There’s an audience for everything.
Davy Jones
Today in 1968 was the final airing of the Monkees TV NBC television show.
The Monkees were a foursome who had answered the 1965 Hollywood Reporter ad “MADNESS FOLK & ROLL MUSICIANS, SINGERS WANTED FOR ACTING ROLES IN A NEW TV SHOW. PARTS FOR 4 INSANE BOYS.”
The Monkees story began in 1965 when producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider came up with an idea for a television series about a rock group. Inspired by Richard Lester’s groundbreaking comedies with the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!.
Rafelson and Schneider imagined a situation comedy in which a four-piece band had wacky adventures every week and occasionally burst into song.
The NBC television network liked the idea, and production began on The Monkees in early 1966. The Monkees premiered on NBC in September 1966. ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ debut singles was a No. 1 hit. The show won two Emmy Awards in 1967, propelling the four members to popularity. John Lennon nicknamed them “The Marx Brothers of Rock”.
The Monkees were not a band. It was a TV program about this band that wanted to be the Beatles. They represented all those aspiring musicians in their basements and garages playing and trying to make a living. That’s what the spirit of the show was about.
They modeled the show after The Beatles. Each of the four with a distinct identity to play. Dolenz (John Lennon) was the funny one, Nesmith (George Harrison) the bright and serious one, Tork (Ringo Starr) the naïve one, and Jones (Paul McCartney) the cute one.
At first, the group did not play their own instruments – they recorded their vocals over tracks recorded by a group of session musicians who played on many hits from the ‘60s. The turning point came in 1967 when they insisted on playing their own material and getting producer credit. Headquarters was the only Monkees album recorded with all four in the studio at the same time. On all the other albums each member recorded their part independently, and later the whole was mixed by engineers.
In 1967 The Monkees records outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. This was an impressive success in that 1967 saw The Beatles release of Sgt. Pepper and The Rolling Stones’ albums Between The Buttons and Their Satanic Majesties Request.
Tim Buckley and Frank Zappa both appeared on their TV show. Zappa was a serious fan and asked Dolenz to play in his group after they canceled their show.
Peter Tork played on George Harrison’s album Wonderwall. John Lennon when asked by Mike Nesmith, “Do you think we’re a cheap imitation of The Beatles, your movies and your records?” John replied, “I think you’re the greatest comic talents since the Marx Brothers. I’ve never missed one of your programs”.
THE MONKEES PREMIERED ON NBC IN SEPTEMBER 1966; THIS WAS JUST THE START OF THE MONKEES PHENOMENON. THE DEBUT SINGLE ‘LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE’ HAD BECOME A NUMBER ONE HIT A FEW WEEKS EARLIER.
The Monkees were the first group to capitalize on television and have songs composed for them by classic Brill Building artists (Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil, Harry Nilsson, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart, and Jeff Barry). Hits were ‘Last Train to Clarksville’, ‘Daydream Believer’, ‘A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You’, ‘I’m a Believer’ and ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’. The Monkees’ songs from standing the test of time and becoming classic guitar pop hits.
