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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019 & 2021}}
{{Infobox song {{Infobox song
| name = Last Train to Clarksville | name = Last Train to Clarksville
| cover = The_Monkees_single_01_Last_Train_to_Clarksville.jpg | cover = The_Monkees_single_01_Last_Train_to_Clarksville.jpg
| alt = | alt =
| caption = US single cover | caption = US single cover
| type = single | type = 45 RPM
| artist = ] | artist = ]
| album = ] | album = ]
| B-side = ] | A-side = ]
| released = August 16, 1966 | released = August 16, 1966
| recorded = July 25, 1966<br>], Studio A<br>] | recorded = July 25, 1966<br>], Studio A<br>]
| studio = | studio = The Coldgems Estudios
| venue = | venue =
| genre = ] | genre = ]
| length = 2:46 | length = 2:46
| label = ] 1001 | label = ] #1001
| writer = {{flatlist| | writer = {{flatlist|
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
}} }}
| producer = {{flatlist| | producer = {{flatlist|
Line 24: Line 24:
* Bobby Hart * Bobby Hart
}} }}
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = ]
| next_year = 1966
}} }}
{{Infobox song
"'''Last Train to Clarksville'''" was the debut single by American pop rock band ]. It was released on August 16, 1966 and was later included on the group's ], which was released on October 10, 1966.<ref name="notes">''The Monkees Greatest Hits'' ] R2 75785 ]</ref> The song, written by ], was recorded at ] Studio B in ] on July 25, 1966,<ref name="notes" /> and was already on the ] "Hit Bounds" playlist on August 17, 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.users.qwest.net/~oldiesloon/khj081066.htm|title=KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records In Southern California! Issue No. 59 - Previewed August 17, 1966|date=August 17, 1966|access-date=May 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624034104/http://www.users.qwest.net/~oldiesloon/khj081066.htm|archive-date=June 24, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song topped the ] on November 5, 1966.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| name = Take a Giant Step
| cover = The_Monkees_single_01_Last_Train_to_Clarksville.jpg
| alt =
| caption = US single label
| type = 45 RPM
| artist = ]
| album = ]
| B-side = ]
| released = 16 August 1966
| recorded = 9 July 1966<br>], Studio C<br>]
| studio = Rca Victor Estudios
| venue =
| genre = ]
| length = 2:31
| label = ] #1001
| writer = {{flatlist|
* ]
* ]
}}
| producer = {{flatlist|
* ]
* ]
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day
| cover = The_Monkees_single_01_Last_Train_to_Clarksville.jpg
| alt =
| caption = US single label
| type = 45 RPM
| artist = ]
| album = ]
| C-side = ]
| released = 1966
| studio = Rca Victor Estudios
| length = 2:42
| writer = {{flatlist|
* ] & ]
}}
| producer = {{flatlist|
* ]
* ]
}}
}}
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Last Train to Clarksville/Take a Giant Step/Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day
| cover = The_Monkees_single_01_Last_Train_to_Clarksville.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Last Train to Clarksville/Take a Giant Step
| type = 45 RPM
}}
"'''Last Train to Clarksville'''" was the debut single by ]. It was released on August 16, 1966, and later included on the group's ], which was released on October 10, 1966.<ref name="notes">''The Monkees Greatest Hits'' ] R2 75785 ]</ref> The song, written by ], was recorded at ] Studio B in ] on July 25, 1966,<ref name="notes" /> and was already on the ] Hit Bounds on August 17, 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.users.qwest.net/~oldiesloon/khj081066.htm|title=KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records In Southern California! Issue No. 59 - Previewed August 17, 1966|date=August 17, 1966|access-date=May 12, 2012|archive-
"'''Take a Giant Step'''" is a song written by ] and ] and released by the American band ] in 1966. It was also covered in 1969 by singer ].
"Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet that appears on The Monkees, the debut album of the Monkees. Mono and stereo versions of the song were produced.
url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624034104/http://www.users.qwest.net/~oldiesloon/khj081066.htm|archive-date=June 24, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The song topped the ] on November 5, 1966.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| editor = Ashley Brown | editor = Ashley Brown
| title = Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music | title = Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music
Line 39: Line 92:
}}</ref> Lead vocals were performed by the Monkees' drummer, ].<ref name="songfacts">{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2840|title=Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees Songfacts}}</ref> "Last Train to Clarksville" was featured in seven episodes of the band's ], the most for any Monkees song. }}</ref> Lead vocals were performed by the Monkees' drummer, ].<ref name="songfacts">{{cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2840|title=Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees Songfacts}}</ref> "Last Train to Clarksville" was featured in seven episodes of the band's ], the most for any Monkees song.


