Sixty years ago, The Monkees released their hit song “I’m a Believer,” with the B-side “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” Both songs became hits. “I’m a Believer” was ranked the Monkees’ Top Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time, while “Steppin’ Stone” ranked at No. 10 on the list.
The latter song, written by legendary songwriting duo Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, was released on Nov. 12, 1966, and was regularly featured on The Monkees TV show, which starred bandmates Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork.
Early on, Boyce and Hart would perform backup on Monkees songs, and they sometimes did it during the original recording sessions.
In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart recalled the studio sessions with The Monkees bandmates. “Having the background vocals already on the tracks gave an instant support to the leads,” he wrote. “On a song like ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,’ for instance, it’s easy to notice the symbiotic relationship between our voices and Micky’s.“
He added that both he and Boyce adlibbed one part of the song, which some fans may have assumed was Dolenz.
“It’s not just the blending of our voices on the three-part harmony of the chorus and the call and response background parts,” he wrote. “Tommy’s adlibs of ‘No!’ and ‘Oh, no not me’ and my scream of ‘Noooo!’ fit seamlessly into the breaks between Dolenz’s impeccable performance.”
Hart’s scream can be heard around the 1:45 mark of the song, just after Boyce’s cries.
‘Steppin’ Stone’ had ‘guts’
“Steppin’ Stone” took a step back from The Monkees’ bubblegum image. The song was hard-rocking enough to later be covered by the Sex Pistols on their 1979 album The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle. The iconic punk band starring Johnny Rotten released their version as a single, and it gave “Steppin’ Stone” even more credibility in the eyes of Monkees band member Peter Tork.
“The songs that we got [in the ‘60s] were really songs of some vigor and substance,” Tork told Entertainment Weekly in a 2016 interview. “‘(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone’ is not peaches and cream. It comes down hard on the subject, poor girl. And the weight of the song is indicated by the fact that the Sex Pistols covered it. Anybody trying to write ‘‘60s songs’ now thinks that you have to write ’59th St. Bridge.’ Which is an okay song but has not got a lot of guts. ‘Stepping Stone’ has guts.”
Monkees fans still request ‘Steppin’ Stone’
Sixty years after “Steppin’ Stone” was released, fans still request the song from Dolenz, who is the last surviving member of the band and is currently on tour.
In a 2020 interview with Goldmine, Dolenz said fans buy tickets to hear him sing “I’m a Believer’ and ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.’” He still plays the two songs from the 1966 single’s A and B sides at every show he performs.
“Once they know they’re gonna get that, they come,” he said of the songs. “And I know that’s why they’re there, so I always give it to ’em. Every single show I do. I made that decision to do that a long, long time ago.”
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Following Hart’s death in September 2025, Dolenz posted a TikTok tribute featuring a Monkees “romp” scene with “Steppin’ Stone” playing over it. “Still thinking about Bobby Hart,” Dolenz captioned the clip. “He and Tommy gave us so many classics, and ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’ was one of the first that really rocked on stage.”
“Even though it was a B-side it still made its way up the charts,” the Monkees singer added. “Playing that song live still gets me. It proved a B-side could be as powerful as a hit.”
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