What do you think?
Rate this book
Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem into Miracles
From the man who wrote the songs that outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in 1967-1968, comes the story of the first decades of his life in Hollywood and New York.
Immerse yourself in Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominated songwriter Bobby Hart’s world as he shares the story behind his success; from humble beginnings comes a musical goliath.
Psychedelic Bubble Gum is an exclusive glimpse into Hart’s personal journey as he moves on the fast track to fame. This vivid narrative follows Hart’s gradual rise in the music industry as half of the duo Boyce and Hart, as he and his friend and partner Tommy Boyce wrote the songs that launched the Monkees to stardom, and eventually reaching over a hundred million in sales. Along the way is all the heartbreak and drama that accompanies fame and fortune—an uprooted life, conflicted morals, and the sacrifice of his wholesome high school sweetheart Becky.
With unbending sincerity, Hart details a life of extravagance, betrayal, loss, disillusionment, and an unstoppable personal struggle to find spiritual balance, peace, and love. Psychedelic Bubble Gum is a rollercoaster ride through the 1960s and 1970s during America’s whirlwind era of free speech, mysticism, and psychedelic pop culture, and, of course, rock ‘n’ roll. Packed with intimate behind-the-scenes encounters with pop star royalty, Psychedelic Bubble Gum is tempered by humor, honesty, and a singular understanding of the industry.
Immerse yourself in Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominated songwriter Bobby Hart’s world as he shares the story behind his success; from humble beginnings comes a musical goliath.
Psychedelic Bubble Gum is an exclusive glimpse into Hart’s personal journey as he moves on the fast track to fame. This vivid narrative follows Hart’s gradual rise in the music industry as half of the duo Boyce and Hart, as he and his friend and partner Tommy Boyce wrote the songs that launched the Monkees to stardom, and eventually reaching over a hundred million in sales. Along the way is all the heartbreak and drama that accompanies fame and fortune—an uprooted life, conflicted morals, and the sacrifice of his wholesome high school sweetheart Becky.
With unbending sincerity, Hart details a life of extravagance, betrayal, loss, disillusionment, and an unstoppable personal struggle to find spiritual balance, peace, and love. Psychedelic Bubble Gum is a rollercoaster ride through the 1960s and 1970s during America’s whirlwind era of free speech, mysticism, and psychedelic pop culture, and, of course, rock ‘n’ roll. Packed with intimate behind-the-scenes encounters with pop star royalty, Psychedelic Bubble Gum is tempered by humor, honesty, and a singular understanding of the industry.
455 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 7, 2015
15 people are currently reading
307 people want to read
About the author
Bobby Hart
11 books1 followerBorn Robert Luke Harshman, was one half the prolific songwriting duo of Boyce & Hart.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 28, 2017
Even autobiographies can be "bubblegum". Fun and tasty for awhile but with little nutritional value and an ever-diminishing amount of flavor.
Bobby Hart has certainly been in many of the right places at the right times. He has also written (or co-written) many pop songs that have deservedly become classics. His long-time collaboration with Tommy Boyce as writers and performers is certainly one of the most successful partnerships in modern music history. The sad part is that I would have preferred a book about Boyce who was more of a manic character who kept getting into interesting situations. Bobby Hart is a bit bland in comparison but at least he lived to tell the tale.
While Hart's struggles in the 1950's to his success in the sixties with the Monkees is a case study in perseverance and music biz shenanigans, it all gets bogged down by his spirit quest. He doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs. He gets easily distracted by pretty women but only writes about his monogamous relationships. He hangs out with famous party monsters like Mickey Dolenz and Harry Nilsson but he always seems to leave when things start to get interesting. Instead we get to read about the yogis and zen masters who lead him on a path of enlightenment. That's fine and maybe interesting to other readers. But if you are like me and enjoy the seamier side, you can pretty much skip the entire last chapter.
That said, there is still plenty to like about "Psychedelic Bubblegum." It is yet another piece in the never-ending puzzle that was America in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Other books may be more detailed but a memoir like this adds color and a personal touch. Now I'm going to have to watch the documentary "Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart: The Guys Who Wrote Em."
Bobby Hart has certainly been in many of the right places at the right times. He has also written (or co-written) many pop songs that have deservedly become classics. His long-time collaboration with Tommy Boyce as writers and performers is certainly one of the most successful partnerships in modern music history. The sad part is that I would have preferred a book about Boyce who was more of a manic character who kept getting into interesting situations. Bobby Hart is a bit bland in comparison but at least he lived to tell the tale.