"'''Take a Giant Step'''" Side B is a song written by ] and ] and released by the American band ] in 1966.
==Composition==
The song, written by the songwriting duo of ] and ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forgottenhits.com/the_music_of_tommy_boyce_and_bobby_hart|title=The Music of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart|last=Kotal|first=Kent|work=Forgotten hits|access-date=February 5, 2015}}</ref> has been compared to ]' "]",{{by whom|date=January 2019}} particularly in its "jangly" guitar sound, chord structure, and vocal harmonies. The Beatles' song had been number one in the U.S. charts three months earlier.


"Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" Side C is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet that appears on The Monkees, the debut album of the Monkees. Mono and stereo versions of the song were produced in 1966.
Hart got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of "Paperback Writer". Thinking ] was singing "take the last train", he decided to use the line himself after he found out that McCartney was actually singing "paperback writer".<ref>{{cite book| last= Brown| first= Craig| author-link= Craig Brown (satirist)| title= One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time| chapter= Chapter 91| date= April 2, 2020| page= 363 | isbn= 978-0-00-834000-1 | publisher= 4th Estate| edition= hardback }}</ref> Hart knew that the ''Monkees'' TV series was being pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of the Beatles' movie '']'', so he was hoping that by emulating the Beatles the song might lead to a successful single, which it did. To help ensure that, he decided to include a distinctively rhythmic lyric and wrote in the "Oh No-No-No, Oh No-No-No" lyrics as a response to the Beatles' famous "Yeah Yeah Yeah", looking for a guitar riff to match that in the studio.


==History==
The lyrics tell of a man phoning the woman he loves, urging her to meet him at a train station in Clarksville before he must leave, possibly forever. There was no explicit reference to war in the song, but its last line, "And I don't know if I'm ever coming home", was an indirect reference to a soldier leaving for the ].{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}


The song was released as the ] to the band's single "]" and also as the closing track on side 1 of their debut album '']''.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Take a Giant Step|author=Planer, L.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/take-a-giant-step-mt0000451415|publisher=]|accessdate=2012-08-02}}</ref> ] performed lead vocals.<ref name=allmusic/>
There is a controversial possibility that the song refers to ], which is near ], the home of the ], which was then serving in Vietnam. However, according to songwriter Bobby Hart, that was not the case. Instead, according to Hart, "We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There's a little town in northern ] I used to go through in the summer on the way to ] called ]. We were throwing out names, and when we got to Clarkdale, we thought Clarksville sounded even better. We didn't know it at the time, there is an Army base near the town of Clarksville, Tennessee — which would have fit the bill fine for the storyline.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} We couldn't be too direct with the Monkees. We couldn't really make a protest song out of it—we kind of snuck it in."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://societyofrock.com/after-50-years-the-monkees-reveal-the-surprising-truth-behind-last-train-to-clarksville/ |title=After 50 Years, The Monkees Reveal The Surprising Truth Behind "Last Train To Clarksville" |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=n.d. |publisher=Society of Rock |access-date= |quote=Songwriter Bobby Hart admits to sneaking in the controversial subject matter under the radar,}}</ref>
Although "Clarksville", a common location name in the U.S., is in the song's title, the video accompanying the song on the Monkees' TV show depicted a sign pointing to "Clarkesville", which is a much more rare spelling, now used only for a town in Georgia.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}


The song is presented as a plea to a heartbroken girl to move on from her past romantic disappointments, and to "learn to live again at last", by "taking a giant step outside your mind". Critic Eric Lefcowitz describes the song as "proto-]."<ref name=business>{{cite book|title=Monkee Business|author=Lefcowitz, E.|pages=43, 52|year=2011|publisher=Retrofuture|isbn=9780943249018}}</ref>
==Recording==
Boyce and Hart's band, Candy Store Prophets, performed the instrumental session work on the recording.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 1960s TV Pop Sensation |first=Andrew |last=Sandoval |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |year=2005 |page=46}}</ref> Their lineup included Boyce, Wayne Erwin and ]' Gerry McGee on guitar, Hart on keyboards, ] on bass guitar, Billy Lewis on drums and Gene Estes on percussion.


