The Monkees

{{Short description|American pop rock band}} {{About|the musical group|the TV series|The Monkees (TV series){{!}}''The Monkees'' (TV series)|their debut album|The Monkees (album){{!}}''The Monkees'' (album)|their compilation album|The Monkees: Original Album Series{{!}}''The Monkees: Original Album Series''}} {{Redirect|The Monkeys||Monkey (disambiguation)}} {{more citations needed|date=May 2025}} {{Use American English|date=September 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox musical artist  | name = The Monkees | background = group_or_band | image = The Monkees 1966.JPG | caption = The Monkees in 1966 <br/>Clockwise from top left: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones. | origin = Los Angeles, California | genre = {{flatlist| * Pop rock<ref>{{cite web|title=The Most Influential Pop-Rock Band Ever? The Monkees!|first=Mark|last=Rozzo|work=Vanity Fair|date=August 19, 2021|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/08/the-most-influential-pop-rock-band-ever-the-monkees/amp}}</ref> * rock<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/interviews/dolenz-sings-nesmith-and-talks-monkees-legacy|title=Dolenz sings Nesmith, and talks Monkees legacy |date=August 5, 2021 |website=Goldminemag.com |access-date=September 20, 2021}}</ref> * psychedelia<ref>{{cite web|title=A to Z of Psychedelia on 6 Music|work=BBC Sounds|date=July 17, 2018|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p05k8003}}</ref>  }} | years_active = {{flatlist| *1966<ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/03/1120309947/the-monkees-drummer-sues-the-fbi|title= The Monkees' drummer wants the FBI to quit monkeying around and hand over files |website=npr.org |last=Diaz|first=Jaclyn |date=September 3, 2022}}</ref>–1970<ref name="downfall">{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/how-the-monkees-became-real-artists-and-why-it-was-their-downfall/|title=How The Monkees Became Real Artists (And Why It Was Their Downfall)|first=Em|last=Casalena|date=April 15, 2025|website=American Songwriter}}</ref>{{efn|Sources differ as to dates for the official formation (possibly 1965) and disbandment (possibly 1971) of the band. However, virtually all reliable sources agree that until the Monkees' reunions, there was no active involvement by the members outside of the period from 1966 to 1970.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}}} *1986–1989 *1996–1997 *2001–2002 *2010–2021}} | label = {{flatlist| * Colgems * RCA Victor * Bell * Arista * Rhino }} | website = {{URL|monkees.com}} | current_members = | past_members = * Micky Dolenz * Michael Nesmith * Peter Tork * Davy Jones }}

'''The Monkees''' were an American pop rock band, formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, whose lineup consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. One of the most commercially successful bands of the late 1960s, the group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the NBC situation comedy series of the same name. Music credited to the band was released on LP, as well as being included in the show, which aired from 1966 to 1968.

At first, the band members' musical contributions were primarily limited to lead vocals and the occasional composition; the remainder was composed by professional songwriters and performed by session musicians such as the Wrecking Crew, under the music supervision of Don Kirshner and with production by figures including Boyce and Hart, Jack Keller, and Jeff Barry. From 1966 to 1967, the group enjoyed a consecutive run of four chart-topping albums: ''The Monkees'', ''More of the Monkees'', ''Headquarters'', and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.''. During this period, they also achieved three number-one singles: "Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer".

The members had increasingly desired greater control over the creation of their music and, following a brief power struggle, gained full control over their recordings in 1967. Starting with ''Headquarters'', they worked with producer Chip Douglas and mostly performed as a group; however, by the recording of ''The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees'', each member was pursuing his own interests under the Monkees' name. In 1968, they starred as themselves in the motion picture ''Head'', planned as the antithesis of the television show, but received with an underwhelming critical and commercial reception. With much of the public under the misconception that the band members still did not play their own instruments—followed by the cancellation of television series and waning popularity overall—the group broke up in the early 1970s.

