Peak
3
Weeks
10
Score
2,168
Chart Year
1967
Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote this about Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, New Jersey, where they lived at the time. The Monkees fourth single, it is an ode to the simple life in happy suburbia. >> While studio musicians were brought in to play on many songs for The Monkees, the band did play on this one - for the most part. Peter Tork played piano and Mike Nesmith played the famous opening guitar riff. Chip Douglas, a former member of The Turtles who produced the Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd album, played bass and came up with the guitar part, which was based on The Beatles "I Want to Tell You." He taught it to Nesmith, who overdubbed it twice. You can see him play the line during a close-up for the "video." >> Guitarist Mike Nesmith and drummer Micky Dolenz handled the vocals on this track (Dolenz also sang on "I'm A Believer"). Peter Tork of The Monkees explained to Bruce Pollack in 1982: "A notion of mine that I was real pleased with took over at one point, and that was having two guys sing in unison rather than one guy doubling his own voice. So you've got Mike, who was really a hard-nosed character, and Micky, who's a real baby face, and these two voices blended and lent each other qualities. It's not two separate voices singing together, it's really a melding of the two voices. Listening to that record later on was a joy." Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork both cited this as their favorite Monkees song in a 1997 interview with Mojo. This was used in a 2008 episode of the TV show Family Guy in a scene that was a homage to The Monkees, complete with a comic chase scene.
The local rock group down the street Is trying hard to learn their song They serenade the weekend squire Who just came out to mow his lawn Another pleasant valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Rows of houses that are all the same And no one seems to care See Mrs. Gray, she's proud today Because her roses are in bloom And Mr. Green, he's so serene He's got a TV in every room Another pleasant valley Sunday Here in status symbol land Mothers complain about how hard life is And the kids just don't understand Creature comfort goals, they only numb my soul And make it hard for me to see (Ah ah ah) ah thoughts all seem to stray to places far away I need a change of scenery Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta Another pleasant valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Another pleasant valley Sunday Here in status symbol land Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 22, 1967 | 51 | 75 |
| 2 | Jul 29, 1967 | 24 | 102 |
| 3 | Aug 5, 1967 | 9 | 117 |
| 4 | Aug 12, 1967 | 4 | 122 |
| 5 | Aug 19, 1967 | 3 | 123 |
| 6 | Aug 26, 1967 | 3 | 123 |
| 7 | Sep 2, 1967 | 8 | 118 |
| 8 | Sep 9, 1967 | 13 | 113 |
| 9 | Sep 16, 1967 | 25 | 101 |
| 10 | Sep 23, 1967 | 40 | 86 |