The song was later covered by singer Taj Mahal, in a significantly rearranged version, and included as the ] to his 1969 double album release '']''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Giant Step|author=Planer, L.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/giant-step-mw0000897063|publisher=]|accessdate=2012-08-02}}</ref> It was also recorded by Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, and the ] in 1966 but not released until 1992 on their self-titled album.
The song was written in the key of G, one which is aligned to the electric guitar, and there were three guitarists on the recording: Erwin played chords; McGee assisted with lead guitar flourishes; and the lead guitar part was written on the spot and played by session musician ] on a ] and Fender Super Reverb amp. Shelton, then new to Los Angeles, was hired specifically by Boyce and Hart to participate in the NBC ''Monkees'' television project. Hart had drafted a lead middle riff to match his lyrics, but it was Shelton who created the lead-in section on the spot. Shelton become a mainstay on Monkees recordings, and became a highly sought-after session musician afterwards.<ref name="songfacts"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-24/news/mn-5697_1_jesse-ed-davis|title=OBITUARIES : Backed Up Major Artists : Jesse Ed Davis, 43; Noted Rock Guitarist|first1=Mark|last1=Arax|first2=Paul|last2=Feldman|date=June 24, 1988|work=The Los Angeles Times}}</ref>


The song was also covered by ] on the March 20, 1970, episode of the television series '']'' entitled "Absalom".
==B-side==
The single's ], "]", later appeared as the closing track on side 1 of their debut album.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Take a Giant Step|author=Planer, L.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/take-a-giant-step-mt0000451415|publisher=]|access-date=2012-08-02}}</ref> ] performed lead vocals.<ref name=allmusic/>


],] also released a version of the song,again with a different arrangement.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCl-m33YZ2Q</ref>
The song is presented as a plea to a heartbroken girl to move on from her past romantic disappointments, and to "learn to live again at last", by "taking a giant step outside your mind". Critic Eric Lefcowitz describes the song as "proto-]."<ref name=business>{{cite book|title=Monkee Business|author=Lefcowitz, E.|pages=43, 52|year=2011|publisher=Retrofuture|isbn=9780943249018}}</ref>

] released a German version, titled "Riesenschritt", of the song on her 1995 album '']''.<ref>{{cite web |title=freuD euch - Nina Hagen Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/freud-euch-mw0000738789 |website=Allmusic.com |accessdate=22 November 2019}}</ref>


==Reception== ==Reception==
Of "Last Train to Clarksville", '']'' remarked that "all the excitement generated by the promotion campaign for the new group...is justified '']'' said of the song that "all the excitement generated by the promotion campaign for the new group...is justified
by this debut disk loaded with exciting teen dance beat sounds."<ref name=bb>{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=2021-03-03|date=August 27, 1966|page=16|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-08-27.pdf}}</ref> by this debut disk loaded with exciting teen dance beat sounds."<ref name=bb>{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|accessdate=2021-03-03|date=August 27, 1966|page=16|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-08-27.pdf}}</ref>
==Song==
The song, written by the songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forgottenhits.com/the_music_of_tommy_boyce_and_bobby_hart|title=The Music of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart|last=Kotal|first=Kent|work=Forgotten hits|access-date=February 5, 2015}}</ref> has been compared to ]' "]",{{by whom|date=January 2019}} particularly the "jangly" guitar sound, the chord structure, and the vocal harmonies. The Beatles' song had been number one in the US charts three months earlier.

The lyrics tell of a man phoning the woman he loves, urging her to meet him at a train station in Clarksville before he must leave, possibly forever. There was no explicit reference to war in the song but its last line, "And I don't know if I'm ever coming home", was an indirect reference about a soldier leaving for the ].{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

It has often been presumed that the song refers to ], which is near ], the home of the ], which was then serving in Vietnam. However, according to songwriter Bobby Hart, that was not the case. Instead, according to Hart, "We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There's a little town in northern ] I used to go through in the summer on the way to ] called ]. We were throwing out names, and when we got to Clarkdale, we thought Clarksville sounded even better. We didn't know it at the time, there is an Army base near the town of Clarksville, Tennessee — which would have fit the bill fine for the storyline. We couldn't be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn't really make a protest song out of it — we kind of snuck it in."{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}
Although "Clarksville", a common U.S. place name, is in the song title, the video accompanying the song on the Monkees' TV show showed a sign pointing to "Clarkesville", which is a much more rare spelling now used only for a town in Georgia.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Hart got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of the Beatles' "Paperback Writer". He thought ] was singing "take the last train", and decided to use the line when he found out that McCartney was actually singing "paperback writer".<ref>{{cite book| last= Brown| first= Craig| author-link= Craig Brown (satirist)| title= One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time| chapter= Chapter 91| page= 363 | isbn= 978-0-00-834000-1 | publisher= 4th Estate| edition= hardback }}</ref> Hart knew that ''The Monkees'' TV series was being pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of the Beatles' movie '']'', so he was hoping that by emulating the Beatles the song might lead to a successful single, which it did. To help ensure that, he decided to include a distinctively rhythmic lyric and wrote in the "Oh No-No-No, Oh No-No-No" lyrics as a response to the Beatles' famous "Yeah Yeah Yeah", looking for a guitar riff to match that in the studio.

==Recording==
Boyce and Hart's band, Candy Store Prophets, did the instrumental session work on the recording.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 1960s TV Pop Sensation |first=Andrew |last=Sandoval |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |year=2005 |page=46}}</ref> Their lineup included Boyce, Wayne Ervin and Ventures Gerry McGee on guitar, Hart on keyboards, Larry Taylor on bass-guitar, Billy Lewis on drums and Gene Estes on percussion.

Written in the key of G - one which was aligned to the electric guitar - there were three guitarists on the recording: Wayne Erwin played chords; Gerry McGee assisted with lead guitar flourishes; and the lead guitar part was written on the spot and played by new to Los Angeles session musician ] on a ] and Fender Super Reverb amp. Louie was hired specifically by Boyce and Hart to participate in the NBC Monkees television project. Hart had drafted a lead middle riff to match his lyrics, but it was Shelton who created the lead-in section on the spot. Shelton become a mainstay on Monkees recordings, and became a highly sought session musician afterwards.<ref name="songfacts"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-24/news/mn-5697_1_jesse-ed-davis|title=OBITUARIES : Backed Up Major Artists : Jesse Ed Davis, 43; Noted Rock Guitarist|first1=Mark|last1=Arax|first2=Paul|last2=Feldman|date=June 24, 1988|work=The Los Angeles Times}}</ref>


==Chart performance== ==Chart performance==
Line 130: Line 195:


==Covers== ==Covers==
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}
*] covered the song on a March 1967 single for ].
{{Infobox song
*] covered the song on their album '']'', issued in July 1967.
| name = Take a Giant Step Cover
| cover =
| alt =
| caption = US single cover
| type =
| artist = ]
| album = ]
| Year = 1969
}}
Take a Giant Step It was also covered in 1969 by the singer Taj Mahal.

===Riblja Čorba version===
{{Infobox song
| name = Zadnji voz za Čačak
| cover = Singl_-_1987_-_Zadnji_voz_za_Cacak.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = ]
| album =
| B-side = Lud sto posto

A-side cover by John Peel indie favoritea The Passmore Sisters.
| released = May 13, 1987
| recorded = 1987
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = ]
| length = 2:44
| label = ]
| writer = ], ]
| producer =
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = ]
| type = singles
| prev_title = ]
| prev_year = 1987
| title = Zadnji voz za Čačak
| year = 1987
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
}}
"'''Zadnji voz za Čačak'''" (trans. "Last train to ]") is a song by ]n and ] ] band ], from their 1987 album '']''.

B-side features the song "Lud sto posto" ("100% Crazy").