A revival of interest in the television show came in 1986, leading to intermittent reunions from then until 2011, including reunion tours, a major-network television special, and new studio albums. After the deaths of Jones in 2012 and Tork in 2019, Dolenz and Nesmith undertook a farewell tour in 2021. This tour concluded shortly before Nesmith's death later that year, leaving Dolenz as the sole surviving member.

== History == === Conception and casting === The Monkees were formed in the mid-1960s in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-Monkees-American-music-group|title=The Monkees; Members, TV Show, Songs, Albums, & Facts|date=September 21, 2023|website=Britannica.com}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/>

Davy Jones has said: "The name hadn't been thought of yet. There was The Beatles, The Animals, The Byrds, The Turtles — so we started thinking of animal names ... Suddenly, we knew we had it – The Monkees' [spelled] wrong, like Beatles, Byrds".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Houghton |first1=Cillea |title=Behind the Band Name: The Monkees |url=https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-band-name-the-monkees/ |website=American Songwriter |access-date=January 19, 2026 |date=February 6, 2023}}</ref>

Aspiring filmmaker Bob Rafelson developed the initial idea for ''The Monkees'' in 1962 and tried selling it to Revue Productions, the television division of Universal Pictures, but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |date=2005 |title=The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation|publisher=Thunder Bay Press |page=15 |isbn=1-59223-372-4}}</ref> In May 1964, while working at Screen Gems, Rafelson teamed up with Bert Schneider, whose father, Abraham Schneider, headed the Colpix Records and Screen Gems Television units of Columbia Pictures. Rafelson and Schneider ultimately formed Raybert Productions.<ref name="SandovalPage18">Sandoval (2005), p. 18.</ref> The Beatles' films ''A Hard Day's Night'' and ''Help!'' inspired Rafelson and Schneider to revive Rafelson's idea for ''The Monkees''. As "Raybert Productions", they sold the show to Screen Gems Television on April 16, 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cinemascholars.com/making-the-monkees-1965-68/|title=THE MONKEES (1965-68) - A Cultural Phenomenon|first=Benjamin|last=McVay|date=August 2, 2021|website=Cinema Scholars}}</ref>

Rafelson and Schneider's original idea was to cast an existing New York folk rock group, the Lovin' Spoonful, who were not widely known at the time. After those plans fell through, Rafelson and Schneider focused on Davy Jones. In September 1964, Jones had signed to a long-term contract to appear in TV programs for Screen Gems, to make feature films for Columbia Pictures and to record music for the Colpix label.<ref name="SandovalPage19">Sandoval (2005), p. 19.</ref> His involvement with ''The Monkees'' was publicly announced on July 14, 1965.<ref name="SandovalPage24">Sandoval (2005), p. 24.</ref> Jones had previously starred as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway theater show ''Oliver!''; for his work in ''Oliver!'', he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1963.<ref name="SandovalPage16">Sandoval (2005), p. 16.</ref>

In September{{nbsp}}1965, ''Daily Variety''<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nbc-television-greenlights-the-monkees|title=NBC greenlights "The Monkees"|website=HISTORY|date=November 13, 2009 }}</ref> and ''The Hollywood Reporter''<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/09/09/music|title=The Monkees came together after answering an ad 50 years ago|date=September 9, 2015|website=MPR News}}</ref> ran advertisements to cast the remainder of the band/cast members for the TV show. The advertisements each read as follows:

{{blockquote|Madness!! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21. Want spirited Ben Frank's-types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/>}}

Out of 437 applicants,<ref name="Sandoval">{{cite news |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |title=How Davy Jones and the Monkees Impacted Music, Hollywood - and Jack Nicholson |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-davy-jones-monkees-changed-hollywood-297757 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=May 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430092741/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-davy-jones-monkees-changed-hollywood-297757 |archive-date=April 30, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> the other three chosen for the cast of the TV show were Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz.<ref name="brightlightsfilm/monkees-birthed">{{cite web |last1=Ozturk |first1=Selen |title=How the Monkees Birthed New Hollywood |url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/how-the-monkees-birthed-new-hollywood/ |website=Bright Lights Film Journal |access-date=28 October 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251028023856/https://brightlightsfilm.com/how-the-monkees-birthed-new-hollywood/ |archive-date=28 October 2025 |date=1 August 2022}}</ref>