While Hart's struggles in the 1950's to his success in the sixties with the Monkees is a case study in perseverance and music biz shenanigans, it all gets bogged down by his spirit quest. He doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs. He gets easily distracted by pretty women but only writes about his monogamous relationships. He hangs out with famous party monsters like Mickey Dolenz and Harry Nilsson but he always seems to leave when things start to get interesting. Instead we get to read about the yogis and zen masters who lead him on a path of enlightenment. That's fine and maybe interesting to other readers. But if you are like me and enjoy the seamier side, you can pretty much skip the entire last chapter.
That said, there is still plenty to like about "Psychedelic Bubblegum." It is yet another piece in the never-ending puzzle that was America in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Other books may be more detailed but a memoir like this adds color and a personal touch. Now I'm going to have to watch the documentary "Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart: The Guys Who Wrote Em."
January 10, 2019
This book caught my eye because I love, love, loved the Monkees when I was a teenager. Actually, I still do. I was not real familiar with Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart except I knew they had written quite a few of the Monkees songs. I was surprised to find out they were a singing duo themselves. The song I was the most familiar with was "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight". That said, I was reading the book anxiously waiting for the part about the Monkees but it was very short and mostly things I had already heard about them. No deep dark secrets here. After doing a search, I found out that Tommy had died in the early 90's from suicide. I was hoping the book would touch more on this but Tommy's death was basically one sentence in the book. Other things, like his love life, he went on and on. There is a lot of name-dropping in this book. So while I found some things wanting, there were other things that were interesting. I liked reading the history of pop music in the late 60's and early 70's. I just thought some things could have been shorter and other things he could have gone into more depth. It's worth a YouTube search to see them performing some of their hits. I just watched a clip where Tommy and Bobby were on I Dream Of Jeannie. I love those old 60's and 70's TV shows.
May 6, 2023
One of the better songwriter books that explains details of how some hits are written and created, mixed with totally unnecessary minor life details and lots of strange "spiritual" Transcendental Meditation propaganda. Psychedelic? Yes, it seems like he was high on something when he pieced this overly-long mess together but oddly the book doesn't mention the rampant drug usage among the many musicians he hung out with for decades.
Properly told and edited this could have been a great book; instead, what we get are out of sequence timelines, four-paragraph "stories" that go nowhere, and lots of vague talk about peace and love. Mixed in are some great details about how some songs were written. As he becomes more successful Hart looks for meaning in Eastern religion, abandoning his Christian faith for a guru that seems to teach self-actualization as the key to peace. But that causes the author to start bragging more about himself and his "success."
For example, he not once but twice mentions "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows," which is one of the worst comedy movie theme songs of all time and sung pretty poorly as well by Boyce and Hart. He seems proud of it, but I'd love to know if he took the time to listen to Jerry Goldsmith's excellent "Trouble With Angels" theme and couldn't have integrated that into the sequel's song.
Some parts of the book are worth reading and it's nice to see a form of spirituality in a Hollywood story. But there are so many inconsequential asides that it seems like Hart is trying to use the book to send messages to friends or promote his bizarre TM beliefs. He divides sections of the book with full-page teachings from his TM guru and shares his beliefs on reincarnation as well as the ability to float high in a room if you are truly in touch with your spirituality.
It's too bad because he started as a young born-again Christian in the Pentecostal movement and came to the music business with his values intact. Hart was raised to believe in objective truth and the God of the Bible. He was married young with two kids but his wife dumped him after he showed more interest in his career than being with her. That leads Hart into the Hollywood lifestyle where he finally takes his first drink, starts sleeping around, and makes friends with some questionable characters (including an allusion to Mafia ties). Jesus is out of the picture fairly quickly and is barely mentioned in this book, only to place Him on the same level as other spiritual leaders respected by Hart's TM "church." The writer instead has at his home a picture of his spiritual guru that he meditates to each day.
Hart talks a lot about his live-in post-divorce girlfriend, Playboy model Claudia Jennings, and he even wrote a song using her first and last name. Until you look it up online and find out neither of those are her real names. Those are the kind of details that would have been more interesting to include instead of going on about unimportant things. He could have fleshed out his years at the Playboy mansion and said something more significant about his strange series of late 1960s TV series guest star roles.
