Kara Kovalchik
Hey, Hey, They’re the Monkees: What John Lennon had to say about the band (and much, much more)
by Kara Kovalchik - December 16, 2008 - 12:00 PM

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monkees group.pngIt’s time to show some love and respect for the so-called Prefab-Four who not only starred on an Emmy Award-winning series but also had many Top 40 hits. Yes, they were a rip-off of the Beatles, but contrary to snarky news articles at the time, all four of the Monkees could actually sing and play musical instruments.

In the Beginning…

Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider were aspiring filmmakers who believed that Beatlemania could be somehow translated into a US phenomenon. Their ultimate inspiration came from the “Can’t Buy Me Love” sequence in the 1964 Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night. They came up with the concept of a sitcom about a pop band in which each episode would include an original song and a fun film “romp,” similar to the one featured in the Beatles’ film. The pair placed ads in trades like the Hollywood Reporter during the summer of 1965 requesting “folk & roll musicians-singers for acting roles in new TV series” while simultaneously mining the songwriting talents of yet-to-be-discovered future stars such as Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson and John Stewart. Some 400 hopefuls auditioned for the show, and eventually the final four chosen were:

Davy Jones: The Boy Who Would’ve Been a Jockey

m jones.pngDavid Jones was born in Manchester, England, and (thanks to his diminutive stature) his father hoped he’d become a jockey. However, a talent scout happened by his school, liked Jones’ looks and asked if he could sing. David was recruited to play the Artful Dodger in a West End production of Oliver! He ended up moving to New York to perform with the Broadway cast of the show, which is how he happened to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show the same night the Beatles made their U.S. television debut. Jones later said, “I saw the girls in the audience going crazy and decided that I wanted a piece of that.”

Michael Nesmith: Songwriter to Linda Ronstadt


m nesbitt.pngMichael was four years old when his parents divorced. His mom took a secretarial job at a bank to help make ends meet. She was also something of an artist, and painted the bank windows for various holidays in order to earn extra money. It occurred to her one day while typing and trying to erase an error that a painter simply paints over any mistakes. She started experimenting with white tempera paint to cover up typos and eventually marketed her invention under the name “Liquid Paper.” When she passed away in 1980 Michael inherited some $50 million of her white-out fortune. In the meantime, though, young Michael yearned to be a musician and formed a folk band. He was also a burgeoning songwriter, and by the time he was hired as a Monkee, Linda Ronstadt had already recorded a song of his called “Different Drum.”

Micky Dolenz: Circus Boy

m dolenz.pngGeorge Michael Dolenz (as he was christened at birth) grew up in a show business family. His father had starred in the TV series The Count of Monte Cristo, and his mother worked as an agent. When Micky was 11 years old he landed the lead in a television series called Circus Boy. As a teen he sang, played guitar and occasionally drummed in various garage bands. But it was actually his knack for impersonations and improv as well as his comedic sense of timing that landed him a role as a Monkee.

Peter Tork: Suggested to the group by Stephen Stills!

m tork.pngAfter Peter Thorkelson graduated from college in Connecticut, he spent much of his time playing folk music in various clubs in New York’s Greenwich Village. He eventually moved to the West Coast and got gigs on the L.A. folk circuit. Stephen Stills (later of Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, and Nash fame) auditioned for The Monkees and was told that he’d be perfect for the show if only his hairline wasn’t already receding and his teeth were in better shape. Rather than being bitter at the rejection, he immediately recommended his good friend and look-alike Peter Tork to the producers. Peter had the appropriate “look” and could also play guitar, bass and banjo, so the group was now complete.

John Lennon Praised Them

The show was an immediate hit and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series after its first season. Their success was something of a double-edged sword, however, because the group felt compelled to go out on tour to prove themselves to those critics who claimed the Monkees weren’t musicians. However, in the record business, it’s always a matter of striking while the iron is hot, so the band had to write and record songs in between gigs. And then there was the matter of filming the next season of the series in their “spare time”…  As John Lennon later said when asked his opinion of The Monkees: “They’ve got their own scene, and I won’t send them down for it. You try a weekly television show and see if you can manage one half as good!”