Dolenz, son of screen actor George Dolenz, had prior screen experience under the name "Mickey Braddock" as the 10-year-old star of the ''Circus Boy'' series in the 1950s. He was actively auditioning for pilots at the time and was told about the Raybert project by his agent.<ref name="SandovalPage26">Sandoval (2005), p. 26.</ref>

Nesmith had served a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force and had also recorded for Colpix under the name "Michael Blessing". He was the only one of The Monkees who had come for the audition based on seeing the trade magazine ad. He showed up to the audition with his laundry<ref name="SandovalPage26"/> and impressed Rafelson and Schneider with his laid-back style and droll sense of humor. He also wore a woollen hat to keep his hair out of his eyes when he rode his motorcycle, leading to early promotional materials which nicknamed him "Wool Hat". The hat remained part of Nesmith's wardrobe, but the name was dropped after the pilot.<ref name="BakerPage10">{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |title=Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees |first2=Tom |last2=Czarnota |first3=Peter |last3=Hoga |publisher=Plexus Publishing |year=1986 |isbn=0-312-00003-0 |location=New York City |page=10}}</ref>

Tork was recommended to Rafelson and Schneider by friend Stephen Stills at his audition. Tork was a skilled multi-instrumentalist who had performed at various Greenwich Village folk clubs before moving west, where he worked as a busboy.<ref name="SandovalPage26"/>

=== Early years === ==== Developing the music for their debut album ==== thumb|The Monkees in 1965 During the casting process, Don Kirshner, Screen Gems' head of music, was contacted to secure music for ''The Monkees'' pilot. Kirshner's Brill Building firm Aldon Music had an extensive portfolio of songwriters, many in need of work after the British Invasion had reorganized the American music scene; while several Aldon writers contributed songs to the Monkees during their existence, the bulk of the songwriting for the group fell upon Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, two songwriters who were only beginning to break through to success at the time.<ref name="SandovalPage27">Sandoval (2005), p. 27.</ref> Boyce and Hart contributed four demo recordings for the pilot.<ref name="SandovalPage40">Sandoval (2005), p. 40.</ref>

NBC ordered 32 episodes of ''The Monkees'' on January 17, 1966.<ref name="auto1"/>

When ''The Monkees'' was picked up as a series, development of the musical side of the project accelerated. Columbia–Screen Gems and RCA Victor entered into a joint venture called Colgems Records; the primary purpose of the venture was to distribute Monkees records.<ref name="SandovalPage36">Sandoval (2005), p. 36.</ref> Raybert set up a rehearsal space and rented instruments for the group to practice playing in April 1966,<ref name="SandovalPage84">Sandoval (2005), p. 84.</ref> but it quickly became apparent they would not be in shape in time for the series debut. The producers called upon Kirshner to recruit a producer for the Monkees' sessions.<ref name="SandovalPage37">Sandoval (2005), p. 37.</ref>

Kirshner called on Snuff Garrett, composer of several hits by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, to produce the initial musical cuts for the show. Garrett, upon meeting the four Monkees in June 1966, decided that Jones would sing lead, a choice that was unpopular with the group. This cool reception led Kirshner to drop Garrett and buy out his contract.<ref name="SandovalPage39">Sandoval (2005), p. 39.</ref>

Kirshner next allowed Nesmith to produce sessions, provided he did not play on any tracks he produced.<ref name="SandovalPage84"/> Nesmith did, however, start using the other Monkees in his sessions; he especially used Tork as a guitarist.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}{{efn|As Nesmith pointed out to Eric Lefcowitz in ''The Monkees' Tale,'' "I wasn't the only musician and I wasn't ''much'' '''of''' a musician. Peter was a better musician than I was by several orders of magnitude."{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}}} Kirshner came back to the enthusiastic Boyce and Hart to be the regular producers, but he brought in one of his top East Coast associates, Jack Keller, to lend some production experience to the sessions.<ref name="SandovalPage84"/> Boyce and Hart quickly realized that, when together, the four actors fooled around and tried to crack each other up. Because of this, the producers often brought in each singer individually.<ref name="SandovalPage46">Sandoval (2005), p. 46.</ref>

The Monkees' debut and second albums were meant to be a soundtrack to the first season of the TV show, to cash in on the audience. In the 2006 Rhino Deluxe Edition re-issue of their second album, ''More of the Monkees'', Nesmith stated that he was angered by the release of the first album because it portrayed the band as an actual rock-and-roll band and gave no credit to the other musicians involved in the project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=More Of The Monkees |url=http://albumlinernotes.com/More_Of_The_Monkees.html |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=albumlinernotes}}</ref> [[File:Davy Jones Peter Tork The Monkees 1966.jpg|thumb|Davy Jones and Peter Tork in 1966|left]] The Monkees' first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" b/w "Take a Giant Step", was released in August 1966, just weeks prior to the TV broadcast debut. In conjunction with the first broadcast of the television show on September 12, 1966, on the NBC television network, NBC and Columbia had a major hit on their hands.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 44, track 2}} The single topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week ending November 5, 1966.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | editor-first = Ashley | editor-last = Brown | title = Marshall Cavendish Illustrated History of Popular Music | edition = Reference | year = 1990 | publisher = Marshall Cavendish | volume = Six | isbn = 1-85435-021-8 }}</ref> The Monkees' debut album, ''The Monkees'', was released a month later; it spent 13 weeks at No. 1 and stayed on the Billboard charts for 78 weeks. Twenty years later, during their reunion, it spent another 24 weeks on the Billboard charts.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldsmith |first1=Melissa Ursula Dawn |title=Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre |date=2019 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440865794 |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6W-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>

==== Live performances and touring ==== Pleased with their initial efforts, Columbia (over Kirshner's objections) planned to send the Monkees out to play live concerts. The massive success of the series—and its spin-off records—created intense pressure to mount a touring version of the group. Against the initial wishes of the producers, the band went out on the road and made their debut live performance in December 1966 in Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1966-12-05 |title=December 1966: TV's The Monkees perform in Honolulu |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-honolulu-advertiser-december-1966-t/90363475/ |access-date=2024-01-21 |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |pages=14}}</ref>

The results of these live performances were far better than expected. Wherever they went, the group was greeted by scenes of fan adulation reminiscent of Beatlemania. This gave the singers increased confidence in their fight for control over the musical material chosen for the series.<ref name="baker">Baker (1986), pp. 5, 49, 43, 113.</ref>

=== Independence === ====Conflict with Kirshner and ''More of the Monkees''==== In early 1967, controversy concerning the Monkees' studio abilities arose. Dolenz told a reporter that the Wrecking Crew provided the backing tracks for the first two Monkees albums, and that his position as drummer was simply because a Monkee had to learn to play the drums, and he only knew the guitar.<ref name=dolenz>{{cite book|last=Dolenz|first=Micky|title=I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness|year=2004|page=66|publisher=Taylor Trade Publications}}</ref> In the January 28, 1967, issue of ''Saturday Evening Post'' an article quoted Nesmith railing against the music creation process. "Do you know how debilitating it is to sit up and have to duplicate somebody else's records?" he asked. "Tell the world we don't record our own music."<ref>Lewis, Richard Warren. "When Four Nice Boys Go Ape!" ''The Saturday Evening Post'', January 28, 1967, p. 74.</ref>

