Monkees

The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees'' television series, they were one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s. The band produced four chart-topping albums and three chart-topping songs (" Last Train to Clarksville", " I'm a Believer", and " Daydream Believer").

The Monkees were originally a fictional band created for the NBC television sitcom ''The Monkees''. Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork were cast to portray members of a band in the sitcom. Music credited to the Monkees appeared in the sitcom and was released on LPs and singles beginning in 1966, and the sitcom aired from 1966 to 1968. At first, the band members' musical contributions were primarily limited to lead vocals and the occasional composition, with the remaining music provided by professional songwriters and studio musicians. Though this arrangement yielded multiple hit albums and singles, the band members desired greater control over the creation of their music. Following a brief power struggle, the Monkees gained full control over the recording process in 1967. For two albums, the Monkees mostly performed as a group; however, within a year, each member was pursuing his own interests under the Monkees' name, rendering the Monkees once again a group in name only. With widespread allegations that the band members did not play their own instruments—followed by the cancellation of ''The Monkees'' TV series, diminishing success on the charts, and waning popularity overall—band members began to leave the group. The Monkees held a final recording session in 1970 before breaking up.

Renewed interest in the Monkees emerged in 1986, leading to a 20th anniversary reunion. Over the subsequent 35 years, the Monkees intermittently reunited for reunion tours, a major-network television special, and the production of new studio albums. After the deaths of Jones in 2012 and Tork in 2019, Dolenz and Nesmith undertook a farewell tour in 2021. This tour concluded shortly before Nesmith's death later that year, leaving Dolenz as the sole surviving member of the Monkees.

History

Conception and casting

The Monkees were formed in the mid-1960s in Los Angeles.

Aspiring filmmaker Bob Rafelson developed the initial idea for ''The Monkees'' in 1962 and tried selling it to Revue Productions, the television division of Universal Pictures, but was unsuccessful. In May 1964, while working at Screen Gems, Rafelson teamed up with Bert Schneider, whose father, Abraham Schneider, headed the Colpix Records and Screen Gems Television units of Columbia Pictures. Rafelson and Schneider ultimately formed Raybert Productions.Sandoval (2005), p. 18. The Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' and ''Help!'' inspired Rafelson and Schneider to revive Rafelson's idea for ''The Monkees''. As "Raybert Productions", they sold the show to Screen Gems Television on April 16, 1965.

Rafelson and Schneider's original idea was to cast an existing New York folk rock group, the Lovin' Spoonful, who were not widely known at the time. After those plans fell through, Rafelson and Schneider focused on Davy Jones. In September 1964, Jones had signed to a long-term contract to appear in TV programs for Screen Gems, to make feature films for Columbia Pictures and to record music for the Colpix label.Sandoval (2005), p. 19. His involvement with ''The Monkees'' was publicly announced on July 14, 1965.Sandoval (2005), p. 24. Jones had previously starred as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway theater show '' Oliver!''; for his work in ''Oliver!'', he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1963.Sandoval (2005), p. 16.

In September1965, ''Daily Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' ran advertisements to cast the remainder of the band/cast members for the TV show. The advertisements each read as follows:

Out of 437 applicants, the other three chosen for the cast of the TV show were Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz.

Dolenz, son of screen actor George Dolenz, had prior screen experience under the name "Mickey Braddock" as the 10-year-old star of the '' Circus Boy'' series in the 1950s. He was actively auditioning for pilots at the time and was told about the Raybert project by his agent.Sandoval (2005), p. 26.

Nesmith's mother, Bette Nesmith Graham, had invented a correction fluid and founded the company that became Liquid Paper. He had served a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force and had also recorded for Colpix under the name "Michael Blessing". He was the only one of The Monkees who had come for the audition based on seeing the trade magazine ad. He showed up to the audition with his laundry and impressed Rafelson and Schneider with his laid-back style and droll sense of humor. He also wore a woollen hat to keep his hair out of his eyes when he rode his motorcycle, leading to early promotional materials which nicknamed him "Wool Hat". The hat remained part of Nesmith's wardrobe, but the name was dropped after the pilot.

Tork was recommended to Rafelson and Schneider by friend Stephen Stills at his audition. Tork was a skilled multi-instrumentalist who had performed at various Greenwich Village folk clubs before moving west, where he worked as a busboy.

Early years

Developing the music for their debut album

During the casting process, Don Kirshner, Screen Gems' head of music, was contacted to secure music for ''The Monkees'' pilot. Kirshner's Brill Building firm Aldon Music had an extensive portfolio of songwriters, many in need of work after the British Invasion had reorganized the American music scene; while several Aldon writers contributed songs to the Monkees during their existence, the bulk of the songwriting for the group fell upon Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, two songwriters who were only beginning to break through to success at the time.Sandoval (2005), p. 27. Boyce and Hart contributed four demo recordings for the pilot.Sandoval (2005), p. 40. One of these recordings was "(Theme From) The Monkees", which helped get the series the green light.

NBC ordered 32 episodes of ''The Monkees'' on January 17, 1966.

When ''The Monkees'' was picked up as a series, development of the musical side of the project accelerated. Columbia–Screen Gems and RCA Victor entered into a joint venture called Colgems Records; the primary purpose of the venture was to distribute Monkees records.Sandoval (2005), p. 36. Raybert set up a rehearsal space and rented instruments for the group to practice playing in April 1966,Sandoval (2005), p. 84. but it quickly became apparent they would not be in shape in time for the series debut. The producers called upon Kirshner to recruit a producer for the Monkees' sessions.Sandoval (2005), p. 37.

Kirshner called on Snuff Garrett, composer of several hits by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, to produce the initial musical cuts for the show. Garrett, upon meeting the four Monkees in June 1966, decided that Jones would sing lead, a choice that was unpopular with the group. This cool reception led Kirshner to drop Garrett and buy out his contract.Sandoval (2005), p. 39.