Just a Word about the Songwriting

Neil Diamond’s First Hit
If nothing else, the Monkees gave some fledgling songwriters their first national exposure. “I’m a Believer” gave Neil Diamond his first number one hit as a songwriter. They also gave Harry Nilsson (who would later go on to have hits on his own with “Without You” and “Everybody’s Talkin’”, to name a few) his chart success when they recorded his tune “Cuddly Toy”:

Davy Jones wasn’t a Believer
One of the Monkees’ number one hits was “Daydream Believer,” a song Davy Jones hated at first. He felt that it wasn’t in his key, and he didn’t understand the lyrics. (He was from England and didn’t know what a “homecoming queen” was.) It wasn’t until after the tune topped the charts that he grudgingly admitted, “Maybe it’s not that bad of a song after all.”

The Alternate Title of “Alternate Title”
Micky Dolenz composed a tune that he named after a phrase he’d heard on a British TV series called ‘Til Death Us Do Part. When the song was released, however, BBC censors insisted that its name – “Randy Scouse Git” – be replaced with an alternate title, since it was some sort of obscenity in British slang. Dolenz complied by re-naming his song “Alternate Title,” and it went all the way to #2 on the British pop charts in 1967.

When Hip-hop started Monkee-ing around
Lest you think the Monkees are simply a 1960s relic, we submit for your consideration the 1991 hit single “Mistadobalina” by rapper Del the Funkee Homosapien. His inspiration (and vocal sample) came from a bizarre throwaway track by the Monkees called “Zilch.” Peter Tork had been in an airport one day when he heard “last boarding call for Mr. Dobalina, Mr. Bob Dobalina” over the intercom. The rest of the primitive “rap” was improvised in the studio:

And a final word of Monkee Love

And, in the spirit of the holiday season, we leave you with this a capella version of the Spanish Christmas carol “Riu Chiu.” All Monkee naysayers please note – they are singing four-part harmony on their own, no instruments, no electronic enhancement. So there!

Please feel free to share your Monkees love and favorite TV moments/songs/whatever at this time. And thanks so much for reading and commenting on TVHolic this past year – Happy Holidays to All!!

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Comments (37)

  1. Love the Monkees! I’ve recently discovered episodes on YouTube and wasted countless hours with them. It’s nice to see some attention. Great post!

    posted by Adriana on 12-16-2008 at 12:15 pm

  2. Ah…The Monkees – fond memories of my childhood. Great post!

    posted by Laydee T on 12-16-2008 at 12:15 pm

  3. Yay Monkees! They were a staple of my childhood – I wore out two of the greatest hits tapes they used to sell on Nickelodeon after the show. I have their 4 CD set now – hours of enjoyment!

    posted by Allison on 12-16-2008 at 12:31 pm

  4. If you liked the Monkees, be sure to go out and look for some of Mike Nesmith’s solo work, particularly a film called “Elephant Parts.” It’s a bunch of great short comedy skits with some music in between. It has a dated feel to it, but you have to bear in mind that this was made at the dawn of the video editor. A very low production budget also lead to some fantastically creative solutions for special effects.

    posted by amber on 12-16-2008 at 12:36 pm

  5. One of my favorite childhood TV shows was Boy Meets World, and a favorite episode has three of the Monkees reuniting to sing “My Girl” at Cory’s parents’ anniversary party (each played a different family friend in the episode).

    posted by Nora on 12-16-2008 at 12:39 pm

  6. Run DMC sampled “Mary, Mary” long before Del the Funkee Homosapien.

    And you didn’t even mention HEAD, written and produced by Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, and directed by Rafelson – with cameos by Dennis Hopper and Frank Zappa…

    posted by Stuart on 12-16-2008 at 12:47 pm

  7. Love the Monkees… I remember finding out about them when they were on Mtv for a while, for some reason??? Anyway, I was hooked after that and loved watching their show. About five years ago my husband and I saw Davey Jones in concert and he was great. After the show he greeted fans and we were able to get his picture and autograph.

    posted by Melanie on 12-16-2008 at 1:10 pm

  8. When the family used to go down to Florida on vacation, the Monkees were utilized as a time telling device. Kids: “How much longer?”
    Mom: “Two Monkees shows.”

    posted by Matthew K on 12-16-2008 at 1:27 pm

  9. My first concert was their show at the Pontiac Silverdome for their 20th reunion tour in 1986 (or 87 – it was a long time ago :) Good times!

    posted by Diana on 12-16-2008 at 1:47 pm

  10. I have always thought that the Monkees were a talented band. Unfortunately, the monkier of them being Beatles knockoffs never really shook them. Personally, I love their stuff and have loved it ever since I started watching their TV show (mid 1980′s reruns on Nickelodeon). Personally, I didn’t even know they were a band until after I had seen their show on TV. When my parents bought me their greatest hits in the mid 80′s, I was hooked. I credit “(I’m not your) Stepping Stone” for getting me into the guitar (have been playing since 1987). “Valleri” is a totally underrated song (IMHO).

    posted by Ian on 12-16-2008 at 1:47 pm

  11. Love elephant parts! I actually grew up on that so michael nesmith was always my favourite! I knew elephant parts before Monkees and I love them both wholeheartedly!

    posted by Shawn on 12-16-2008 at 1:52 pm

  12. Amazing post! My boss saw them in concert…oh to see Peter in person(sigh)

    posted by pamela on 12-16-2008 at 2:02 pm

  13. I loved watching the Monkees on Nick at Nite when I was younger. I had a huge crush on Davy Jones; but really, what girl didn’t??

    posted by Amy D on 12-16-2008 at 2:03 pm

  14. I both love and hate the Monkees.

    They have so many songs that are genuinely good and the show is just flat out fun.

    However, they did user in the boy-band. I am hesitant to forgive them for N-Sync, New Kids on the Block, and Menudo. OK, Menudo isn’t so bad, but Davey Jones needs to apologize for making Justin Timberlake possible.

    posted by n2y2 on 12-16-2008 at 3:11 pm

  15. You forgot one of the most popular factoids…that Jimi Hendrix opened for them (though not for long…audiences didn’t know what to make of him). They were supporters of other up and coming musicians (who were featured on the 2nd season of the show) such as Frank Zappa, Charlie Smalls and Tim Buckley.

    Teri Garr had her first movie role in “Head” (which also had Annette Funicello & Victor Mature in it).

    Michael Nesmith had a couple of minor hits as a solo act in the 1970 (“Joanne” and “Rio”).

    With their reunion tour in 1986 the Monkees hit the Billboard charts again!

    Not bad for a “prefab” band.

    posted by beth on 12-16-2008 at 3:41 pm

  16. Michael Nesmith also produced the cult classic ‘RepoMan’!

    posted by Shawn on 12-16-2008 at 3:57 pm

  17. Best. Post. Ever. My day, nay I say YEAR, is complete knowing MF finally paid tribute to my favorite boys.

    I’m bursting with Monkee pride seeing all the comments from fellow fans. I’m considered quite a Monkee freak to anyone who knows me. I own more memorabilia (my family worries, heehee), I know more Monkee trivia then is humanly possible. And I would still leave my boyfriend on Christmas morning for Davy Jones.

    THANK YOU FOR THIS POST!

    ps-recaptcha was yorkville iconic, ha!

    posted by Lainey on 12-16-2008 at 3:59 pm

  18. The Monkees rule! Thank you, Mental Floss, for giving them their due.

    “Mary, Mary” was recorded by another band before the Monkees did it…there was some anger at the time that the Monkees “stole” the song. It must have shocked a few folks when they found out it was Mike Nesmith’s work. The man was and is a genius.

    posted by loripop on 12-16-2008 at 4:03 pm

  19. Mike Nesmith’s “Different Drum” is absolutely genius. When you hear him sing it you can tell that he’s just being a jerk. Much better than Ronstadt’s version.

    posted by Bellesouth on 12-16-2008 at 4:26 pm

  20. I am in love with Mickey Dolenz… I think the Monkees’ songs aren’t given the credit they are due.

    Also, I think N*Sync had their place. Not really my thing, but I have some respect for all that.

    posted by m on 12-16-2008 at 5:18 pm

  21. I’d never seen that Riu Chiu clip before! Wish I knew about it when I was trying to teach my Madrigal group to sing it last year…

    posted by Liz on 12-16-2008 at 6:04 pm

  22. My sister and I loved when Davy Jones would literally get stars in his eyes when he saw a girl he liked.

    To this day, when walking with friends, I will link arms with them and do the “Here they come…” walk, if that makes any sense to any fellow fans.

    posted by Tobey on 12-16-2008 at 6:42 pm

  23. Thank you for not putting an “e” in Micky’s name!

    Factoid: Mike started playing guitar to regain dexterity in his fingers after a firecracker incident.

    posted by Christine on 12-16-2008 at 11:15 pm

  24. Mike did a pre-Monkees album under the name Michael Blessing.

    In addition to Elephant Parts there was a short-lived TV show called Television Parts and another video called something like Doctor Duck’s All Purpose Sauce.

    posted by PartiallyDeflected on 12-16-2008 at 11:24 pm

  25. I loved watched the Monkees on Nickelodeon so much when I was a kid, I begged my parents to take my brother and I to their reunion tour in 1986. I was 8. It was awesome. I think my Mom refused to go on the grounds that she was a Beatles girl.

    posted by Lelah on 12-17-2008 at 8:18 am

  26. Going to see the Monkees in concert in Dallas was my 7th birthday present and Weird Al Yankovic was the opener, singing “Like A Surgeon.” I wore my Monkees’ concert shirt until it fell apart! I still love watching that show . . . there’s a retro TV station here that shows it on occasion.

    posted by Marge on 12-19-2008 at 7:10 pm

  27. The Monkees’ entire catalog is grossly underappreciated.

    “She” and “Goin Down” (I think that’s the title of that track) are in my top 25 favorite songs ever.

    posted by Taryn on 12-20-2008 at 10:20 am

  28. ONE WORD: HEAD.

    LOL. Then go watch “Psych-Out” with Jack Nicholson. Thank me later.

    posted by headmeister877 on 12-20-2008 at 11:09 pm

  29. the monkees weren’t on MTV they were on vh1. when vh1 first started (w/ rosie o’donnell as a VJ!?!) they didn’t have enough videos and showed a monkees episode and than a half hour of videos! it was awesome!
    though mike nesmith sorta invented mtv!

    posted by djalicat on 12-22-2008 at 3:33 pm

  30. Thanks so much for this. It was great to see the videos again — especially Riu Chiu. So beautiful!
    I also saw them on that reuinion tour in 86 at what was once called Garden State Arts Center – with Weird Al opening (hahaha). My first concert ever :)
    The Monkees were absolutely underrated!

    posted by gillian on 12-23-2008 at 4:26 pm

  31. Wow…I can’t believe you included “Riu Chiu”. I saw it once when I was a kid on Nickelodeon and it stuck with me. I didn’t know what it was called and have been trying to figure out it out for the past 17 years.

    Thank you Mental Floss!!!!!!!!

    posted by Heather on 12-30-2008 at 12:21 pm

  32. My drum teacher, Sandy Gennaro from Staten Island still tours with Micky Dolenz. Infact, I just saw them perform in Dallas May 2008. Check out the pics on Sandy’s website!

    posted by michaelr on 1-10-2009 at 12:53 am

  33. I just saw a commercial for Orville Redenbacher popcorn using old footage of Mr. Redenbacher and that got me thinking….

    Who else has posthumously pitched products (either for their own company or just in general)? And I don’t mean commercials or ads that ran before the person died and then after… but they made new commercials using old footage or something like that, haahah.

    posted by Sarah on 1-11-2009 at 11:31 pm

  34. I just saw that Davy Jones did an interview on the Smithsonian Channel blog this week. Looks like he’s promoting a new documentary.

    posted by Lynn on 1-14-2009 at 4:26 pm

  35. AW, the memories. I remember watching reruns of the monkees as a child. When VH-1 did their retrospective of them in 1986, I then put a little boy in his baby seat to watch them. He was enthralled. This now 23 year-old guitar player still loves them. He plays their music and thinks the Beatles are a pale imitation-go figure. Hey, Hey the Monkees!

    posted by cyndi on 1-17-2009 at 5:15 pm

  36. YouTube is becoming so lame. My favorite Monkee songs are being taken off because of copyright claims.

    posted by Axelle on 1-18-2009 at 5:06 pm

  37. Now I think I know where some of Nesmith’s $50M inheritance went:

    “Time Rider (The Adventure of Lyle Swann)” 1982

    Starring Fred Ward and Peter Coyote

    Pretty fun movie- wish it was easier to find these days.

    captcha: pictures only

    posted by BrianD on 4-9-2009 at 10:33 am

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