The single was not available in the shops, but given as a gift with an issue of ''Politika Ekspres''

===Track listing===
#"Zadnji voz za Čačak" - 2:44
#"Lud sto posto" - 4:15

=== Personnel ===
*] - vocal
*] - bass guitar
*] - guitar
*] - guitar
*] - drums

===Other versions===
*] covered the song on a March 1967 single on RCA.
*] covered the song on his 1968 album '']''. *] covered the song on his 1968 album '']''.
*Bluegrass artists ] recorded an instrumental version for their 1972 Hilltop Records album ''Mandolin Workshop''. *Bluegrass artists ] McReynolds recorded an instrumental version on their 1972 ] album ''] Workshop''.
*A cover by ] appears on their 1979 album '']''. A rerecorded version was released on a flexi-disc coupled with the 1981 album ''Welcome Back''. *A cover by ] appears on the 1979 album '']''. A rerecorded version was released on a flexi-disc coupled with the 1981 album ''Welcome Back''.
*A cover by crossover metal band ] appears on their 1986 debut album, ''Immaculate Deception''. *A cover by crossover metal band ] appears on their 1986 debut album, ''Immaculate Deception''.
*"Zadnji voz za Čačak" (trans. "Last train to ]") is a song by ]n and ] rock band ], from their 1987 album ''].''
*A cover by ] appears on her 1995 album '']''. *A cover by ] appears on her 1995 album '']''.
*In 1998, Dolenz sung a modified version of the song to promote the ] of '']''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NUs_vZre7o&feature=youtu.be</ref>
*On January 15, 2008, a cover of the song was made available as downloadable content for the ] series '']''. *On January 15, 2008, a cover of the song was made available as downloadable content for the ] series '']''.
*The January 2009 issue of ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' lists the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" as fourth on its list of ''Rock Band''{{-'}}s "Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs".<ref>"''Rock Band''{{-'}} Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs", ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' (January 2009): 58.</ref> *The January 2009 issue of ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' lists The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" as fourth on its list of ''Rock Band''{{-'}}s "Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs".<ref>"''Rock Band''{{-'}} Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs", ''PlayStation: The Official Magazine'' (January 2009): 58.</ref>
*] covered the song on their album '']'', issued in July 1967.
*The 2016 reissue of ]'s 1996 covers album '']'' includes a cover of the song.
*In 1998, Dolenz sung a modified version of the song to promote the ] '']''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NUs_vZre7o&feature=youtu.be</ref>


==References== ==References==
Line 160: Line 289:
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]

Revision as of 23:15, 14 June 2021

"Last Train to Clarksville"
US single cover
45 RPM by The Monkees
from the album The Monkees
A-side"Last Train to Clarksville"
ReleasedAugust 16, 1966
RecordedJuly 25, 1966
RCA Victor Studios, Studio A
Hollywood, CA
StudioThe Coldgems Estudios
GenreRock
Length2:46
LabelColgems #1001
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Tommy Boyce
  • Bobby Hart
"Take a Giant Step"
US single label
45 RPM by The Monkees
from the album The Monkees
B-side"Take a Giant Step"
Released16 August 1966
Recorded9 July 1966
RCA Victor Studios, Studio C
Hollywood, CA
StudioRca Victor Estudios
GenrePop rock
Length2:31
LabelColgems #1001
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day"
US single label
45 RPM by The Monkees
from the album The Monkees
Released1966
StudioRca Victor Estudios
Length2:42
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Last Train to Clarksville/Take a Giant Step/Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day"
Last Train to Clarksville/Take a Giant Step
45 RPM

"Last Train to Clarksville" was the debut single by the Monkees. It was released on August 16, 1966, and later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966. The song, written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, was recorded at RCA Victor Studio B in Hollywood on July 25, 1966, and was already on the Boss Hit Bounds on August 17, 1966. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on November 5, 1966. Lead vocals were performed by the Monkees' drummer, Micky Dolenz. "Last Train to Clarksville" was featured in seven episodes of the band's television series, the most for any Monkees song.

"Take a Giant Step" Side B is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and released by the American band The Monkees in 1966.

"Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" Side C is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet that appears on The Monkees, the debut album of the Monkees. Mono and stereo versions of the song were produced in 1966.

History

The song was released as the B-side to the band's single "Last Train to Clarksville" and also as the closing track on side 1 of their debut album The Monkees. Micky Dolenz performed lead vocals.

The song is presented as a plea to a heartbroken girl to move on from her past romantic disappointments, and to "learn to live again at last", by "taking a giant step outside your mind". Critic Eric Lefcowitz describes the song as "proto-psychedelic."

The song was later covered by singer Taj Mahal, in a significantly rearranged version, and included as the title track to his 1969 double album release Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home. It was also recorded by Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, and the Rising Sons in 1966 but not released until 1992 on their self-titled album.

The song was also covered by Bobby Sherman on the March 20, 1970, episode of the television series Here Come the Brides entitled "Absalom".

Fountains of Youth,] also released a version of the song,again with a different arrangement.

Nina Hagen released a German version, titled "Riesenschritt", of the song on her 1995 album FreuD euch.

Reception

Billboard said of the song that "all the excitement generated by the promotion campaign for the new group...is justified by this debut disk loaded with exciting teen dance beat sounds."

Song

The song, written by the songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, has been compared to the Beatles' "Paperback Writer", particularly the "jangly" guitar sound, the chord structure, and the vocal harmonies. The Beatles' song had been number one in the US charts three months earlier.

The lyrics tell of a man phoning the woman he loves, urging her to meet him at a train station in Clarksville before he must leave, possibly forever. There was no explicit reference to war in the song but its last line, "And I don't know if I'm ever coming home", was an indirect reference about a soldier leaving for the Vietnam War.

It has often been presumed that the song refers to Clarksville, Tennessee, which is near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the home of the 101st Airborne Division, which was then serving in Vietnam. However, according to songwriter Bobby Hart, that was not the case. Instead, according to Hart, "We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There's a little town in northern Arizona I used to go through in the summer on the way to Oak Creek Canyon called Clarkdale. We were throwing out names, and when we got to Clarkdale, we thought Clarksville sounded even better. We didn't know it at the time, there is an Army base near the town of Clarksville, Tennessee — which would have fit the bill fine for the storyline. We couldn't be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn't really make a protest song out of it — we kind of snuck it in."

Although "Clarksville", a common U.S. place name, is in the song title, the video accompanying the song on the Monkees' TV show showed a sign pointing to "Clarkesville", which is a much more rare spelling now used only for a town in Georgia.

Hart got the idea for the lyrics when he turned on the radio and heard the end of the Beatles' "Paperback Writer". He thought Paul McCartney was singing "take the last train", and decided to use the line when he found out that McCartney was actually singing "paperback writer". Hart knew that The Monkees TV series was being pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of the Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night, so he was hoping that by emulating the Beatles the song might lead to a successful single, which it did. To help ensure that, he decided to include a distinctively rhythmic lyric and wrote in the "Oh No-No-No, Oh No-No-No" lyrics as a response to the Beatles' famous "Yeah Yeah Yeah", looking for a guitar riff to match that in the studio.

Recording

Boyce and Hart's band, Candy Store Prophets, did the instrumental session work on the recording. Their lineup included Boyce, Wayne Ervin and Ventures Gerry McGee on guitar, Hart on keyboards, Larry Taylor on bass-guitar, Billy Lewis on drums and Gene Estes on percussion.

Written in the key of G - one which was aligned to the electric guitar - there were three guitarists on the recording: Wayne Erwin played chords; Gerry McGee assisted with lead guitar flourishes; and the lead guitar part was written on the spot and played by new to Los Angeles session musician Louie Shelton on a Fender Telecaster and Fender Super Reverb amp. Louie was hired specifically by Boyce and Hart to participate in the NBC Monkees television project. Hart had drafted a lead middle riff to match his lyrics, but it was Shelton who created the lead-in section on the spot. Shelton become a mainstay on Monkees recordings, and became a highly sought session musician afterwards.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1966–1967) Peak
position
Australia Go-Set 14
Ireland (IRMA) 5
New Zealand (Listener) 6
South Africa (Springbok) 16
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
Chart (1966) Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles 1
Chart (1967) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 23

Year-end charts

Chart (1966) Rank
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6
Chart (1967) Rank
Canada 12

Covers

"Take a Giant Step Cover"
Song by Taj Mahall
from the album Taj Mahal

Take a Giant Step It was also covered in 1969 by the singer Taj Mahal.

