increased role in their music output, now having some self-produced music (working with Chip Douglas
Chip Douglas
Douglas Farthing Walter Hatlelid, better known as Chip Douglas, is a songwriter, musician , and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s...
) to back them up. When copies of Kirshner's single appeared in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the song began to get airplay in both Canada and the US, Kirshner was fired, on the grounds that he had issued an unauthorized record. The single was withdrawn in Canada, and cancelled in the US. Since the title had already been announced, and the song heard in the media, "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" was retained as the next A-side, but "She Hangs Out" was dropped as the B-side, in favor of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere". (A remake of "She Hangs Out", with the Monkees playing, would appear on their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.)
While both mono and stereo mixes of "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" were made (with the mono version featuring handclaps), the master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s of the song disappeared after the 1960s. Later issues were made from dub
Dubbing (music)
In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type. It may be done with a machine designed for this purpose, or by connecting two different machines: one to play back and one to record the signal...
s of the earlier mixes, until the multi-track master was found by Rhino Records. A new stereo remix, complete with the handclaps, was issued as a bonus track on the two CD deluxe version of Headquarters
Headquarters (album)
HeadquartersThe sleeve and record both render the title as The Monkees' Headquarters. was the third album issued by The Monkees and the first written and recorded primarily by the four members of the group, rather than by session musicians and professional songwriters...
released by Rhino Records in 2007.
The backing vocals are not identified in any Monkees Greatest Hits collections, but The Monkees Tale suggested that they may have been by Neil Diamond himself.