The Monkees hoped to make "All of Your Toys" their third
single, and the first to feature them actually playing the accompaniment music, which they had not done for their first two singles (and subsequent albums).
Chip Douglas, brought in by Nesmith to work with the Monkees,
produced a session in January 1967, with Nesmith's friend John London on
bass guitar, Nesmith on
lead guitar,
Peter Tork on
harpsichord,
Micky Dolenz on lead
vocals and drums and
Davy Jones on
percussion. (During the same sessions, the band also re-recorded Nesmith's "
The Girl I Knew Somewhere", which he had produced earlier.) When it came to the song's release, however, two obstacles arose. One was Monkees' music supervisor
Don Kirshner, who was more interested in making sure-fire hits than supporting the band's attempt to innovate. The other problem was a standing rule that any songs issued by the Monkees had to be
published by
Screen Gems-Columbia Music. Songwriter Martin's publisher,
Tickson Music, refused to sell the copyright to Screen Gems. (Martin promptly re-signed with Screen Gems for publishing.) Ultimately, "
A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," written by
Neil Diamond, became the band's third single. While Kirshner ultimately left the Monkees project (in a power struggle involving the band's third single and album), the publishing rule was not overcome until
1969, when Davy Jones recorded "
Someday Man" by
Paul Williams and
Roger Nichols. "All of Your Toys" remained unreleased until
1987, when
Rhino Records included it on
Missing Links, a collection of previously unreleased Monkees recordings. The song was also included as a bonus track on the 1995 and 2006 Rhino remasters of
Headquarters in a slightly different mono mix, as well as the
Listen to the Band and
Music Box sets in a slightly different stereo mix. It is also available on the 2011 compilation
Monkeemania (The Very Best of the Monkees). In 2011, three of the Monkees reunited for a tour and included "All of Your Toys" in their set list. == Personnel ==