We Love Handclaps: "She Hangs Out" by the Monkees

Cartoon titled "Younger Than Ever!" from Sir John Tenniel's Cartoons: Selected from the Pages of "Punch", 1901

"She Hangs Out" appeared as a non-single track on the Monkees' 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. but, at that time, it was part of a much bigger story. Composed by Jeff Barry (with Ellie Greenwich, according to some credits), the song is a throwback to Barry's early "Da Doo Ron Ron"-style compositions, with a nonsensical vocal tag and bubblegum-pop melody. Barry had produced a first version of the song with Davy Jones several months earlier in a session initiated by the Monkees' music supervisor Don Kirshner without the involvement of the rest of the group. Kirshner then released a single, "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You"/"She Hangs Out", without the Monkees' authorization - this was the act that prompted his much-publicized firing by the band.

The Monkees must have been okay with the song itself, though, as they got together and recorded it again shortly thereafter, in a new arrangement with prominent handclaps, horns, and contributions of all the Monkees. The horns are a little much (I'd like to hear the "lost" version of the song from the TV show, that featured this arrangement minus the horns), but the handclaps on this song are pretty snappy.

"She Hangs Out" by the Monkees