He makes a lot of money as a songwriter due to royalties when others record his songs or his Monkees songs are played (he co-wrote the theme) and he tries a performing career, mostly with co-writer Tommy Boyce, but I can't recall ever hearing any of their own albums. There are very few songs mentioned in the book that I can recall hearing at all. One Monkees original in particular, "I Wanna Be Free," is claimed to be one of the tw0 "greatest songs of all time" (the other being "Let It Be") but it's so forgettable and bland that I'm shocked anyone considers it good. So while he's a financial success, Hart just didn't have that many great long-term hits that have the societal impact he claims.
At the end he decides to rush through the last 30 years of his life in five pages (why?), then he thanks his "co-writer" who obviously did all the work to try to help this make sense. But there are no real sex stories, no drugs, and very little rock-and-roll. It ends up truly being Psychedelic Bubble Gum, parts of it a mind trip and others sweetly clean, but none of it totally satisfying.
Properly told and edited this could have been a great book; instead, what we get are out of sequence timelines, four-paragraph "stories" that go nowhere, and lots of vague talk about peace and love. Mixed in are some great details about how some songs were written. As he becomes more successful Hart looks for meaning in Eastern religion, abandoning his Christian faith for a guru that seems to teach self-actualization as the key to peace. But that causes the author to start bragging more about himself and his "success."
For example, he not once but twice mentions "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows," which is one of the worst comedy movie theme songs of all time and sung pretty poorly as well by Boyce and Hart. He seems proud of it, but I'd love to know if he took the time to listen to Jerry Goldsmith's excellent "Trouble With Angels" theme and couldn't have integrated that into the sequel's song.
Some parts of the book are worth reading and it's nice to see a form of spirituality in a Hollywood story. But there are so many inconsequential asides that it seems like Hart is trying to use the book to send messages to friends or promote his bizarre TM beliefs. He divides sections of the book with full-page teachings from his TM guru and shares his beliefs on reincarnation as well as the ability to float high in a room if you are truly in touch with your spirituality.
It's too bad because he started as a young born-again Christian in the Pentecostal movement and came to the music business with his values intact. Hart was raised to believe in objective truth and the God of the Bible. He was married young with two kids but his wife dumped him after he showed more interest in his career than being with her. That leads Hart into the Hollywood lifestyle where he finally takes his first drink, starts sleeping around, and makes friends with some questionable characters (including an allusion to Mafia ties). Jesus is out of the picture fairly quickly and is barely mentioned in this book, only to place Him on the same level as other spiritual leaders respected by Hart's TM "church." The writer instead has at his home a picture of his spiritual guru that he meditates to each day.
Hart talks a lot about his live-in post-divorce girlfriend, Playboy model Claudia Jennings, and he even wrote a song using her first and last name. Until you look it up online and find out neither of those are her real names. Those are the kind of details that would have been more interesting to include instead of going on about unimportant things. He could have fleshed out his years at the Playboy mansion and said something more significant about his strange series of late 1960s TV series guest star roles.
He makes a lot of money as a songwriter due to royalties when others record his songs or his Monkees songs are played (he co-wrote the theme) and he tries a performing career, mostly with co-writer Tommy Boyce, but I can't recall ever hearing any of their own albums. There are very few songs mentioned in the book that I can recall hearing at all. One Monkees original in particular, "I Wanna Be Free," is claimed to be one of the tw0 "greatest songs of all time" (the other being "Let It Be") but it's so forgettable and bland that I'm shocked anyone considers it good. So while he's a financial success, Hart just didn't have that many great long-term hits that have the societal impact he claims.
At the end he decides to rush through the last 30 years of his life in five pages (why?), then he thanks his "co-writer" who obviously did all the work to try to help this make sense. But there are no real sex stories, no drugs, and very little rock-and-roll. It ends up truly being Psychedelic Bubble Gum, parts of it a mind trip and others sweetly clean, but none of it totally satisfying.
May 30, 2015
The first album I ever bought was The Monkees. Six of the twelve songs on that album were written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and ten of the tracks were produced by Boyce and Hart. If I’m ever nostalgic about an album, it’s that one.
In 1987 I had the chance to meet Monkee Michael Nesmith and brought along a copy of the album to be autographed. I asked him about the cover: “The rest of the guys are posed and smiling, but you look like you’re saying something. Do you know what you were saying when they took the picture?”
Mike said, “I have no idea. What do you think it looks like I was saying?”
I said, “It looks like you’re saying ‘Shit,’ or something along those lines.”
