The Monkees were a pop group formed in 1965 whose members were handpicked from youngsters applying to be on a new television show. Led by Davy Jones (who died in 2012), the band would be hugely successful performing covers of songs written by the likes of Neil Diamond ("I'm A Believer," which was #1 for 7 weeks and "A Little Bit Of Me, A Little Bit Of You," which went to #2), Carole King ("Pleasant Valley Sunday," which went to #3 and "Porpoise Song," which went to #62), and John Stewart ("Daydream Believer," which was #1 for 4 weeks). They were ranked as the most successful artist on the charts in 1967. By 1970, however, no one was going ape for The Monkees anymore so they disbanded. The Monkees staged a comeback in 1986 when "That Was Then, This Is Now" hit #20. Their final chart appearance was one year later when "Heart And Soul" stalled at #87. "Randy Scouse Git" goes back to that magical year of 1967 when everything the band touched turned to gold. It was not a chart hit, but one of the edgier pieces this pop band would perform.
One of the finest singer/songwriters of the 70s and 80s, Neil Diamond is ranked #29 of the greatest artists of all-time in the Joel Whitburn Top Pop Singles book. He actually made his first top 40 appearance in 1966 with "Cherry, Cherry", which soared to #6. Through his stellar career, Diamond hit the #1 spot three times: in 1970 with "Cracklin' Rosie", 1972 with "Song Sung Blue", and 1978 with "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". Despite the changing musical tide, he stayed strong in the 80s, with one of his biggest songs - "Heartlight" - inspired by the smash hit movie E.T. in 1982- it went to #5 on the Top 100. The wonderfully upbeat and optimistic tune "I'm Alive" would prove to be Diamond's last appearance in the top 40, dying at #35 in 1983. I think it deserved much better.
