I Wanna Be Free (The Monkees song)

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"I Wanna Be Free"
Single by The Monkees
from the album The Monkees
B-side"You Just May Be the One"
ReleasedMay 1967
GenreChamber pop[1]
Length2:27
LabelRCA (Australia)
Arista (Japan)
Songwriter(s)Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart B side/ Michael Nesmith
Producer(s)Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, B side/ Douglas Farthing-Hatlelid
The Monkees singles chronology
"A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You"
(1967) 		"I Wanna Be Free"
(1967) 		"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
(1967)

"I Wanna Be Free" is a song written by

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart that was first performed by The Monkees and appeared on their debut album The Monkees in 1966. It was released as a single in some countries, reaching the Top 20 in Australia. It was also covered by The Lettermen
.

Monkees version

Boyce and Hart wrote "I Wanna Be Free" for the Monkees before the group was even put together.

Yesterday."[5] Like "Yesterday," the instrumentation for "I Wanna Be Free" incorporates a string quartet.[6][7] The instrumentation also incorporates acoustic guitar and harpsichord.[7] Davy Jones sang the vocals.[5][7]

A faster version of the song was recorded with Micky Dolenz sharing the vocals with Jones.[7] This version appeared in the TV series and as a bonus track on some releases of The Monkees.[7]

The song appeared in a number of episodes of

Greatest Hits, The Monkees Anthology and The Best of The Monkees.[5] It also appeared on the live albums Live 1967 and Summer 1967: The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings.[5]

Allmusic's Matthew Greenwald calls the song a "positively beautiful and wistful statement of teenage coming of age" and also praises its

CMJ New Music Monthly author Nicole Keiper referred to the song as "heavenly."[10] However, Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review magazine referred to the song as an "inconsequential teeny ballad."[11]

According to Boyce, "I Wanna Be Free" was Jimmy Webb's favorite song and even inspired the song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," which Webb wrote for Glen Campbell and which became a top 10 hit on the country music charts in 1967.[12]

Chart performance

"I Wanna Be Free" was released as a single in some countries in 1967. It reached #17 on Australia's

Billboard Magazine's Australian "Hits of the World" charts.[13][14] The song also reached #7 in Singapore on Billboard's "Hits of the World" charts.[15]

Covers

Omar White (portrayed by actor Michael Wright) sings the slow version of the song during a variety show in the Season 5 (2002) episode "Variety" of the HBO hit prison series Oz
.

References

  1. ^ Masley, Ed (January 7, 2024). "Best Monkees songs of all time: 30 classics, from their biggest hits to album tracks". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780943249018
    .
  3. ISBN 0867193786
    .
  4. ISBN 9780786884889
    .
  5. ^
    Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  6. ISBN 9780195310238
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1447887850
    .
  8. ISBN 9780965821841
    .
  9. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  10. ^ Keiper, N. (July 2000). "The Monkees". CMJ New Music Monthly. p. 102.
  11. ^ Digital audio and compact disc review. Vol. 4, no. 7โ€“12. WGE. 1988. p. 71. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ISBN 087980291X
    .
  13. ^ "Go-Set National Top 40". Go-Set. September 6, 1967. Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  14. Billboard Magazine
    . September 16, 1967. p. 69.
  15. Billboard Magazine
    . December 16, 1967. p. 52.
  16. Billboard Magazine
    . April 27, 1968. p. 74.
  17. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2012-08-31.
  18. Billboard Magazine
    . April 6, 1967. p. 66.
  19. Billboard Magazine
    . March 11, 1967. p. 46.
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