Four stylish young lads, spearheaded by a voice quintessential of the sixties British Invasion, sang about love and life. Unmistakably colourful in appearance, they were full of personality –- almost as if that was the point. Alas, I’m not talking about the Beatles, nor the Rolling Stones. They’re the Monkees, and they were made for television.
As a band and a concept, they are singular. No group put together for the small screen was ever as musically successful, earning the admiration of the ‘Fab Four’ they were designed to mimic. They even broke free of their corporate shackles, but not before delivering a highly popular, artistically brilliant television series and several great albums.
Their story begins in Hollywood. Soon-to-be teen idol Davy Jones was the first face set upon by filmmaker Bob Rafelson and producer Bert Schneider to construct their new band, but his voice was perhaps his greatest quality. American rock ‘n’ roll icons of the fifties had fallen off in circumstances varying from tragic to depraved. In a scene to some extent dominated by British mavericks, Jones, from Manchester, had a quintessentially English voice that fitted right in.
“Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21,” read the magazine advertisements.
Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, all Americans, completed the bill. Dolenz, cast as the drummer, and Jones would mostly split the lead vocal part. In October 1966 came their first single, the hit ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, shortly followed by their self-named first album.
The Monkees would be the first of four consecutive chart-toppers in America. Its spot was taken after thirteen weeks by More of the Monkees, often regarded as their best work. It features successive classic songs, even a couple written or co-written by Nesmith – given the way they were put together, little of their music during their television run was self-composed. A host of prominent songwriters, including Neil Diamond, wrote songs for them.
Instrumentation was to a large extent provided by the Wrecking Crew, a now-iconic group of backing musicians. They included legendary bassist Carol Kaye, one of the most prolific in history. The Wrecking Crew also played on records by the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys, and many others.
This outsourcing was not up to the Monkees, who lacked autonomy despite being proficient musicians. The band desired more artistic control, with the support of Rafelson and Schneider. A hole in a hotel room wall, the work of Nesmith’s fist, highlighted this struggle.
A couple of albums later came November 1967’s pop and psychedelic rock masterpiece Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. By this time the band had won its artistic liberty, but nonetheless made use of session musicians – common practice for many great bands.
Among the spate of addictively catchy songs about love and youthful freedom, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ stands out for its social commentary. Written for the Monkees by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, it bemoans a conformist, monotonous, overly materialistic American suburban lifestyle:
“Rows of houses that are all the same, and no one seems to care … Another Pleasant Valley Sunday, here in status symbol land”
Therein lies the enigma: an industry attempt to market to counterculture-affected youth ultimately became a part of that counterculture. John Lennon called them “the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers.” Their live performances were scenes of jubilation. In a music genre where ‘sell-out’ is the go-to pejorative, they straddled the line, nonetheless agitating for greater artistic freedom before eventually breaking away from their television roots altogether.
Few bands so typify the liberatory feeling and aesthetics of sixties youth culture. At the same time, they formed the basic concept for Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush, and they are conceptually comparable to One Direction, not to mention the Wiggles! Parodying their television theme song, they imitated their detractors with the self-deprecating ‘Ditty Diego (War Chant)’ on the experimental album Head in 1968.
“Hey, hey, we are the Monkees
You know we love to please
A manufactured image
With no philosophies.”
And no one did it better. If you want to give them a listen, I recommend Pisces or The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees.