The Monkees was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneide as a situation comedy series about a pop/rock band. Their original line-up consisted of actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and British actor/singer Davy Jones. Their music was initially supervised by record producer, Don Kirshner, and backed by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. But their appeal and massive success was something no one saw coming.
The four actor/musicians were initially allowed only limited roles in the recording studio for the first few months of their career as “the Monkees,” however they quickly proved their mettle in both performing and songwriting. They fought for and won the right to collectively supervise all musical output under the band’s name, acting as actors, musicians, singers, songwriters, and producers. Ironically, the success of the show led to the musicians/actors becoming one of the most successful bands of the...