He laughed and said, “Well, that could be.”
Bobby Hart was there for the album’s cover shoot, and in his new autobiography Psychedelic Bubble Gum, he tells exactly what Michael Nesmith was saying as that photo was shot. (The answer is “Seven.”)
Stories about Hart’s time with The Monkees, his song-writing, performing, and recording partnership with Tommy Boyce are the most appealing parts of Psychedelic Bubble Gum. Hart was involved in many of the AM radio pop songs that I remember fondly from my childhood and junior high days. The names that appeared on my 45 rpm record collection labels and album covers are the main characters in Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Wes Farrell, Keith Allison, Don Kirschner, and more. It’s hard to find books that discuss the music of The Monkees, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Jay and The Americans, The Partridge Family, and other music-makers from the late 1960s and early 1970s, and I hope more emerge from those involved with the records of that era.
Unfortunately, Psychedelic Bubble Gum has some problems. First, it is poorly edited. Misspellings and missing words abound. For example,lead appears instead of led in at least three places. Also someone in fact-checking should have caught the discrepancy involved in Boyce and Hart’s 1969 visit to the Grand Ole Opry where Hart says, “Phantoms of the Opry took possession of my memories as I stood in the wings … where George Jones had recited the heart-rending version of the greatest country song ever written, ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.'” Hart is right about the greatness of that song, but George Jones released it in 1980, more than a decade after Hart claimed to be thinking about it while standing in the Opry’s wings.
The other disappointment, at least for me, was that the last several chapters of Psychedelic Bubble Gum involve Hart’s transformation into a spiritually enlightened yogi. His spiritual evolution is a theme throughout the book, which I didn’t mind when it was integrated into his discussion of his career, but the last part of the book is spiritual philosophy detached from any narrative. Others may find that interesting but I didn’t, although I’m still a fan of Bobby Hart’s music and I respect his spirituality.
In 1987 I had the chance to meet Monkee Michael Nesmith and brought along a copy of the album to be autographed. I asked him about the cover: “The rest of the guys are posed and smiling, but you look like you’re saying something. Do you know what you were saying when they took the picture?”
Mike said, “I have no idea. What do you think it looks like I was saying?”
I said, “It looks like you’re saying ‘Shit,’ or something along those lines.”
He laughed and said, “Well, that could be.”
Bobby Hart was there for the album’s cover shoot, and in his new autobiography Psychedelic Bubble Gum, he tells exactly what Michael Nesmith was saying as that photo was shot. (The answer is “Seven.”)
Stories about Hart’s time with The Monkees, his song-writing, performing, and recording partnership with Tommy Boyce are the most appealing parts of Psychedelic Bubble Gum. Hart was involved in many of the AM radio pop songs that I remember fondly from my childhood and junior high days. The names that appeared on my 45 rpm record collection labels and album covers are the main characters in Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Wes Farrell, Keith Allison, Don Kirschner, and more. It’s hard to find books that discuss the music of The Monkees, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Jay and The Americans, The Partridge Family, and other music-makers from the late 1960s and early 1970s, and I hope more emerge from those involved with the records of that era.
Unfortunately, Psychedelic Bubble Gum has some problems. First, it is poorly edited. Misspellings and missing words abound. For example,lead appears instead of led in at least three places. Also someone in fact-checking should have caught the discrepancy involved in Boyce and Hart’s 1969 visit to the Grand Ole Opry where Hart says, “Phantoms of the Opry took possession of my memories as I stood in the wings … where George Jones had recited the heart-rending version of the greatest country song ever written, ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.'” Hart is right about the greatness of that song, but George Jones released it in 1980, more than a decade after Hart claimed to be thinking about it while standing in the Opry’s wings.
The other disappointment, at least for me, was that the last several chapters of Psychedelic Bubble Gum involve Hart’s transformation into a spiritually enlightened yogi. His spiritual evolution is a theme throughout the book, which I didn’t mind when it was integrated into his discussion of his career, but the last part of the book is spiritual philosophy detached from any narrative. Others may find that interesting but I didn’t, although I’m still a fan of Bobby Hart’s music and I respect his spirituality.
