Songwriter Bobby Hart, who co-wrote some of the Monkees’ songs, died on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. His wife, MaryAnn, stated that he died after a long illness. Hart was 86 years old.

Hart and frequent collaborator Tommy Boyce co-wrote several of the Monkees’ big hits, such as the theme from their show, “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Valleri,” “I Wanna Be Free,” and “Words.”

He was born Robert Luke Harshman on February 18, 1939, in Phoenix, Arizona. Following high school, he served in the Army then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer.

Hart and Boyce also wrote the theme song for Days of Our Lives, they released the single “L.U.V.” as part of the campaign to lower the voting age to 18, and they wrote Jay and the American’s No. 3 hit “Come a Little Bit Closer.”

As a writing and performing duo, Boyce and Hart released three albums, one of which included the gold selling single “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.” In the mid-1970s, they joined former Monkees Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to form Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, but they only released one album.

Hart was nominated for an Oscar for the song “Over You,” which was featured in Tender Mercies. His autobiography, Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, the Monkees, and Turning Mayhem into Miracles, was published in 2015.