In 1967, The Monkees had a hit with “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” and 60 years later it remains one of the band’s most beloved and best-known tracks. But the song had originally been intended for another band.
Months before Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones released the song as the Monkees, Paul Revere & the Raiders had already recorded it, expecting it to become the next single on their album Midnight Ride. Instead, the Raiders’ version sat unreleased as a single while The Monkees version went on to become a Billboard Top 20 hit.
So how did this happen?
Written by the songwriter team Bobby Hart and Tommy Boyce, “Steppin’ Stone” had indeed been intended for the Raiders and was written specifically for the Idaho-based garage rock band known for the hit ”Just Like Me.” It had a heavier sound than most Monkees music and seemed well-suited for the Raiders.
In an interview with Medium, Hart recalled, “We wanted to write something for the group — they were hot. And they did record it, but they never released it as a single.”
Hart explained that with the Raiders pausing the song, when he and Boyce were hired to produce The Monkees’ records they decided, “Let’s have The Monkees do this one, too.”
The Monkees version became an accidental hit when it was released as a B-side to “I’m a Believer.” It also sounded very similar to the Paul Revere & the Raiders version—and for good reason.
Speaking with Sundazed, Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay recalled that producer Terry Melcher had asked songwriters to send the Raiders songs that mirrored the style of the Kinks and the Rolling Stones.
“And we got ‘Steppin’ Stone,’ which we cut right after ‘Just Like Me,’” he shared. “We were ready to release ‘Steppin’ Stone.’ and [the song] ‘Kicks’ came in the mail, so we liked that a lot. We cut that, and I remember Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, we saw them at Whisky a Go Go, and they said, ‘When’s ‘Steppin’ Stone’ comin’ out?’ and Terry said, ‘Well, you know, we got this new record in ‘Kicks’ we just cut, we’re gonna release that, and ‘Steppin’ Stone’ will be our next single.’”
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“Of course, this really infuriated Tommy and Bobby,” Lindsay continued. “So they took our ‘Steppin’ Stone’ acetate that we’d cut – and gave them a copy of – over to The Monkees and said, ‘Here’s a demo of our new song.’ That’s why if you listen to The Monkees’ version, Micky’s doing all my ad-libs, it’s very close to the Raiders’ version, because they thought that was the demo.”
Paul Revere & the Raiders had a big hit with “Kicks,” so it all worked out for both bands. And 60 years later, both songs remain classic rock favorites, with Dolenz still performing “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” on his 60 Years of The Monkees tour in 2026.
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