January 23, 2018
This was an enjoyable read up until the last 50 pages or so in which the author seemed to have given himself over to spiritual pursuits. It's not that I can't commend the author for repudiating materialistic greed, it's just that philosophy is not something I really enjoy reading about. However, I did enjoy everything up until that point. I had no idea how many songs Boyce and Hart had written prior to The Monkees (like Jay and the Americans' "Come a Little Bit Closer" or Anthony and the Imperials "Hurts So Bad," or that Hart went on to work on the music for things like Josie and the Pussycats.
It also got me Googling things I had totally forgotten about like duo's appearances on I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. Now I need to see the documentary. If you like all things Los Angeles circa 1964-1970, you will enjoy this book, however I may want to check out the Boyce biography as he seemed to be less retiring and more into the madness of the times.
It never did answer my most burning question: Which came first, the L.U.V ("Let Us Vote") movement, or the movie Wild In The Streets? The whole idea of a rock star writing an anthem to lower the voting age is just too similar, but that is what Boyce & Hart were commissioned to do (and it's a good song of course).
It also got me Googling things I had totally forgotten about like duo's appearances on I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched. Now I need to see the documentary. If you like all things Los Angeles circa 1964-1970, you will enjoy this book, however I may want to check out the Boyce biography as he seemed to be less retiring and more into the madness of the times.
It never did answer my most burning question: Which came first, the L.U.V ("Let Us Vote") movement, or the movie Wild In The Streets? The whole idea of a rock star writing an anthem to lower the voting age is just too similar, but that is what Boyce & Hart were commissioned to do (and it's a good song of course).
June 26, 2015
Bobby Hart's autobiography is at its best in the early chapters recounting his move to L.A. In the late 1950s and his early days as a musician/songwriter, supplemented with work printing record labels. The Monkees period is dealt with in a cursory manner and Hart takes the "if they had stayed with me and Tommy [Boyce], they would have had more hits" line. The Boyce & Hart performing career is given more depth--including their ultimately destructive manager who steered them towards being co-headliners in Vegas with Zsa Zsa Gabor. Regarding relationships with women, Hart goes into introspective detail about his marriages and involvement with B-movie cult star Claudia Jennings. The final chapters dwell on proselytizing for the Self Realization Fellowship. Readers who want a more compact summary of Boyce & Hart as songwriters and performing duo should see Rachael Lichtman's excellent documentary THE GUYS WHO WROTE 'EM.
May 3, 2018
Shamefully devoid of any facts relating to Tommy Boyce's 1994 suicide, which might at least have made this book a realistic account.
December 2, 2020
I bought this for research for a current book project that I’m working on. I stopped repeatedly because I didn’t know he wrote that song or he knew that person. What happened to Curtis Lee? It’s here. Don Costa. The story of the Monkees. I got how Screen Gems controlled these shows. Hart has multiple successful writing partners.
He is a fascinating guy that knew tons of people. This isn’t tabloid tattletales. You get a good story about everyone.
He is a fascinating guy that knew tons of people. This isn’t tabloid tattletales. You get a good story about everyone.
July 30, 2015
Ask me if I prefer authorized works/memoirs to unauthorized, and I'll hesitate. When I pick up a non-fiction book I hope to learn as much as possible about the subject, and when a public figure writes an autobiography you get what that person is comfortable revealing. When it comes to musicians, some are franker than others, and often those are the most fun to read. Going into Psychedelic Bubble Gum, the most I knew about Bobby Hart involved the songs he wrote for The Monkees and the few hits he enjoyed with his partner, Tommy Boyce...that and they composed the Days of Our Lives theme. If you read this, you'll find Boyce and Hart (and Hart on his own and with other partners) claim a prolific legacy in popular music. Hart has gold and platinum records, an Oscar nomination, and other accolades to his credit, and an interesting story to tell.
However, all through Bubble Gum I got the impression Hart kept up his guard. Indeed, he ends the book on an upbeat note, focusing on the blessings rather than the hardships. The epilogue in which he talks about Boyce's death is very brief, though he seems to seed hints that foreshadow the tragic end of his writing partner throughout the book (see the frequent mentions of a particular song made popular by The Monkees). Speaking of the Pre-fab Four, Hart's memories of the group comprise a smaller percentage of the book than I expected. The mid-70s "reunion" tour of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart aside, there isn't much new information to learn there. Doesn't mean it's not interesting - one can sense Hart's exasperation with having to work with four unpredictable personalities - but I found myself more drawn to Hart's earlier history in music.
Like I said before, though, Bubble Gum lives up to its name in that it focuses more on the positive. Hart's spiritual journey takes up the latter third of the book, and while it's interesting to read how various forces came to influence him that wasn't the story I hoped to read. You won't find much in the way of salacious gossip here, and in some places Hart downplays a liaison or two. I respect that Hart likes to keep things positive, but it's not conducive to a well-rounded story.
Still, if you enjoyed the 60s pop era, and if you aspire to write music, you will find anecdotes here to enjoy.
However, all through Bubble Gum I got the impression Hart kept up his guard. Indeed, he ends the book on an upbeat note, focusing on the blessings rather than the hardships. The epilogue in which he talks about Boyce's death is very brief, though he seems to seed hints that foreshadow the tragic end of his writing partner throughout the book (see the frequent mentions of a particular song made popular by The Monkees). Speaking of the Pre-fab Four, Hart's memories of the group comprise a smaller percentage of the book than I expected. The mid-70s "reunion" tour of Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart aside, there isn't much new information to learn there. Doesn't mean it's not interesting - one can sense Hart's exasperation with having to work with four unpredictable personalities - but I found myself more drawn to Hart's earlier history in music.
Like I said before, though, Bubble Gum lives up to its name in that it focuses more on the positive. Hart's spiritual journey takes up the latter third of the book, and while it's interesting to read how various forces came to influence him that wasn't the story I hoped to read. You won't find much in the way of salacious gossip here, and in some places Hart downplays a liaison or two. I respect that Hart likes to keep things positive, but it's not conducive to a well-rounded story.
Still, if you enjoyed the 60s pop era, and if you aspire to write music, you will find anecdotes here to enjoy.
Read
June 25, 2019The cover of the book indicates Boyce & Hart, the Monkees which made me believe that this book might have a lot of Monkees information. It doesn't. Bobby Hart has written so many songs with so many artists, and he tries his best to include everyone. This means edging out a lot of Monkees stories. I had hoped that since it was a focal point to include in his own title, I might learn more about the guys in the Monkees, but instead I only received in-passing information about Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones, and even less information about Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.
If you're looking for Monkees-related material, this book doesn't have it. This book is for those who love the sugar-pop culture of the 60s and 70s, and want to know more about how many of the best songs that Bobby Hart was a part of were produced and performed, as well as all one ever wants to know about Yogananda.
If you're looking for Monkees-related material, this book doesn't have it. This book is for those who love the sugar-pop culture of the 60s and 70s, and want to know more about how many of the best songs that Bobby Hart was a part of were produced and performed, as well as all one ever wants to know about Yogananda.
June 2, 2015
Want to know some of the history behind some of the Monkees' greatest hits? Want to know some of the history behind "Hurt So Bad" "Alice Long" and other songs of the 60s? Want a clean read about some of your favorite recording stars (& others, including Zsa Zsa Gabor)? Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem into Miracles is the book for you. Bobby Hart tells a bit about his childhood, but the majority of this autobiography emphasizes the music scene-writing and recording-in the 60s and 70s. It tells about his friendships with Tommy Boyce, the Monkees and others and of his spiritual journey as well. The reader will not be disappointed.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the music back when music was really music.
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the music back when music was really music.
June 26, 2015
I grew up in the 60's. I remember child-like memories of that time- the TV shows and the songs on the radio. Any chance that I get to peek behind the curtain at my childhood favorites- I go for it.
I loved the Monkees- but I had no idea about Boyce & Hart, the song writing team behind their music. Hart gives the reader a background as to what it was to start off on your own as singer/songwriter in the late 50's through the 60's. I liked the behind the scenes info on producing pop music and being on the promotional road tours.
As with a lot of these memoirs, the reader gets also a slice of the artist growing up spiritually. It's there and it's very 60's ideas- but according to the book, it helped Hart and his family through some pretty tough times.
I loved the Monkees- but I had no idea about Boyce & Hart, the song writing team behind their music. Hart gives the reader a background as to what it was to start off on your own as singer/songwriter in the late 50's through the 60's. I liked the behind the scenes info on producing pop music and being on the promotional road tours.
As with a lot of these memoirs, the reader gets also a slice of the artist growing up spiritually. It's there and it's very 60's ideas- but according to the book, it helped Hart and his family through some pretty tough times.
January 19, 2016
This book has enhanced my life. It was very interesting and beautifully written. I learned so much about music and song writing. When Bobby went through a problem, I felt like I went through it too. When something went great for him, I was on a high as well. Then reading how he brought his spiritual life into something wonderful, was wonderful for me too. I have the honor to know Bobby and MaryAnn a little bit, but now a lot more. Although I could hardly wait to see how the book ended, I did not want it to end. The journey was splendid and of course, I wanted it to last. Well, it does last in my mind, forever.