Riblja Čorba version

"Zadnji voz za Čačak"
File:Singl - 1987 - Zadnji voz za Cacak.jpg
Single by Riblja Čorba
B-side"Lud sto posto A-side cover by John Peel indie favoritea The Passmore Sisters."
ReleasedMay 13, 1987
Recorded1987
GenreHard rock
Length2:44
LabelPGP-RTB
Songwriter(s)Boyce and Hart, Bora Đorđević
Riblja Čorba singles chronology
"Nesrećnice nije te sramota"
(1987) 		"Zadnji voz za Čačak"
(1987)

"Zadnji voz za Čačak" (trans. "Last train to Čačak") is a song by Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba, from their 1987 album Ujed za dušu.

B-side features the song "Lud sto posto" ("100% Crazy").

The single was not available in the shops, but given as a gift with an issue of Politika Ekspres

Track listing

  1. "Zadnji voz za Čačak" - 2:44
  2. "Lud sto posto" - 4:15

Personnel

Other versions

  • Ed Bruce covered the song on a March 1967 single on RCA.
  • Jerry Reed covered the song on his 1968 album Alabama Wild Man.
  • Bluegrass artists Jim & Jesse McReynolds recorded an instrumental version on their 1972 Hilltop Records album Mandolin Workshop.
  • A cover by Plastics appears on the 1979 album Welcome Plastics. A rerecorded version was released on a flexi-disc coupled with the 1981 album Welcome Back.
  • A cover by crossover metal band Ludichrist appears on their 1986 debut album, Immaculate Deception.
  • A cover by Cassandra Wilson appears on her 1995 album New Moon Daughter.
  • On January 15, 2008, a cover of the song was made available as downloadable content for the music video game series Rock Band.
  • The January 2009 issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine lists The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" as fourth on its list of Rock Band's "Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs".
  • Four Tops covered the song on their album Reach Out, issued in July 1967.
  • In 1998, Dolenz sung a modified version of the song to promote the series finale of Seinfeld.

References

  1. ^ The Monkees Greatest Hits Rhino Entertainment R2 75785 Liner notes
  2. "KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records In Southern California! Issue No. 59 - Previewed August 17, 1966". August 17, 1966. Retrieved May 12, 2012. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Unknown parameter |archive- "Take a Giant Step" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and released by the American band The Monkees in 1966. It was also covered in 1969 by singer Taj Mahal. "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Steve Venet that appears on The Monkees, the debut album of the Monkees. Mono and stereo versions of the song were produced. url= ignored (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Ashley Brown, ed. (1990). Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music. Vol. Six (Reference ed.). Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 1-85435-021-8.
  4. ^ "Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees Songfacts".
  5. ^ Planer, L. "Take a Giant Step". Allmusic. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  6. Lefcowitz, E. (2011). Monkee Business. Retrofuture. pp. 43, 52. ISBN 9780943249018.
  7. Planer, L. "Giant Step". Allmusic. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCl-m33YZ2Q
  9. "freuD euch - Nina Hagen Songs, Reviews, Credits AllMusic". Allmusic.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  10. "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. August 27, 1966. p. 16. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  11. Kotal, Kent. "The Music of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart". Forgotten hits. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  12. Brown, Craig. "Chapter 91". One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time (hardback ed.). 4th Estate. p. 363. ISBN 978-0-00-834000-1.
  13. Sandoval, Andrew (2005). The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 1960s TV Pop Sensation. Thunder Bay Press. p. 46.
  14. Arax, Mark; Feldman, Paul (June 24, 1988). "OBITUARIES : Backed Up Major Artists : Jesse Ed Davis, 43; Noted Rock Guitarist". The Los Angeles Times.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Last Train to Clarksville". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  16. Flavour of New Zealand, 25 November 1966
  17. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  18. "Top 100 Hits of 1966/Top 100 Songs of 1966".
  19. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  20. "Rock Band' Five Most Unexpectedly Rockin' Downloadable Songs", PlayStation: The Official Magazine (January 2009): 58.
  21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NUs_vZre7o&feature=youtu.be

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