Pleasant Valley Sunday

"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
US single cover
Single by the Monkees
from the album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.
B-side"Words"
ReleasedJuly 1967
Recorded10, 11 & 13 June 1967
StudioRCA Victor (Hollywood)
Genre
Length3:10
LabelColgems No. 1007
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Chip Douglas
The Monkees singles chronology
"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You"
(1967)
"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
(1967)
"Daydream Believer"
(1967)

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is a song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, recorded and released by the Monkees in the summer of 1967. Inspired by their move to West Orange, New Jersey, and named for a street there, Goffin and King wrote the song about their dissatisfaction with life in the suburbs.[3]

The Monkees' version differs somewhat from Goffin and King's demo, and their recording features a well-known guitar intro played by Michael Nesmith and a heavily reverberated fade-out.[4] It became one of the Monkees' most successful singles, peaking at No. 3 and continuing a string of top ten hits.[5] The song was included on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., the group's fourth album, in November 1967.[6]

  1. ^ Friedlander, Matt (September 12, 2016). "It's the 50th Anniversary of 'The Monkees' TV Debut". ABC News. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Papadatos, Markos (March 8, 2019). "Review: The Monkees honor musical legacy of Peter Tork at The Paramount". Digital Journal. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  3. ^ La Gorce, Tammy. "New Jersey's Magic Moments", The New York Times, October 30, 2005. Accessed May 12, 2021.
  4. ^ Sandoval, Andrew (2005). The Monkees : the day-by-day story of the '60s TV pop sensation. Internet Archive. San Diego : Thunder Bay Press. pp. 114-115297. ISBN 978-1-59223-372-4.
  5. ^ "The Monkees". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Pisces, Aquarius". albumlinernotes. Retrieved May 14, 2021.