Legendary Bands - The Monkees Posters

Drummer Micky Dolenz may have said it best: "The Monkees were a TV show that became a rock 'n' roll band." Originally conceived as a network sitcom about a fictional band, aping the style of Richard Lester's Help and A Hard Day's Night (with the Fab Four), the Monkees at least wanted to be the Beatles--and some people still feel that you can't strive any higher than that.

The four Monkees who eventually passed the screen test auditions all had musical backgrounds--Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork had both been heavily involved in the L.A. folk and rock scenes; Davy Jones was a musical theater performer who'd appeared in Oliver! on Broadway, and Dolenz was a child actor who became a fine enough drummer via the Monkees that Frank Zappa eventually asked him to drum with the Mothers. The group's first two LPs were basically "manufactured" by teen music mogul Don Kirshner--but by the time of their third release, the Monkees had wrestled for and won control of their music.

This writer saw the band perform twice--in 1966 and in 1996 (both times with Nesmith)--and contrary to popular belief, they really could play. They certainly had hip quotient during the early part of their career (they insisted on Hendrix opening for them; they gave Jack Nicholson his first big break; the Beatles praised them, etc., etc.)--and when you remove their music from the supposed "manufactured" image controversy, much of it remains perfect pop that has stood the test of time. (NOTE: Rhino Records released all of the band's albums on CD in 1984.)

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