Kirshner next allowed Nesmith to produce sessions, provided he did not play on any tracks he produced. Nesmith did, however, start using the other Monkees in his sessions; he especially used Tork as a guitarist. Kirshner came back to the enthusiastic Boyce and Hart to be the regular producers, but he brought in one of his top East Coast associates, Jack Keller, to lend some production experience to the sessions. Boyce and Hart quickly realized that, when together, the four actors fooled around and tried to crack each other up. Because of this, the producers often brought in each singer individually.Sandoval (2005), p. 46.

The Monkees' debut and second albums were meant to be a soundtrack to the first season of the TV show, to cash in on the audience. In the 2006 Rhino Deluxe Edition re-issue of their second album, '' More of the Monkees'', Nesmith stated that he was angered by the release of the first album because it portrayed the band as an actual rock-and-roll band and gave no credit to the other musicians involved in the project.

The Monkees' first single, " Last Train to Clarksville" b/w "Take a Giant Step", was released in August 1966, just weeks prior to the TV broadcast debut. In conjunction with the first broadcast of the television show on September 12, 1966, on the NBC television network, NBC and Columbia had a major hit on their hands. The single topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week ending November 5, 1966. The Monkees' debut album, ''The Monkees'', was released a month later; it spent 13 weeks at No. 1 and stayed on the Billboard charts for 78 weeks. Twenty years later, during their reunion, it spent another 24 weeks on the Billboard charts.

Live performances and touring

Pleased with their initial efforts, Columbia (over Kirshner's objections) planned to send the Monkees out to play live concerts. The massive success of the series—and its spin-off records—created intense pressure to mount a touring version of the group. Against the initial wishes of the producers, the band went out on the road and made their debut live performance in December 1966 in Hawaii.

The results of these live performances were far better than expected. Wherever they went, the group was greeted by scenes of fan adulation reminiscent of Beatlemania. This gave the singers increased confidence in their fight for control over the musical material chosen for the series.Baker (1986), pp. 5, 49, 43, 113.

Independence

Conflict with Kirshner

In early 1967, controversy concerning the Monkees' studio abilities arose. Dolenz told a reporter that the Wrecking Crew provided the backing tracks for the first two Monkees albums, and that his position as drummer was simply because a Monkee had to learn to play the drums, and he only knew the guitar. In the January 28, 1967, issue of ''Saturday Evening Post'' an article quoted Nesmith railing against the music creation process. "Do you know how debilitating it is to sit up and have to duplicate somebody else's records?" he asked. "Tell the world we don't record our own music."

The band members were displeased that the music publishing company would not allow them to play their own instruments on their records or to use more of their own material. These complaints intensified when Kirshner moved track recording from California to New York, leaving the band out of the musical process entirely until they were called upon to add their vocals to the completed tracks. Nesmith, when asked about the situation by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, said, "The V show'sproducers n Hollywoodbacked us and David went along. None of us could have fought the battles we did ith the music publisherswithout the explicit support of the show's producers".

On January 16, 1967, the Monkees held their first recording session as a fully functioning, self-contained band. The band recorded an early version of Nesmith's self-composed top 40 hit single "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", along with " All of Your Toys" and "She's So Far Out, She's In".Sandoval (2005), p. 82.

Also in January, Kirshner released the band's second album of songs that used session musicians, ''More of the Monkees'', without the band's knowledge. The Monkees were annoyed at not having even been told of the release in advance, at having their opinions on the track selection ignored, and at Kirshner's self-congratulatory liner notes. The band was also displeased because of the cover photo, which was a composite of photographs taken for a J.C. Penney clothing advertisement. Indeed, the Monkees were not even given a copy of the album; they had to buy it from a record store.

The climax of the conflict between Kirshner and the band was an intense argument among Nesmith, Kirshner and Colgems lawyer Herb Moelis, which took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel in January 1967. Kirshner had presented the group with royalty checks and gold records. Nesmith had responded with an ultimatum, demanding a change in the way the Monkees' music was chosen and recorded. Moelis reminded Nesmith that he was under contract. The confrontation ended with Nesmith punching a hole in a wall and saying, "That could have been your face!" However, each of the members, including Nesmith, accepted the $250,000 royalty checks.

Soon after, Colgems and the Monkees reached an agreement not to release material directly created by the group together with unrelated Kirshner-produced material. Kirshner immediately violated this agreement in early February 1967, when he released " A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", composed and written by Neil Diamond, as a single with an early version of "She Hangs Out", a song recorded in New York with Davy Jones's vocals, as the B-side. (This single was only released in Canada and was withdrawn after a couple of weeks.) Kirshner was consequently dismissed from the project.

Propelled by the band's second single, "I'm a Believer" b/w "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", ''More of the Monkees'' became the band's biggest-selling LP. The album spent 70 weeks on the Billboard charts, staying No. 1 for 18 weeks and becoming the third-highest-selling album of the 1960s. "I'm a Believer" was written by Neil Diamond. The Monkees' recording of the single hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966, remaining there for seven weeks. "I'm a Believer" became the biggest-selling single for all of 1967.

The Monkees' UK tour in 1967 received a chilly reception; the front pages of several UK and international music papers proclaimed that the group members did not always play their own instruments or sing the backing vocals in the studio. They were derisively dubbed the " Pre-Fab Four" and the ''Sunday Mirror'' called them a "disgrace to the pop world". However, George Harrison praised the Monkees' self-produced musical attempts. Peter Tork was later one of the musicians on Harrison's album ''Wonderwall Music'', playing Paul McCartney's five-string banjo. Nesmith attended the Beatles' recording session for " A Day in the Life" at Abbey Road Studios. At that time, he reportedly asked John Lennon, "Do you think we're a cheap imitation of the Beatles, your movies and your records?" Lennon replied, "I think you're the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers. I've never missed one of your programs".

''Headquarters'' and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.''

In February 1967, after Kirshner was dismissed as musical supervisor, Nesmith hired Chip Douglas to produce the Monkees' next album, ''Headquarters''.Sandoval (2005), p. 80. This album was the first on which the Monkees primarily played their own instruments, with exceptions for most bass and horn parts. Douglas handled music direction, engineered recordings, and played bass on most tracks. ''Headquarters'' and its follow-up, ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'', provided much of the music for the second season of the Monkees' television series.

In March 1967, "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", written by Nesmith and performed by Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork, and bassist John London, was released as the B-side to "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You". The A-side peaked at No. 2 on the charts, while the B-side reached No. 39.Sandoval (2005), p. 96.

Released in May 1967, ''Headquarters'' contained no U.S. singles but became the Monkees' third consecutive No. 1 album. With a country-folk-rock sound, the album reflected a departure from the pop style of their earlier works under Kirshner. According to Andrew Sandoval, the album topped the charts on May 24, 1967, but was displaced by the Beatles' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' the following week, holding the No. 2 spot for 11 weeks during the "Summer of Love". The track "Randy Scouse Git", written and sung by Dolenz, was released internationally as "Alternate Title" (owing to the controversial nature of its original title) and became a hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK and Norway.Sandoval (2005), p. 116.

Tork's "For Pete's Sake" was used as the closing theme for the Monkees' television show. Nesmith contributed songs like "Sunny Girlfriend", incorporating pedal steel guitar, and "You Told Me", with a banjo intro by Tork that parodied the Beatles' " Taxman".Sandoval (2005), p. 97. Other notable tracks included "You Just May Be the One", "Shades of Gray", "Forget that Girl", and "No Time". The band wrote six of the album's 12 tracks, along with two experimental pieces, "Band 6" and "Zilch".Sandoval (2005), p. 101.

The ''Los Angeles Times'' praised the album, stating, "The Monkees Upgrade Album Quality" and "The Monkees are getting better. ''Headquarters'' has more interesting songs and a better quality level han previous albums.. None of the tracks is a throwaway... The improvement trend is laudable."Sandoval (2005), p. 109.

The collaborative approach on ''Headquarters'' was short-lived. In the 2007 Rhino reissue of ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'', Nesmith said:

Everybody in the press and in the hippie movement had got us into their target window as being illegitimate and not worthy of consideration as a musical force rcertainly any kind of cultural force. We were under siege; wherever we went there was such resentment for us. We were constantly mocked and humiliated by the press. We were really gettin' beat up pretty good. We all knew what was going on inside. Kirshner had been purged. We'd gone to try to make ''Headquarters'' and found out that it was only marginally okay and that our better move was to just go back to the original songwriting and song-making strategy of the first albums except with a clear indication of how he musiccame to be... The rabid element and the hatred that was engendered is almost impossible to describe. It lingers to this day among people my own age.

Tork disagreed with Nesmith's assessment of ''Headquarters'', stating, "I don't think the ''Pisces'' album was as groovy to listen to as ''Headquarters''. Technically it was much better, but I think it suffers for that reason."Sandoval (2005), p. 142. Tork favored working as a unified band, but Dolenz soon lost interest in drumming. "Dolenz was 'incapable of repeating a triumph,'" Tork commented in a DVD release of the second season. Producer Chip Douglas noted Dolenz's drumming required extensive editing, calling it "shaky".Sandoval (2005), p. 108.

By late 1967, the band members pursued divergent musical directions. Nesmith gravitated toward country-rock, while Jones leaned into Broadway-style performances. ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'', released in November 1967, marked a return to heavy use of session musicians, including the Wrecking Crew, Louie Shelton, Glen Campbell, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young. Despite this, the Monkees retained creative control over song selection and production.

''Pisces'' was their fourth consecutive No. 1 album, holding the top spot for five weeks. The album featured hits like "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (No. 3) and "Words" (No. 11).Sandoval (2005), p. 302. It also included early use of the Moog synthesizer on tracks like "Daily Nightly" and "Star Collector". Nesmith's "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" became a milestone in the development of country-rock.Sandoval (2005), p. 118. Nesmith reflected, ""One of the things that I really felt was honest was country-rock. I wanted to move the Monkees more into that because ... if we get closer to country music, we'll get closer to blues, and country blues, and so forth. ... It had a lot of un-country things in it: a familiar change from a I major to a VI minor—those kinds of things. So it was a little kind of a new wave country song. It didn't sound like the country songs of the time, which was Buck Owens."

Their next single, "Daydream Believer", with a piano intro by Tork, reached No. 1. Its B-side, " Goin' Down", featured Nesmith and Tork on guitars and Dolenz on lead vocals. The Monkees simultaneously held No. 1 positions on the singles and album charts.Sandoval (2005), p. 143.

Both ''Headquarters'' and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' returned to the charts during the Monkees' 1986 reunion, remaining there for 17 weeks.

''The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees''

No longer desiring to work as a group, the Monkees dropped Chip Douglas as a producer, and starting in November 1967, they largely produced their own sessions. Although credited to the whole band, the songs were mostly solo efforts.Sandoval (2005), p. 148. In a couple of cases, Boyce and Hart had returned from the first two albums to produce, but credit was given to the Monkees due to contractual requirements.Sandoval (2005), p. 152.

Propelled by the hit singles "Daydream Believer" and " Valleri", along with Nesmith's self-penned top 40 hit "Tapioca Tundra", '' The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees'' reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts shortly after it was released in April 1968.Sandoval (2005), p. 183. It was the first album released after NBC announced they were not renewing ''The Monkees'' for a third season. The album cover—a quaint collage of items in a knickknack shelf—was chosen over the Monkees' objections. It was the last Monkees' album to be released in separate, dedicated mono and stereo mixes. During the 1986 reunion, it returned to the Billboard charts for 11 weeks.

Beyond television and ''Head''

''The Monkees'' was cancelled in 1968.

Also in 1968, the Monkees starred in ''Head'', an American satirical musical adventure film written and produced by Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson and directed by Rafelson.

The plot and peak moments of the film came together at an Ojai, California, resort where the Monkees, Rafelson, and Nicholson brainstormed into a tape recorder, reportedly with the aid of a quantity of marijuana. Nicholson then took the tapes and used them as the basis for his screenplay, which according to Rafelson he structured while under the influence of LSD. When the band learned that they would not be allowed to direct themselves or to receive screenwriting credit, Dolenz, Jones, and Nesmith staged a one-day walkout, leaving Tork the only Monkee on the set the first day. The strike ended after the first day when the studio agreed to a larger percentage share of the film's net for the group, but the incident damaged the Monkees' relationship with Rafelson and Bert Schneider and would effectively end their professional relationship with the producers.

The film was the antithesis of ''The Monkees'' television show. Rafelson and Nicholson's "Ditty Diego-War Chant" (recited at the start of the film by the group) ruthlessly parodies Boyce and Hart's "Monkees Theme". A sparse advertising campaign (with no mention of the Monkees) hurt any chances of the film doing well, and it played briefly in half-filled theaters. In the DVD commentary, Nesmith said that everyone associated with the Monkees "had gone crazy" by this time. They were each using the platform of the Monkees to push their own disparate career goals, to the detriment of the Monkees project. Nesmith added that ''Head'' was Rafelson and Nicholson's intentional effort to "kill" the Monkees, so that they would no longer be bothered with the matter.Sandoval (2005), p. 219.

A poor audience response at an August 1968 screening in Los Angeles forced the producers to edit the picture from its original 110-minute length. The 86-minute ''Head'' premiered in New York City on November 6, 1968; the film later debuted in Hollywood on November 20. It was not a commercial success. This was in part because ''Head'' comprehensively demolished the group's carefully groomed public image while the counterculture audience they had been reaching for rejected the Monkees' efforts out of hand. Receiving mixed critical reviews and virtually non-existent box office receipts, the film succeeded in alienating the band's teenage fanbase while failing to attract a more adult audience. Rafelson and Schneider severed all ties to the band amid the bitterness that ensued over the commercial failure of ''Head''. At the time, Rafelson told the press, "I grooved on those four in very special ways while at the same time thinking they had absolutely no talent."

The film's soundtrack album reached No. 45 on the Billboard chartsSandoval (2005), p. 210. and No. 24 in Canada. ''PopMatters'' described ''Head'' as "a hypnogogic hallucination of a 60's pop record" whose composition encompassed musique concrète pieces and six new songs in the genres of psychedelic, Broadway and lo-fi rock. It was the first Monkees album to not include a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. AllMusic review/ref> Some of the album showcases the songwriting skills of band members, particularly Tork, whose acid rock song "Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?" and the "Eastern-flavored" song "Can You Dig It?" were described by ''AllMusic'' as being "not only among the best of the six original compositions on the soundtrack, but also among his finest Monkees offerings, period."

The album had a mylar cover to give it a mirror-like appearance, so that the person looking at the cover would see his own head, a play on the album title ''Head''. Peter Tork said, "That was something special... ackNicholson coordinated the record, made it up from the soundtrack. He made it different from the movie. There's a line in the movie where rankZappa says, 'That's pretty white.' Then there's another line in the movie that was not juxtaposed in the movie, but Nicholson put them together in the oundtrack album when Mike says, 'And the same thing goes for Christmas'... that's funny... very different from the movie... that was very important and wonderful that he assembled the record differently from the movie... It was a different artistic experience."Sandoval (2005), p. 204.

Released in October 1968, the single from the album, "The Porpoise Song", is a psychedelic pop song written by Goffin and King, with lead vocals from Micky Dolenz and backing vocals from Davy Jones, and it reached No. 62 on the Billboard chartsSandoval (2005), p. 207. and No. 26 on the Canadian RPM charts.

''Head'' developed a cult following. In 2013, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album at number 25 in their list of "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time".

Later years and separation

Tork's resignation, ''Instant Replay'' and ''The Monkees Present''

Tensions within the group were increasing. Tork, citing exhaustion, quit the band by buying out the last four years of his Monkees contract at $150,000 per year. Tork departed shortly after the band's September–October Far East tour in December 1968 and after the band completed work on their 1969 NBC television special, '' 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee'' (which rehashed many of the ideas from ''Head'', only with the Monkees playing a strangely second-string role). In the DVD commentary for the television special, Dolenz noted that after filming was complete, Nesmith gave Tork a gold watch as a going-away present, engraved "From the guys down at work." Most of the songs from the ''33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee'' TV Special were not officially released until over 40 years later, on the 2010 and 2011 Rhino Handmade Deluxe boxed sets of ''Head'' and ''Instant Replay''.

In February 1969, the Monkees' seventh album, ''Instant Replay,'' without Tork's involvement beyond playing guitar on "I Won't Be the Same Without Her", was released, which reached No. 32 on the charts,Sandoval (2005), p. 226. and No. 45 in Canada. The single from the album was " Tear Drop City", which peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. Billboard chart, No. 27 on the Canadian chart, and No. 34 on the Australian chart.Sandoval (2005), p. 227. According to Rhino Handmade's 2011 Deluxe Edition reissue of this album, Davy Jones told ''Melody Maker'', "Half of the songs were recorded over the last three years, but there are also about six new ones." The Monkees wanted to please the original 1966 fans by offering up new recordings of some previously unreleased older styled songs, as well as gain a new audience with what they considered a more mature sound. Nesmith continued in his country-rock vein after offering straight ahead rock and experimental songs on the two prior albums.

Dolenz contributed the biggest and longest Monkees' production, "Shorty Blackwell", a song celebrating his cat.Sandoval (2005), p. 161. Dolenz called it his "feeble attempt at something to do with ''Sgt. Pepper.''" Jones contributed an electric guitar rocker, "You and I". Both Jones and Dolenz continued their role of singing on the pop songs. Lyrically, it has a theme of being one of the Monkees' most melancholy albums.

Throughout 1969 the trio appeared as guests on television programs such as '' The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'', '' The Johnny Cash Show'', ''Hollywood Squares'', and ''Laugh-In'' (Jones had also appeared on ''Laugh-In'' separate from the group). The Monkees also had a contractual obligation to appear in several television commercials with Bugs Bunny for Kool-Aid drink mix as well as Post cereal box singles.

In April 1969, the single "Someday Man" b/w "Listen to the Band" was released,Sandoval (2005), p. 253. which had the unique distinction of the B-side, a Nesmith-composed country-rock song, charting higher (No. 63) than the Jones-sung A-side (No. 81). In Canada, "Someday Man" was No. 74 and "Listen to the Band" reached No. 53.

The final album with Michael Nesmith from the Monkees' original incarnation was their eighth album, '' The Monkees Present'', released in October 1969, which peaked at No. 100 on the Billboard charts. It included the Nesmith composed country-rock singles "Listen to the Band" and "Good Clean Fun" (released in September 1969)Sandoval (2005), p. 251.(No. 80 Canada). Other notable songs include the Dolenz composition "Little Girl", which featured Louie Shelton on electric guitar, joining Micky on acoustic guitar,Sandoval (2005), p. 249. along with "Mommy and Daddy" (B-side to the "Good Clean Fun" single) in which he sang about America's treatment of the Native Americans and drug abuse, and in an earlier take, released on Rhino Handmade's 2011 Deluxe Edition of ''Instant Replay'', sang about JFK's assassination and the Vietnam war.

In the summer of 1969, the three remaining Monkees embarked on a tour with the backing of the soul band Sam and the Goodtimers. Concerts for this tour were longer sets than their earlier performances tours, with many shows running over two hours. Although the tour was met with some positive critical reception (''Billboard'' in particular praised it), other critics were not favorable of the mixing of the Monkees' pop music with the Goodtimers' R&B approach. Toward the end of the tour, some dates were canceled due to poor ticket sales. The tour failed to re-establish the band commercially, with no single entering the Top 40 in 1969. Dolenz remarked that the tour "was like kicking a dead horse. The phenomenon had peaked".

Nesmith's resignation, ''Changes'' and disbandment

On April 14, 1970, Nesmith joined Dolenz and Jones for the last time as part of the original incarnation of the Monkees to film a Kool-Aid commercial. The commercial featured the trio throwing Nerf balls around a mock living room.Sandoval (2005), p. 267. Nesmith left the group to continue recording songs with his own country-rock group called Michael Nesmith & the First National Band, which he had started recording with on February 10, 1970.Sandoval (2005), p. 263.

Nesmith's departure left Dolenz and Jones to record the bubblegum pop album ''Changes'' as the ninth and final album by the Monkees released during its original incarnation. By this time, Colgems was hardly putting any effort into the project, and they sent Dolenz and Jones to New York for the ''Changes'' sessions, to be produced by Jeff Barry. In comments for the liner notes of the 1994 re-release of ''Changes'', Jones said that he felt they had been tricked into recording an "Andy Kim album" under the Monkees name. The album spawned the single "Oh My My" (US #98), which was accompanied by a music film promo (produced/directed by Dolenz). Dolenz contributed one of his own compositions, "Midnight Train", which was used in the re-runs of the Monkees TV series. The "Oh My My" b/w "I Love You Better" single from the ''Changes'' album was the last single issued under the Monkees name in the United States until 1986.Sandoval (2005), p. 266. Originally released in June 1970,Sandoval (2005), p. 270. ''Changes'' failed to chart in Billboard's Top 200 until the Monkees' 1986 reunion, when it stayed on the charts for four weeks (reaching #152).

September 22, 1970 marked the final recording session by the Monkees before the band broke up. On that date, Jones and Dolenz recorded "Do It in the Name of Love" and "Lady Jane".Sandoval (2005), p. 276. The single was not mixed until February 19, 1971, and was released later that year as a single. The two remaining Monkees then lost the rights to use the name in several countries, the U.S. included. The single was not credited to the Monkees in the U.S., but to a misspelled "Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones", although in Japan it was issued under the Monkees' name.

Both Jones and Dolenz pursued careers as solo artists in the years following the original breakup of the Monkees. However, Jones and Dolenz also toured as a duo in the 1970s.

Reunions and revivals

Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart

With repeats of the television series ''The Monkees'' airing on Saturday mornings and in syndication, the group once again appeared on the charts in 1976 with '' The Monkees Greatest Hits''. The LP, issued by Arista Records (who by this time had possession of the Monkees' master tapes courtesy of their corporate owner, Screen Gems), was actually a re-packaging of an earlier (1972) compilation LP called ''Refocus'' that had been issued by Arista's previous label imprint, Bell Records.

A Christmas single (credited to Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork for legal reasons) was produced by Chip Douglas and released on his own label in 1976. The single featured Douglas' and Howard Kaylan's " Christmas Is My Time of Year" (originally recorded by a 1960s group Christmas Spirit), with a B-side of Irving Berlin's " White Christmas" (Douglas released a remixed version of the single, with additional overdubbed instruments, in 1986). This was the first (albeit unofficial) Monkees single since 1971.

In a 1977 interview, Nesmith falsely claimed that the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in 1967. This inaccurate information was later repeated in newspapers and magazines.

1980s renaissance

Initially dismissed by critics in the late 1960s as a fabricated and talentless pop group, The Monkees experienced a significant resurgence in critical and commercial popularity during the mid-1980s. This revival was catalyzed by a marathon of their original television series, titled "Pleasant Valley Sunday", broadcast on MTV on February 23, 1986. Simultaneously, Nickelodeon began daily reruns of the show, reintroducing the band to a new generation. These promotional efforts sparked a resurgence of "Monkeemania", leading to a successful concert tour that expanded from smaller venues to becoming one of the most prominent live acts of 1986 and 1987.

The initial spark of the reunion occurred in February and March 1986, when Peter Tork and Davy Jones performed together in Australia. In May 1986, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork announced their "20th Anniversary Tour", which began in North America in June. The tour's success prompted additional performances in Australia, Europe, and North America, culminating in September 1989. These tours solidified the band's renewed status in popular culture.

The Monkees' original albums saw renewed sales, complemented by the release of a new greatest hits compilation, which achieved platinum certification. The success of the band during this period led to the release of their first single since 1971, " That Was Then, This Is Now". The track reached No. 20 on Billboard magazine's charts. However, Davy Jones declined to participate in recording the track and two other new songs included in the compilation album '' Then & Now... The Best of The Monkees''. Some releases credited the songs to "The Monkees", while others specified "Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (of The Monkees)," creating friction among the group members during their 1986 tour. Jones often exited the stage when these songs were performed. Despite the tension, Jones contributed to the band's follow-up album, '' Pool It!'' (1987).

To promote ''Pool It!'', Rhino Records released "Heart and Soul: The Official Monkee Videography", featuring contemporary music videos, interviews, and additional content.

During the 1980s revival, Nesmith made several notable appearances with the band, but remained largely absent due to commitments with his Pacific Arts video production company. He did not contribute to any of the Monkees' studio recordings during this period.

1990s reunions

The Monkees' eleventh album '' Justus'' was released in 1996. It was the first album since 1968 on which all four original members performed and produced, and it would be the last studio album in which all four Monkees directly participated (Jones's death would necessitate the use of archival recordings on later albums). ''Justus'' was produced by the Monkees, and all of its songs were written by one or two of the four Monkees. The album was recorded using only the four Monkees for all instruments and vocals, which was the inspiration for the album title and spelling (''Justus'' = Just Us).

The trio of Dolenz, Jones, and Tork reunited again for a successful 30th anniversary tour of American amphitheaters in 1996. Nesmith joined them onstage in Los Angeles to promote the new songs from ''Justus''. For the first time since the brief 1986 reunion, Nesmith returned to the concert stage for a tour of the United Kingdom in 1997, highlighted by two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in Wembley Park, London. In 1967, the Monkees had been the first group to headline on their own at the Empire Pool, as the Arena was then called. This was followed by a 1997 US tour featuring Tork, Jones, and Dolenz.

The full quartet also appeared in an ABC television special entitled '' Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees'', which was written and directed by Nesmith and spoofed the original series that had made them famous. Following the UK tour, Nesmith declined to continue future performances with the Monkees. Nesmith's departure from the tour was acrimonious. Jones was quoted by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as complaining that Nesmith "made a new album with us. He toured Great Britain with us. Then all of a sudden, he's not here. Later, I hear rumors he's writing a script for our next movie. Oh, really? That's bloody news to me. He's always been this aloof, inaccessible person... the fourth part of the jigsaw puzzle that never quite fit in."

2000s reunions

After the 1997 tours, the group took another hiatus until they once again reunited in 2001 to tour the United States. However, this tour was also accompanied by public sniping. Dolenz and Jones had announced that they had "fired" Tork for his constant complaining and threatening to quit. Tork was quoted as confirming this, as well as stating that he wanted to tour with his own band, Shoe Suede Blues. Tork told WENN News that he "couldn't handle the backstage problems"; he added that because he was a recovering alcoholic, he was troubled by the overindulgence in alcohol by other members of the tour crew. Tork later stated in 2011 that alcohol played only a small role in his 2001 departure. He added, "I take full responsibility for the backstage problems on the 2001 tour. We were getting along pretty well until I had a meltdown. I ticked the other guys off good and proper... I really just behaved inappropriately, honestly. I apologized to them."

Jones and Dolenz went on to tour the United Kingdom in 2002, but Tork declined to participate. Jones and Dolenz toured the United States one more time as a duo in 2002, and then split to concentrate on their own individual projects. With different Monkees citing different reasons, the group chose not to mark their 40th anniversary in 2006.

45th anniversary tour and Jones's death

'' An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour'' (without Nesmith) commenced on May 12, 2011, in Liverpool, England, before moving to North America in June and July for a total of 43 performances. Monkees biographer Andrew Sandoval noted, "Once they hit the stage, the old magic was apparent. For the next three months... hey broughtthe music and memories to fans in the band's grandest stage show in decades". The tour grossed approximately $4 million.

On August 8, 2011, the band canceled ten last-minute shows due to what was initially reported as "internal group issues and conflicts", though Tork later confirmed "there were some business affairs that couldn't be coordinated correctly. We hit a glitch and there was just this weird dislocation at one point".

Jones clarified that "the (45th Anniversary) tour was only supposed to go until July. And it was great, the best time we've had because we're all on the same page now. We jelled onstage and off. But then more dates were being added. And more... Some of these shows were 2 hours long... The audiences were great. But, let's face it, we're not kids."

The 45th anniversary tour was the last Monkees tour with Jones, who died of a heart attack at age 66 on February 29, 2012.

Reunion with Nesmith

On August 8, 2012, the surviving trio announced a series of U.S. shows for November and December, commencing in Escondido, California and concluding in New York City. The brief tour marked the first time Nesmith performed with the Monkees since 1997. Jones's memory was honored throughout the shows via recordings and video. During one point, the band went quiet and a recording of Jones singing "I Wanna Be Free" played while footage of him was screening behind the band. For Jones's signature song, "Daydream Believer", Dolenz said that the band had discussed who should sing the song and had concluded that it should be the fans, saying "It doesn't belong to us anymore. It belongs to you."

The fall 2012 tour was very well received by both fans and critics, resulting in the band's scheduling a 24-date summer tour for 2013. Dubbed "A Midsummer's Night with the Monkees", the concerts also featured Nesmith, Dolenz, and Tork. "The reaction to the last tour was euphoric", Dolenz told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. "It was pretty apparent there was a demand for another one." A third tour with Nesmith followed in 2014.

In March 2014, the Monkees were inducted into the Pop Music Hall of Fame.

''Good Times!'' and 50th anniversary

Dolenz and Tork toured as the Monkees in 2015 without Nesmith's participation. Nesmith stated that he was busy with other ventures, although Dolenz said that he was welcome to join them.

In February 2016, Dolenz announced that the Monkees would be releasing a new album, titled '' Good Times!'', as a celebration of their 50th anniversary. ''Good Times!'' featured contributions by all three surviving members, as well as a posthumous contribution from Jones through vocals he had recorded in the 1960s. The album was released in May 2016 to considerable success, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and receiving generally favorable reviews.

With the release of the album, the band, featuring Dolenz and Tork, commenced their 50th anniversary tour. Nesmith did not participate in most of the tour, again citing other commitments. He did, however, make a few appearances throughout the summer of 2016, appearing virtually via Skype to perform "Papa Gene's Blues" at one concert and in person for a four-song encore at another. In September, he replaced Tork on the tour for two dates while Tork attended to a family emergency. After Tork returned to the tour, Nesmith performed with the band for a concert at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on September 16.

The Mike and Micky Show, ''Christmas Party'', and Tork's death

On February 20, 2018, a new tour was announced as "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show", their first tour as a duo; Tork was unable to participate due to health problems (a fact that was not revealed until after his death). Though the pair played Monkees music and promoted the tour under the Monkees banner, Dolenz and Nesmith respected Tork's absence by insisting that the shows be billed as a separate duo rather than being billed as official Monkees shows. Nesmith stated, "There's no pretense there about Micky and I being the Monkees. We're not."

The tour was cut short in June 2018 due to Nesmith undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery following a health issue that had persisted since early in the tour. After a month-long stay in the hospital, he and Dolenz announced March 2019 as make-up dates for the missed shows, and the tour was later extended to include Australia and New Zealand.

The Monkees released a Christmas album, '' Christmas Party'', on October 12, 2018. The album features a mix of holiday standards and original songs written by contemporary artists. In addition to newly recorded material from the three surviving Monkees, two previously recorded songs featuring vocals from Jones were also included.

Tork died of cancer on February 21, 2019.

''Dolenz Sings Nesmith'', farewell tour, and Nesmith's death

In May 2021, Dolenz released a solo album, ''Dolenz Sings Nesmith'', featuring songs written by Nesmith and produced by Christian Nesmith.

Following the success of the Mike and Micky Show, Dolenz and Nesmith announced a follow-up tour, An Evening with the Monkees, to begin in early 2020. The tour was delayed, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced on May 4, 2021 that the rescheduled dates would be billed as a farewell tour. "The Monkees Farewell Tour" consisted of over 40 dates in the US from September to November; because of restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they were unable to play shows in Canada, the UK or Australia. The final date and final show for the Monkees Farewell Tour was held on November 14, 2021, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Nesmith died of heart failure on December 10, 2021, less than a month after the final date of the 2021 tour. Nesmith's death left Dolenz as the only surviving member of the Monkees.

Micky Dolenz

In early 2022, Dolenz announced that he would embark on a series of April 2022 concert dates called the "Micky Dolenz Celebrates the Monkees 2022 Tour".

Impact and legacy

The Monkees were selected specifically to appeal to the youth market as American television's response to the Beatles. Andrew Sandoval wrote the following in ''The Hollywood Reporter'':

The ''Chicago Tribune'' interviewed Davy Jones, who said, "We touched a lot of musicians, you know. I can't tell you the amount of people that have come up and said, 'I wouldn't have been a musician if it hadn't been for the Monkees.' It baffles me even now".

The Monkees found unlikely fans among musicians of the punk rock period of the mid-1970s. Many of these punk performers had grown up on TV reruns of the series, and sympathized with the anti-industry, anti-establishment trend of their career. Sex Pistols and Minor Threat both recorded versions of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and it was often played live by Toy Love. Japanese new wave pop group the Plastics recorded a synthesizer and drum-machine version of "Last Train to Clarksville" for their 1979 album ''Welcome Back''.

Glenn A. Baker, author of ''Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees'', described the Monkees as "rock's first great embarrassment" in 1986:

Like an illegitimate child in a respectable family, the Monkees are destined to be regarded forever as rock's first great embarrassment; misunderstood and maligned like a mongrel at a ritzy dog show, or a test tube baby at the Vatican... The fact was ignored that session players were being heavily employed by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds and other titans of the age. However, what could ''not'' be ignored, as rock disdained its pubescent past, was a group of middle-aged Hollywood businessmen had actually assembled their concept of a profitable rock group and foisted it upon the world. What mattered was that the Monkees had success handed to them on a silver plate.

'' Mediaite'' columnist Paul Levinson noted that "The Monkees were the first example of something created in a medium—in this case, a rock group on television—that jumped off the screen to have big impact in the real world."

When commenting on the death of Jones on February 29, 2012, ''Time'' magazine contributor James Poniewozik praised the television show, saying the following:

... even if the show never meant to be more than entertainment and a hit-single generator, we shouldn't sell ''The Monkees'' short. It was far better TV than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure. Whatever Jones and the Monkees were meant to be, they became creative artists in their own right, and Jones' chipper Brit-pop presence was a big reason they were able to produce work that was commercial, wholesome and yet impressively weird.

The band released four chart-topping albums and three chart-topping songs ("Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer"), and sold at least 21 million records in the US. In fact, the band's four number one albums all reached the top of the charts in 1967. As of 2021, no other band has had four number one albums in the same calendar year.

In popular culture

The Criterion Collection, which has a stated goal to release "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films, ndhas been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements" recognized the Monkees' film ''Head'' as meeting their criteria when they fully restored and released it on DVD and Blu-ray in 2010. They stated that ''Head'' was "way, way ahead of its time" and "arguably the most authentically psychedelic film made in 1960s Hollywood". ''Head'' dodged commercial success on its release but has since been reclaimed as one of the great cult objects of its era."

In the book ''Hey, Hey We're The Monkees'', Rafelson wrote that, with ''Head'', he explored unprecedented cinematic techniques, including filming actors underwater, the use of polarization, and inventing "double-matte experiences". "When it was shown in France, the head of the Cinematheque overly praised the movie as a cinematic masterpiece, and from that point on, this movie began to acquire an underground reputation."
In 2010, Nick Vernier Band created a digital "Monkees reunion" through the release of '' Mister Bob (featuring the Monkees),'' a new song produced under license from Rhino Entertainment, containing vocal samples from the band's recording "Zilch".
The contract bridge convention known as either Last Train or Last Train to Clarksville was so named by its inventor, Jeff Meckstroth, after the Monkees' song.

Comic books

A comic book series, ''The Monkees'', was published in the United States by Dell Comics, which ran for 17 issues from 1967 to 1969.

In the United Kingdom, a ''Daily Mirror'' "Crazy Cartoon Book" featured four comic stories as well as four photos of the Monkees, all in black and white; it was published in 1967.

Biopic

In 2000, VH-1 produced the television biopic '' Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story''. In 2002, the movie was released on DVD and featured both commentaries and interviews with Dolenz, Jones and Tork. The aired version did differ from the DVD release, as the TV version had an extended scene with all four Monkees meeting the Beatles, but with a shortened Cleveland concert segment. It was also available on VHS.

Musical

A stage musical opened in the UK at the Manchester Opera House on Friday March 30, 2012, and was dedicated to Davy Jones (the Jones family attended the official opening on April 3). The production is a Jukebox musical and starred Stephen Kirwan, Ben Evans, Tom Parsons and Oliver Savile as actors playing the parts of the Monkees (respectively Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith, Tork) who are hired by an unscrupulous businessman to go on a world tour pretending to be the real band. The show includes 18 Monkees songs plus numbers by other 60s artists. It ran in Manchester as part of the "Manchester Gets it First" program until April 14, 2012, before a UK tour. Following its Manchester run, the show appeared in the Glasgow King's Theatre and the Sunderland Empire Theatre.

Awards and achievements

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. It shares recognition of the music industry as that of the other performance arts: Emmy Awards (television), the Tony Awards (stage performance), and the Academy Awards (motion pictures).

Notable achievements

* Gave the Jimi Hendrix Experience their first U.S. concert tour exposure as an opening act in July 1967.
* Inspired Gene Roddenberry to introduce the character of Chekov in his ''Star Trek'' TV series in response to the popularity of Davy Jones, complete with hairstyle and appearance mimicking that of Jones.
* Inducted into America's Pop Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
* Honored by the Music Business Association (Music Biz) with an Outstanding Achievement Award celebrating the band's 50th anniversary on May 16, 2016.
* Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2007.

Controversies

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Various magazines and news outlets, such as ''Time'', NPR, '' Goldmine'', Yahoo! Music and MSNBC have argued that the Monkees belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1992, Davy Jones told ''People'' that he knew the Monkees would never make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In June 2007, Peter Tork complained to the ''New York Post'' that Jann Wenner had " blackballed" the Monkees from being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tork contended that Wenner held a grudge against the Monkees because the band members did not always write their own songs or play their own instruments during their early years.

Members

* Micky Dolenz – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards (1966–1971, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001–2002, 2011–2021)
* Davy Jones – lead and backing vocals, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards (1966–1971, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001–2002, 2011–2012; died 2012)
* Michael Nesmith – lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, backing and lead vocals (1966–1970, 1986, 1989, 1996–1997, 2012–2014, 2016, 2018–2021; died 2021)
* Peter Tork – bass, rhythm and lead guitars, keyboards, banjo, backing and occasional lead vocals (1966–1968, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001, 2011–2018; died 2019)

Timeline

Discography

* ''The Monkees'' (1966)
* '' More of the Monkees'' (1967)
* ''Headquarters'' (1967)
* '' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' (1967)
* '' The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees'' (1968)
* ''Head'' (1968)
* ''Instant Replay'' (1969)
* '' The Monkees Present'' (1969)
* ''Changes'' (1970)
* '' Pool It!'' (1987)
* '' Justus'' (1996)
* '' Good Times!'' (2016)
* '' Christmas Party'' (2018)

See also

* List of ''The Monkees'' episodes
* Monkeemobile

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

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Mike Nesmith Interview - ''Rocker Magazine'' 2013

Peter Tork Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2009)

FBI Records: The Vault - The Monkees
at vault.fbi.gov

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