Chart entered : 5 January 1967
Chart peak : 1
Number of hits : 11
1967 started with a bang as the first week featured two new bands who were one and two in the charts at the end of the month.
There are few groups whose genesis is better known to the public than this lot. They were put together by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for a TV series inspired by the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night. The standard version says they chose two actors ( Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz ) and two musicians ( Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork ) but the truth is a bit messier than that. For this one it probably makes more sense to look at each member in turn rather than attempt a cris-crossing chronological narrative.
Davy Jones was the first choice and his audition was perfunctory ; his background in musical theatre and teen appeal made him a target from the start. He was born in Manchester in 1945 and as a fifteen year old appeared in one episode of Coronation Street as Ena Sharples' grandson. After leaving school he trained to be a jockey but his mentor Basil Foster actually pushed him back towards acting when an offer to play Artful Dodger in Oliver ! came round. Davy was such a success he moved with the show to Broadway and got a Tony Award nomination. This led to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, coincidentally the one featuring The Beatles for the first time. This ignited Davy's interest in a musical career.
He was signed to a TV contract by Screen Gems and a recording contract by Colpix ( both divisions of Columbia ). His first single , as David Jones, was "Dream Girl" in February 1965. Written by Van McCoy it's a charming Brill Building pop ditty with Davy sounding like he's been on the helium. It's a dated sound for 1965 but quite appealing and it was a monster hit in Australia a couple of years later.
"What Are We Going To Do?" a few months later is more of the same although someone appears to have decided that Davy's Mancunian vowels were "cute" so he's allowed to sing "tell them we're in luuvv" . It was a minor hit in the States peaking at number 93 while going Top 20 in Australia.
His third pre-Monkees single was the Goffin-King song "The Girl From Chelsea" and is the weakest of the trio. Davy sounds like the melody is too subtle for him and there's a distracting de-tuned guitar throughout which suggests a rather rushed recording. The parent album "David Jones" made a minor showing.
Micky Dolenz was primarily an actor. Both parents were actors and he made his TV debut in a show called Circus Boy as an 11 year old in 1956 under the name Mickey Braddock. He had to learn the drums from scratch after being cast. Nevertheless he had made some recordings as a guitarist and singer with a band called The Missing Links. However these were not released until after The Monkees took off and then under his own name. Both "Don't Do It" and "Huff Puff" are enthusiastic and raw approximations of R & B with uninhibited vocals ; Micky's unhinged singing on the latter recalls Screaming Lord Sutch.
Mike Nesmith was a Texan whose mother famously invented the Liquid Paper correction fluid. Although involved in school theatre, he joined the United States Air Service in 1960 and served until honourable discharge in 1962. He enrolled in San Antonio College and began writing songs and poetry. After getting married to a fellow student he moved to Los Angeles to play the folk clubs.
His first single "Wanderin' in 1963 was a vanity pressing, a primitive country blues with Mike accompanied by just an acoustic guitar. His flat, one-dimensional voice kills it stone dead and it's difficult to imagine even his mother wanting a copy except to see where her money was going.
His next attempt was two years later with "Just A Little Love" which is a bit more listenable and betrays a Dylan influence with the harmonica .
"How Can You Kiss Me" came out under the name Mike, John and Bill with John London on bass and Bill Sleeper on drums and sounds like The Byrds recording in a garden shed. It definitely benefits from the three singing in harmony but they were quickly broken up by Sleeper receiving a call-up to the army.
Mike then recorded a couple of singles under the name Michael Blessing on Colpix Records. "The New Recruit " adapted and copyrighted by producers Bob Krassnow and Sam Ashe is an anti-war diatribe taking the form of a series of dumb questions from a rookie. Mike sings it in character with Stannard Ridgway vocal inflexions over a light folk rock backing. "What Seems To Be The Trouble Officer ?" is a sort of Dylan parody that's outstayed its welcome before the first minute is up.
Peter Tork, the oldest Monkee and last to be selected, was from Washington DC. He was a minor player on the Greenwich Village folk scene and came to the audition on the recommendation of Stephen Stills who had been rejected. He came to the band with no previous recording history.
The first Monkees single , released in August 1966 before the TV series aired was "Last Train To Clarksville " written by their producers Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It's a slyly subversive song about a recruit wanting a night with his girl before going off to fight. Musically it was based on Paperback Writer , the writers freely admitting their ambition to emulate the Beatles. Dolenz does the lead vocal. It wasn't a hit in Britain until the following year but hit the top spot in the US. Their debut album The Monkees was also released in 1966 with their participation largely restricted to the lead vocals. Mike got one song "Papa Gene's Blues" and a co-write on the LP ; if Peter didn't play a bit of guitar on the former he wouldn't be on the album at all.
Here's the Popular link for "I'm A Believer"Monkees
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