Monkees chart-topper that proved to be a real diamond
IN September 1965, an advert appeared in Daily Variety magazine in the US seeking ‘4 insane boys, age 17-21’ for acting roles in a new TV series. Producer Bob Rafelson wanted to create something centred around the antics and adventures of a fictitious band, an idea that became commercially plausible following the release of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night the previous year.
Interviews were held, and so The Monkees were born.
437 had applied, including one Stephen Stills (later of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), who was rejected due to his bad teeth and thinning hair.
The four that were successful were singer/songwriter Michael Nesmith, musician Peter Tork, former child star Micky Dolenz and English actor/singer Davy Jones.
A pilot show was made and NBC liked it, so the show debuted in September 1966 and was an immediate hit, as was their first album of songs specially written for the show .
Meanwhile in Tin Pan Alley, where songwriters sat in booths churning out hits, a young songwriter named Neil Diamond came to the attention of The Monkees’ record producer Don Kirshner, who was looking for material for them. He was immediately sold on I’m A Believer, even though the band weren’t. Guitarist Michael Nesmith didn’t believe this would be a hit, complaining to the producer, “I’m a songwriter, and that’s no hit.”
But Kirshner was proven right. It hit the number one spot in the Billboard Top 100 in December 1966 and became the biggest selling record of 1967. It spent four weeks at the top of the UK and Irish charts and overall sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
The Monkees sang on the recording, but did not play any instruments. The producers used session musicians because they were not convinced The Monkees could play like a real band.
The television show ended in 1968, but The Monkees continued to record music until 1971. A revival of interest in the television show came in 1986, which led to a series of reunion tours and new records. The group has reunited and several times since then with different line-ups (but always containing Micky Dolenz and at least one other original member) and with varying degrees of success. Jones died in 2012 and Tork died in 2019. Dolenz and Nesmith remain active members of the group.