This is Now : Tommy Boyce Suicide

Subject: Tommy Boyce Dies In A Suicide
Copyright: 1994 by The Associated Press, R
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 94 11:30:10 PST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tommy Boyce, part of the
singing-songwriting duo of Boyce and Hart who penned “Last Train
to Clarksville” and other hits for the Monkees, shot himself to
death. He was 55.
Boyce’s wife, Carolyn, found him dead in the living room of the
couple’s home Wednesday. He left a note, but police would not
reveal its contents.
While best known for their songwriting, Boyce and partner Bobby
Hart also recorded some of their songs, achieving a Top 10 hit with
“I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight” in 1967.
The duo first gained fame in the early ’60s, writing “Pretty
Little Angel Eyes,” a hit in 1961 for Curtis Lee, and “Come a
Little Bit Closer,” a top five hit for Jay and the Americans in
1964.
In 1966, producers appointed Boyce and Hart musical directors
for the NBC television series “The Monkees,” which debuted in
September of that year.
The group became a chart as well as a ratings success. Among the
songs Boyce and Hart contributed to their roster of hits were
“(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone” and “The Monkees Theme (Hey,
Hey, We’re the Monkees).”
After being a part of the West Coast pop music scene for years,
Boyce moved to England in the late 1970s, where he worked with
artists including Iggy Pop and Meatloaf.
More recently he moved to Tennessee, where he maintained homes
in Nashville and Memphis and occasionally performed locally.
He sometimes would drop by Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe for Sunday
night writers nights, said Gail Carson, who ran the weekly events
for five years.
“He was somewhat introspective,” Carson said. “He’d sit there
and listen, and he’d talk to any of the writers who wanted to talk
to him.”
Boyce, a native of Charlottesville, Va., moved to California
with his family when he was a child.