The band members were displeased that the music publishing company would not allow them to play their own instruments on their records or to use more of their own material. These complaints intensified when Kirshner moved track recording from California to New York, leaving the band out of the musical process entirely until they were called upon to add their vocals to the completed tracks. Nesmith, when asked about the situation by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, said, "The [TV show's] producers [in Hollywood] backed us and David went along. None of us could have fought the battles we did [with the music publishers] without the explicit support of the show's producers".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Exclusive: Michael Nesmith Remembers Davy Jones|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-michael-nesmith-remembers-davy-jones-20120308#ixzz1v8CRGRDd|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530062943/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-michael-nesmith-remembers-davy-jones-20120308#ixzz1v8CRGRDd|archive-date=May 30, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 16, 1967, the Monkees held their first recording session as a fully functioning, self-contained band. The band recorded an early version of Nesmith's self-composed top 40 hit single "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", along with "All of Your Toys" and "She's So Far Out, She's In".<ref name="SandovalPage82">Sandoval (2005), p. 82.</ref> right|thumb|The Monkees' chairs Also in January, Kirshner released the band's second album of songs that used session musicians, ''More of the Monkees'', without the band's knowledge. The Monkees were annoyed at not having even been told of the release in advance, at having their opinions on the track selection ignored, and at Kirshner's self-congratulatory liner notes. The band was also displeased because of the cover photo, which was a composite of photographs taken for a J.C. Penney clothing advertisement. Indeed, the Monkees were not even given a copy of the album; they had to buy it from a record store.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=More of the Monkees (Super Deluxe Edition) |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Sandoval |publisher=Rhino Records |date=2017 |id=R2 560125}}</ref>

The climax of the conflict between Kirshner and the band was an intense argument among Nesmith, Kirshner and Colgems lawyer Herb Moelis, which took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel in January 1967. Kirshner had presented the group with royalty checks and gold records. Nesmith had responded with an ultimatum, demanding a change in the way the Monkees' music was chosen and recorded. Moelis reminded Nesmith that he was under contract. The confrontation ended with Nesmith punching a hole in a wall and saying, "That could have been your face!" However, each of the members, including Nesmith, accepted the $250,000 royalty checks.<ref name="SandovalPage80"/>

Colgems and the Monkees reached an agreement not to release material directly created by the group together with unrelated Kirshner-produced material.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://popdaze.com/pop-culture/the-monkees-not-your-steppin-stone/|title=The Monkees (Not Your) Steppin’ Stone|date=January 17, 2025|website=PopDaze}}</ref> Kirshner violated this agreement in early February 1967 when he released "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You", composed and written by Neil Diamond, as a single with "She Hangs Out" as the B-side. Kirshner was then fired.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/more-of-the-monkees-anniversary/|title=Why Michael Nesmith Hated 'More of the Monkees'|first=Bryan |last=Rolli|date=January 10, 2022|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref><ref name="auto5"/>

Propelled by the band's second single, "I'm a Believer" b/w "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", ''More of the Monkees'' became the band's biggest-selling LP. The album spent 70 weeks on the Billboard charts, staying No. 1 for 18 weeks<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swanson |first1=Dave |title=50 Years Ago: The Monkees Storm the Charts With Their Second Album, 'More of the Monkees' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/more-of-the-monkees/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=January 9, 2017 |access-date=October 18, 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018235437/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/more-of-the-monkees/ |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and becoming the third-highest-selling album of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goldmine1|title=More Monkees from Rhino Records|url=https://www.goldminemag.com/news/monkees-rhino-records|access-date=November 9, 2020|website=Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia|date=November 30, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> "I'm a Believer" was written by Neil Diamond. The Monkees' recording of the single held the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for seven weeks.<ref name="bb2008">{{cite magazine |title=The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs |url=https://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-50.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913210007/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-50.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 13, 2008 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 6, 2012}}</ref> "I'm a Believer" became the biggest-selling single for all of 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/01/09/monkees-hit-number-one-50-years-ago|title=The Monkees' 'I'm a Believer' was on top 50 years ago|date=January 9, 2017|website=MPR News}}</ref> thumb|Publicity shot in 1967|left

