America’s answer to The Beatles, The Monkees were the brainchild of filmmaker Bob Rafelson. Once Rafelson’s idea for a television show about a struggling rock band was accepted by Screen Gems Television, Davy Jones, a Tony-nominated actor and musician already signed by the company, was shortlisted for auditions as the show’s star, and Rafelson had other aspiring musicians audition to join him. Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith (also already signed to Colpix/Colgems) were ultimately chosen to play fictionalized versions of themselves. The sitcom ran for two seasons (1966-8), a period in which the band released very popular singles such as “Last Train to Clarksville”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, “Daydream Believer”, and “I’m a Believer”. The Monkees still continued to play for two more years until Tork left the band and their bizarre art film Head lead to a popularity nosedive, after which Nesmith also left.
However, reruns of the show helped create new fans and inspire reunion tours, most memorably in the 1980s with the help of MTV and Nickelodeon.