The Monkees were an American pop rock band, formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s,<!-- Sources differ as to whether the band was formed in 1965 or in 1966. --> whose lineup consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. One of the most commercially successful bands of the late 1960s, the group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the NBC situation comedy series of the same name. Music credited to the band was released on LP, as well as being included in the show, which aired from 1966 to 1968.
At first, the band members' musical contributions were primarily limited to lead vocals and the occasional composition; the remainder was composed by professional songwriters and performed by session musicians such as the Wrecking Crew, under the music supervision of Don Kirshner and with production by figures including Boyce and Hart, Jack Keller, and Jeff Barry. From 1966 to 1967, the group enjoyed a consecutive run of four chart-topping albums: The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.. During this period, they also achieved three number-one singles: "Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer".
The members had increasingly desired greater control over the creation of their music and, following a brief power struggle, gained full control over their recordings in 1967. Starting with Headquarters, they worked with producer Chip Douglas and mostly performed as a group; however, by the recording of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees, each member was pursuing his own interests under the Monkees' name. In 1968, they starred as themselves in the motion picture Head, planned as the antithesis of the television show, but received with an underwhelming critical and commercial reception. With much of the public under the misconception that the band members still did not play their own instruments—followed by the cancellation of television series and waning popularity overall—the group broke up in the early 1970s.<!-- Sources differ as to whether the band disbanded in 1970 or 1971. -->
A revival of interest in the television show came in 1986, leading to intermittent reunions from then until 2011, including reunion tours, a major-network television special, and new studio albums. After the deaths of Jones in 2012 and Tork in 2019, Dolenz and Nesmith undertook a farewell tour in 2021. This tour concluded shortly before Nesmith's death later that year, leaving Dolenz as the sole surviving member.
History
Conception and casting
The Monkees were formed in the mid-1960s in Los Angeles.
Aspiring filmmaker Bob Rafelson developed the initial idea for The Monkees in 1962 and tried selling it to Revue Productions, the television division of Universal Pictures, but was unsuccessful. In May 1964, while working at Screen Gems, Rafelson teamed up with Bert Schneider, whose father, Abraham Schneider, headed the Colpix Records and Screen Gems Television units of Columbia Pictures. Rafelson and Schneider ultimately formed Raybert Productions. The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night and Help! inspired Rafelson and Schneider to revive Rafelson's idea for The Monkees. As "Raybert Productions", they sold the show to Screen Gems Television on April 16, 1965.
Rafelson and Schneider's original idea was to cast an existing New York folk rock group, the Lovin' Spoonful, who were not widely known at the time. After those plans fell through, Rafelson and Schneider focused on Davy Jones. In September 1964, Jones had signed to a long-term contract to appear in TV programs for Screen Gems, to make feature films for Columbia Pictures and to record music for the Colpix label. His involvement with The Monkees was publicly announced on July 14, 1965. Jones had previously starred as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway theater show Oliver!; for his work in Oliver!, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1963.
In September1965, Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran advertisements to cast the remainder of the band/cast members for the TV show. The advertisements each read as follows: