Michael Nesmith wrote "Mary, Mary" early in his musical career, before joining the Monkees. The song was first recorded by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1966.
Screen Gems purchased the rights to Nesmith's songs so they could be used in the television show, and the Monkees' version of the song was recorded in 1966 and released in 1967. It appeared in five episodes of the series.
There are hints that other bands recorded the song, and certainly cover versions were probably performed live by any number of musicians, but the next notable appearance of the song in collective pop culture was the version done by Run-D.M.C in 1988.
I'm not the only person who has sensed a slightly stalker-y tone to the lyrics (mainly in the Monkees' version -- is it something about Micky Dolenz's delivery?), but anecdotally Nesmith is reported to have said it's just about teenage love, nothing to do with a stalker.
"Mary, Mary" by Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1966)
"Mary, Mary" by The Monkees (1967)
[EDIT: Click on this link to see/hear the clip: http://youtu.be/p6jVxks8M4A
I'm keeping the embed because I think it helps the page look good... well, it makes it look how I originally wanted it to look, at any rate. Sigh.]
"Mary, Mary" by Run-D.M.C. (1988)
Sources:
Mary, Mary (song) - Wikipedia
Michael Nesmith - Wikipedia
Mary Mary - songfacts.com
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Oh good gracious, Davy Jones has died! *sob*
ReplyDeleteSo, for the moment playing embedded video is allowed, but who knows how long that will last.