The Monkees

The Monkees (Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork) were pulled together in order to star in a successful comedy television show first aired on NBC in 1966.

The music for the series had been created by Don Kirschner and throughout the life of the band, many more esteemed songwriters added their input to The Monkees phenomenon, including Neil Diamond ("A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You") and Carole King ("Pleasant Valley Sunday"). As time progressed the members of the band addressed the criticism which was leveled at them and began to exert more of a creative contribution; initially they had only provided vocals, by the third album Headquarters they were writing and playing much of their own stuff.

Pressure mounted for the fictional Monkees to tour, and by the British tour in 1967, they were sufficiently proficient to do so.

The band began to fracture in 1968 when Tork quit, exacerbated by Nesmith leaving the group in 1970. Shortly after that Dolenz and Jones lost the rights to call themselves The Monkees although they continued to tour. The whole band toured and reformed off and on throughout the ongoing years to varying degrees of success as their previous fame ebbed and flowed. Their 11th album Justus (1996) was, at last, their chance to create a 100% Monkees product.

Dismissing them as 'manufactured', seems harsh. Many other bands and singers have performed other people's music, lacing it with their own efforts. The Monkees did so with a certain amount of charisma, energy and humor; as a result they are, most certainly, entertainers in their own right. They released six albums with the full line-up, four of which hit No.1 on the Billboard chart, and several of their singles have found their place in public affections including "I'm a Believer", "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", "Daydream Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville".