1967 Folk-Rock Hit, Rejected by The Monkees, Became a ‘Summer of Love' Anthem
In the summer of 1967, more than 100,000 young people converged on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district to champion peace, love, and psychedelic exploration. It was a countercultural shift that continues to influence society, pop culture, and advocacy today. And like every great movement, it had a beautiful moniker and soundtrack of the time.
Whether it was Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love," The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Purple Haze," or The Beatles "All You Need Is Love," the Summer of Love was a folksy, bluesy, rhythmic celebration of the soul. Released that June, another essential track that defined the era was The Stone Poney's "Different Drum." A whimsical folk-rock classic about and a timeless ode to independence, the song perfectly captured the free spirit of the era.
Sung by a 21-year-old Linda Ronstadt and written by a pre-Monkees Mike Nesmith, "Different Drum" serves as an empowering "It's not you, it's me" anthem. In its final form, the song's lyrics flip traditional gender roles, rejecting the antiquated marriage narrative and instead elevating the woman to the unapologetic architect of the breakup who leaves her "pretty boy" behind.
Before the song landed with The Stone Poneys, Nesmith's future hit was actually pitched to The Monkees. According to American Songwriter, Nesmith originally recorded the song with his band at the time, the Greenbriar Boys, as well as attempted to make it a hit with The Monkees, whose producers "shunned it."
"I took them ‘Different Drum' and they said all it needed was a hook," he said in a 1971 interview, per the outlet. "They asked me to change it and told me it was stiff."
When Ronstadt's Stone Poneys, which also included Bobby Kimmel and Kenny Edwards, got hold of the song, they were in need of a hit. Their typical folk-rock sound, with Ronstadt singing harmony rather than lead, wasn't connecting with audiences the way they'd hoped. With "Different Drum," they got their hit.
Thrusting Ronstadt to the forefront, the song became the band's breakthrough hit, while also launching Ronstadt into solo stardom. In an interview with The New Yorker in 2019, Ronstadt said even she was surprised by her rich, soothing vocals on the track.
"I had no idea that I sang as loud as I did," she said. "I always thought I wasn't singing loud enough, because in the early days there were no monitors. You couldn't hear yourself."
Released as the lead single on the Stone Poneys' sophomore album, Evergreen, Volume 2, "Different Drum" climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped its parent album break into the Billboard 200, ultimately landing at No. 100. Despite not making it into the Top 10 on the singles chart, the song was the catalyst that led to Ronstadt's second charting solo, the country-soul ballad "Long, Long Time" in 1970.
The girl left her pretty boy behind and never looked back.
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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 3:13 PM.