The Rise Of The Monkees: From TV Creation To Musical Legends

A fictional TV quartet seemingly created to take advantage of Beatlemania, The Monkees took flight from their manufactured beginnings to become a legitimate band and one of the top-selling acts in the history of popular music.

As detailed in The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the '60s TV Pop Sensation, the show was conceived by producer Bob Rafelson, who wanted to create something centered around the antics and adventures of a band based on his own experiences as a musician. It was an idea that predated The Beatles, although, as he later conceded, one that became commercially plausible following the successful release of A Hard Day's Night in summer 1964.

Rafelson and his Raybert Productions co-founder, Bert Schneider, sold the concept to Screen Gems, the TV subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, in April 1965. The partners considered focusing on an already formulated band, with emerging folk-rock act The Lovin' Spoonful among the top candidates, before electing to put The Monkees together one by one.

The four Monkees survived unorthodox auditions to earn their roles

On September 8, 1965, the call to arms for would-be Monkees appeared in the trade publications Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter which read: MADNESS!! AUDITIONS for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17-21. Want spirited Ben Frank's-types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.

The advertisement drew a reported 437 applicants, though only one of the eventual winners responded immediately. Among them, Michael Nesmith was an up-and-coming singer-songwriter with a folk-rock group called The Survivors. He had already recorded for Screen Gems' Colpix Records, under the name Michael Blessing.

Peter Tork, a veteran of the Greenwich Village scene, missed the advertisement but was prodded to get involved by a pre-Buffalo Springfield Stephen Stills, who was rejected from Monkees consideration due to his bad teeth and thinning hair. Micky Dolenz was the former child star of the late-1950s TV show Circus Boy and a part-time performing musician, while Davy Jones, with a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Oliver, had already signed a screen deal with Columbia Pictures and released singles through Colpix.

The auditions were an off-the-wall affair, with Schneider and Rafelson often acting in bizarre ways to see how the applicants would respond. Nesmith and Tork, with more to prove than their future bandmates, were up to the challenge. Ultimately, the winners were chosen for their individual talents and charms, but also with an eye toward how they would mesh together as a group.

The band’s members had to learn how to play together

A rejiggered version of the pilot, with the screen tests of the quartet tacked on, was a hit with test audiences, and in early 1966 NBC picked up The Monkees. This marked the beginning of a difficult phase of not only pulling the show together but getting the four stars to resemble a functioning band. Dolenz, for one, was learning his instrument from scratch, and the varied styles and influences on display made for a collective sound that didn’t entirely mesh.

With time at a premium, producers tapped industry executive Don Kirshner and his songwriting team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to take over the musical direction of the show. A new entity called Colgems Records, under the direction of Kirshner, was established specifically for the purpose of distributing the band’s recordings.

Beginning in April 1966, The Monkees embarked on a grueling schedule of band rehearsal, improv classes, and filming. With Kirshner running a tight ship, the boys were limited to vocal work in the early going as session players banged out the music, though they were eventually given a little more leeway in the studio.

Their first hit was sung by Dolenz, not Jones

In mid-August, Colgems released The Monkees' debut single, “Last Train to Clarksville.” Although Jones was supposed to be the frontman and would go on to croon other hits like “Daydream Believer,” it was Dolenz who belted out this tune that put The Monkees on the map. Prior to the show’s premiere, the group embarked on a whirlwind promotional tour that swung through major stops in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.

But there was no stopping the momentum: The Monkees debuted on NBC on September 12, 1966, and with the release of their self-titled album a month later, and “Last Train to Clarksville” on its way to the top of the charts, the cultural phenomenon was officially up and running.

With their unique blend of comedy and music, The Monkees not only entertained but also became a symbol of the 1960s pop culture revolution. Their journey from a put-together band to a genuine musical force is a testament to creativity, perseverance, and the power of collaboration.