THE MONKEES !
get to know the basics!
get to know the members!
get to know their music!
get to know their show!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MONKEES!
unlike any other band, the monkees didn't actually come together naturally! no late night "let's start a band" conversations between long time friends, in fact they all auditioned for their spots as monkees! in essence, two men (who kinda aren't important if you're just looking to stan the monkees, but for the sake of facts) named bob rafelson and bert schneider were inspired by the hit beatles film "a hard day's night" to create a television show that followed the lives of four musicians and their struggle for success.
in 1965 auditions were held and thus the monkees were born. mike nesmith, peter tork, micky dolenz, and davy jones were thrown into an up and down roller coaster of music and acting!
nowadays they aren't talked about nearly as much (truly a shame because they're great) but with a hit t.v show and multiple #1 singles, the monkees made a huge impact in the 60s!
sadly though, in 1968 peter tork left the monkees due to the fact that show business was overriding the importance of the band making music. mike, micky, and davy continued to make music, but slowly the band was losing popularity (peter nation took a win knowing that he really added to their charisma huh). in 1970 mike nesmith also left the monkees. micky and davy made one final album before the band officially broke up. later on through the years (and even in recent years) reunion albums and tours came about.
SO WHO ARE THE MONKEES?!
(click on their pictures for more info!)
mike nesmith
davy jones
peter tork
micky dolenz
MIKE NESMITH!
vocals and guitar
full name: robert michael nesmith
date of birth: december 30th, 1942
place of birth: houston, texas
height: 6'1
DAVY JONES!
mostly vocals and freaking maracas baybee
full name: david thomas jones
date of birth: december 30th, 1945
place of birth: openshaw, manchester
height: 5'3
unfortunately davy passed away on february 29th, 2012 :(
PETER TORK!
bass, guitar, keyboard, vocals
full name: peter halsten thorkelson
date of birth: february 13th, 1942
place of birth: washington d.c
height: 5'9
peter also unfortunately passed away on february 21st, 2019
MICKY DOLENZ!
drums and vocals
full name: george michael dolenz jr.
date of birth: march 8th, 1945
place of birth: los angeles, california
height: 6'0
SO LIKE THEY HAVE SOME MUSIC?!?!
for anyone new to the monkees, if ya click the following image you'll be brought to a spotify playlist of my fav monkees tunes! a great listen if i do say so myself !
so the following albums are in order of release! if you click on the album cover you'll be brought to it on spotify!
THE MONKEES
release date: 1966
MORE OF THE MONKEES
release date: 1967
!!! the monkees first two albums sold amazingly, but one of the main issues many people had was that the monkees didn't play their own instruments, session musicians were used! this was NOT because they couldn't play, in fact it was because of the production company of the monkees t.v. show. this led to many people accusing the monkees of being a fake band :( luckily they were able to change this and start playing their own instruments on the proceeding albums !!!
HEADQUARTERS
release date: 1967
PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN & JONES LTD
release date: 1967
THE BIRDS, THE BEES, & THE MONKEES
release date: 1968
HEAD
release date: 1968
!!! head was the last official monkees album featuring peter tork, although peter does return on the reunion albums !!!
INSTANT REPLAY
release date: 1969
THE MONKEYS PRESENT: MICKY, DAVID, & MICHAEL
release date: 1969
!!! the monkees present micky, david, & michael was the last album featuring mike nesmith. he as well returned on various reunion albums though !!!
CHANGES
release date: 1970
the following albums are all reunion albums:
•pool it – 1987
•concert in japan – 1996
•justus – 1996
•live summer tour – 2002
•good times – 2016
•christmas party – 2018
YES THE MONKEES HAD A SHOW!!
the monkees television show began in 1966 and ran until 1968. there were 2 seasons and a total of 58 episodes. the first episode titled "royal flush" aired on september 12th, 1966, and the last episode "mijacgeo" aired on march 25, 1968.
the show gained tons of popularity, which led to the wild success of the monkees. the general plot was that the monkees were a struggling band trying to make it big. each episode followed a day in the life of the monkees! with wild plot-lines and cute characters, there really isn't anything to not love about them!