Those of us of a certain age all remember The Monkees. Oh, sure, they were a music group put together for a kid's Saturday morning TV show, but there was a surprising amount of talent in the group – and they had some pretty good songs.
Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider put the group together, and successfully pitched the idea to Screen Gems television in 1965. It was a multi-talented group, too. Frontman Davy Jones (whose appearance inspired the character of Ensign Pavel Chekov in "Star Trek," which was also on TV at that time) sang and backed up on drums, rhythm guitar, bass, and keyboards. Peter Tork could handle bass guitar, rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, banjo, and backup vocals. Micky Dolenz was proficient on vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, and keyboards, while the famously-stocking-capped Mike Nesmith handled lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards, and vocals.
It was a surprisingly good group, and they put out some surprisingly good tunes. Why they are not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a mystery.
Here are six of my particular favorites. Not that these are the best, mind you; I could easily, in a fit of nostalgia, name 20 Monkees songs I like. But we have to keep this to a reasonable level. In no particular order, then:
"Daydream Believer." This is just a fun song; a tale of young love, bright and happy, optimistic – like so many of The Monkees’ tunes. The TV show was, by design, something you could let little kids watch, and even the love songs bore an innocent tone that we don’t see enough of in this age. Singing of a daydream believer and a homecoming queen evokes that lost innocence.
"Randy Scouse Git." A short, two-and-a-half minute, rather confusing tune, this one strikes some discordant tones. Micky’s voice suited the song well, though, as he ran up and down the scale popping out the lyrics that hop from point to point. It’s fun. In all these years, I’ve never quite figured this tune out, but I like it anyway.
"Gonna Buy Me A Dog." A song lifted directly from the show, this is another somewhat nonsensical song that sings the praises of Man’s Best Friend – although the idea of a dog replacing a girlfriend is a little off-putting. Micky and Davy’s wisecracking and cutting up through the song are fun, as well.
See Related: Start Your Black Friday Weekend Right With Five Great Songs From the Sixties
"I’m A Believer." From their second studio album, 1967’s “More of the Monkees,” this song saw an unexpected revival after Eddie Murphy covered it in character as “Donkey” in an after-credits scene in the first “Shrek” movie. Interestingly, Neil Diamond sat in on acoustic guitar in his studio session.
"Pleasant Valley Sunday." From the 1967 album “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd,” this is one of The Monkees’ best-known songs. It strikes some tones looking askance at suburban life, describing it as “status-symbol land,” but it also provokes images of a typically (at that time at least) quiet, somewhat idyllic suburban weekend.
See Related: Start Your Weekend Right With Five Great Fun Rock Tunes From the Early Seventies
"Star Collector." Also from “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd”--and I’m not sure what this one is about. Davy Jones sings of a girl who’s a Star Collector, which makes one wonder if he’s singing about a groupie – I’m sure The Monkees had them – and if so, what lengths was this one going to in the process of, well, collecting stars?
Sometimes we don’t want to know the answers to certain questions.
There was a lot more, and post-TV show, the band went off in a completely different direction before finally splitting up. Their album “Head” probably rates a Friday post of its own, and maybe I’ll do that. In the meantime, if you’re a little (OK, a lot) gray like me, you probably remember The Monkees. And if you remember them, you probably have some favorites of your own – and for that, as always, the comments are all yours! Let us know what Monkees tunes you remember best.