July 16, 2015
Everything leading up to Hart's success with Tommy Boyce writing for The Monkees is incredible. A riveting story of struggling to be a success in rock n'roll's coming of age. Once he hits The Monkees though, things start to get more or less stale. I would have enjoyed more material on his songwriting process and making music at the time, but he mostly invests his time in his spiritual journey in some sort of weird mix of TM and Christianity. That's fine for him, but I was more interested in the musical aspects. Oh well, the beginning of the book was still a five star read.
June 15, 2015
Well, he had me up until...
...he turned down Leon Russell's invitation to join the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, all so he could go back to his Vegas gig.
Then, the seemingly endless pages about his "spiritual journey" pretty much wore out any remnant of good will for the man and his story I had left.
Finally - no details on Boyce's sad departure? Nothing? Just some stupid Hallmark card sentiments. Whatever. Not worth your time. There are more truthful and forthcoming bios, that are better written, to spend your time with.
...he turned down Leon Russell's invitation to join the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, all so he could go back to his Vegas gig.
Then, the seemingly endless pages about his "spiritual journey" pretty much wore out any remnant of good will for the man and his story I had left.
Finally - no details on Boyce's sad departure? Nothing? Just some stupid Hallmark card sentiments. Whatever. Not worth your time. There are more truthful and forthcoming bios, that are better written, to spend your time with.
June 14, 2015
Gary's review is spot on. The stories are interesting although it becomes clear that he rambles at times. He also is clearly leaving out a lot of the 'socializing' that must have happened with women which is fine - the book is not intended to be salacious - but no mention of extra-curricular activities at all? So none of that happened? Ever? And the spiritual search at the end of the book may be important to Bobby Hart but not so much to this reader. I skimmed the final chapters.
July 13, 2015
I was young again while reading this journey! All the teen without the angst!
Great time to be young with insight of the business and stress behind creative success. Begs the question, was it all worth it hits make happiness?
Great time to be young with insight of the business and stress behind creative success. Begs the question, was it all worth it hits make happiness?
September 23, 2016
Interesting but not well written. Really two books in one and the second one is much less interesting.
March 6, 2021
3.5. I'm a fairly quick reader. I liked reading the stories of many many songs that I did not know were his. His story is pretty intense and the luck that put him in places to because the success he had. You can tell reading these biographies that there is much glossing over and softening on some of the dirt people reading may be looking for.. I'm ok not having the sordid details. The problem, if it is a problem, Is the "finding" himself religious experience. It did at first enhance then later get in the way of the stories. If you want stories with views of enlightenment and possible preaching of self help, this might be for you. I eventually felt it was getting preachy and glossed over some parts. Knowing the tight connection he had with Boyce and glossing over his death ( by suicide no less) shocked me with no insight that I saw. This was very much like Jonathan Cain from Journey. Also, what I am getting used to in some of these songwriter books are some are just geniuses with no real stories for the great songs, Carol King, Pete Townsend, And Cain were like that. But good read, just not great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2025
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart wrote the commercial pop songs that dominated the AM airways in the middle sixties. Songs by the Monkees, Jay & the Americans, Paul Revere & The Raiders and especially Boyce & Hart were as much the soundtrack of my youth as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the anecdotes about how they met, the details of their songwriting, and their lasting friendship. Well worth reading for fans of sixties pop. Strongly recommended
December 22, 2021
I remember all the great Boyce & Hart songs of the 60s and 70s and was eager to know more about the men behind the music. This was a decent read until it turned into the tale of Hart’s spiritual awakening. 3.5 generous stars.
June 5, 2025
Fun nostalgic, but also enlightening back story.
September 19, 2025
Two days before I finished this book Bobby Hart passed away. Academy Award, Grammy, and Golden Globe nominee he and Tommy Boyce wrote hits for The Monkees such as Last Train to Clarksville. They had success as Boyce and Hart with songs like I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.
I really enjoyed the book. It was authentic and honest with plenty of engaging aspects. Rest in peace, good sir.
I really enjoyed the book. It was authentic and honest with plenty of engaging aspects. Rest in peace, good sir.
August 6, 2025
#11 of 130 books pledged to read during 2020
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews