| The Monkees were the brainchild of television producers Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, who decided to emulate the zany, madcap humor of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" for the small screen. In September 1965, they placed in ad in Variety for four "folk & rock musicians" to appear in a TV series. Over 400 applied for the job, including Stephen Stills and Harry Nilsson, but as it turned out only one of the four winners, guitarist and songwriter Michael Nesmith, actually saw the ad. Micky Dolenz (who would play drums), Davy Jones (who would sing), and Peter Tork (bass) found out about the opportunity from other sources. Nesmith and Tork had experience in the folk scene; Dolenz and Jones were primarily actors (although Nesmith and Jones had already made some obscure solo recordings). The TV show was a big hit with young audiences between 1966 and 1968, with slapstick comedy, super-fast editing, and thin plots that could be banded together by almost surreal humor. In September of 1966 the Monkees' debut single "Last Train to Clarksville" became their first big hit, reaching number one, as did the follow-up, "I'm a Believer." After a two year hot streak filled with several more hit singles and albums the show came to an end and in the fall "Head" was released. The movie "Head" was a messy, indulgent, occasionally inspired piece of drug-addled weirdness that was co-written and co-produced by Jack Nicholson (before he had broken through to stardom with Easy Rider). The critics savaged it and them and their gig was over. Surprisingly, it was not Nesmith, but Tork who was the first to leave the group, at the end of 1968. They carried on as a trio, releasing a couple of fairly dismal albums in 1969, as well as producing a little-seen TV special. By the end of the '60s, Nesmith — who had established his credentials as a songwriter with "Different Drum," which was taken into the Top 20 by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys — was also gone, to start a lengthy solo career that finally allowed him to stretch out as a serious artist. That left only Dolenz and Jones, who fulfilled the Monkees contract with the pointless "Changes" in 1970. In the early 1980's the up and coming label Rhino Records licensed and released the entire Monkee's catalogue. The overwhelming response helped Rhino become a major player in the music market. In 1986 MTV marked the Monkees 20th anniversary with a marathon of their shows. The unexpected success led to a reunion of Dolenz, Tork and Jones for a 3-month tour. That resulted in the release of a brand new recording. The 12" single of "That Was Then...This Is Now" was a first rate dance floor treat. The trio went on to record two new albums but no further dance floor tracks. Nesmith (owner of the video company Pacific Arts) joined them on stage in 1989 for a full reunion. Nesmith's mother invented "White-Out" (Liquid Paper) so money has never been a driving force for him. The others, probably motivated by money, continually pop-up in various projects such as movie cameos, guest recordings and oldies concerts. |