The Monkees' UK tour in 1967 received a chilly reception; the front pages of several UK and international music papers proclaimed that the group members did not always play their own instruments or sing the backing vocals in the studio. They were derisively dubbed the "Pre-Fab Four" and the ''Sunday Mirror'' called them a "disgrace to the pop world".<ref>{{cite news|last=Bentley|first=Jack|title=A Disgrace to the Pop World|work=Sunday Mirror|date=January 15, 1967|page=29}}</ref> However, George Harrison praised the Monkees' self-produced musical attempts.<ref name="baker"/> Peter Tork was later one of the musicians on Harrison's album ''Wonderwall Music'', playing Paul McCartney's five-string banjo.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leigh |first=Spencer |title=Love Me Do to Love Me Don't: Beatles on Record |page=233 |date=2016 |publisher=McNidder & Grace |isbn=9780857161352}}</ref> Nesmith attended the Beatles' recording session for "A Day in the Life" at Abbey Road Studios. At that time, he reportedly asked John Lennon, "Do you think we're a cheap imitation of the Beatles, your movies and your records?" Lennon replied, "I think you're the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers. I've never missed one of your programs".<ref name="baker"/>

==== ''Headquarters'' and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' ==== In March 1967, "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", written by Nesmith and performed by Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork, and bassist John London, was released as the B-side to "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You". The A-side peaked at No. 2 on the charts, while the B-side reached No. 39.<ref name="SandovalPage96">Sandoval (2005), p. 96.</ref>

Following the dismissal of Kirshner, Nesmith hired Chip Douglas to produce the Monkees' next album, ''Headquarters''.<ref name="SandovalPage80">Sandoval (2005), p. 80.</ref> Released in May 1967, ''Headquarters'' contained no U.S. singles but became the Monkees' third consecutive No. 1 album. With a country-folk-rock sound, the album reflected a departure from the pop style of their earlier works under Kirshner. According to Andrew Sandoval, the album topped the charts on May 24, 1967, but was displaced by the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' the following week, holding the No. 2 spot for 11 weeks during the "Summer of Love". The track "Randy Scouse Git", written and sung by Dolenz, was released internationally as "Alternate Title" (owing to the controversial nature of its original title) and became a hit, reaching No. 2 in the UK and Norway.<ref name="SandovalPage116">Sandoval (2005), p. 116.</ref>

Tork's "For Pete's Sake" was used as the closing theme for the Monkees' television show. Nesmith contributed songs like "Sunny Girlfriend", incorporating pedal steel guitar, and "You Told Me", with a banjo intro by Tork that parodied the Beatles' "Taxman".<ref name="SandovalPage97">Sandoval (2005), p. 97.</ref> Other notable tracks included "You Just May Be the One", "Shades of Gray", "Forget that Girl", and "No Time". The band wrote six of the album's 12 tracks, along with two experimental pieces, "Band 6" and "Zilch".<ref name="SandovalPage101">Sandoval (2005), p. 101.</ref>

The ''Los Angeles Times'' praised the album, stating, "The Monkees Upgrade Album Quality" and "The Monkees are getting better. ''Headquarters'' has more interesting songs and a better quality level [than previous albums]... None of the tracks is a throwaway... The improvement trend is laudable."<ref name="SandovalPage109">Sandoval (2005), p. 109.</ref>

The collaborative approach on ''Headquarters'' was short-lived. Nesmith later commented: <blockquote>Everybody in the press and in the hippie movement had got us into their target window as being illegitimate and not worthy of consideration as a musical force (or) certainly any kind of cultural force... We were under siege; wherever we went there was such resentment for us. We were constantly mocked and humiliated by the press... Really gettin’ beat up pretty good. We all knew what was going on inside. Kirshner had been purged. We’d gone to try to make Headquarters and found out that it was only marginally okay and that our better move was to just go back to the original songwriting and song-making strategy of the first albums except with a clear indication of how (the music) came to be... The rabid element and the hatred that was engendered is almost impossible to describe. It lingers to this day among people my own age...<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cinemascholars.com/making-the-monkees-1965-68/|title=THE MONKEES (1965-68) - A Cultural Phenomenon|first=Benjamin|last=McVay|date=August 2, 2021}}</ref></blockquote>

Tork disagreed with Nesmith's assessment of ''Headquarters'', stating, "I don't think the ''Pisces'' album was as groovy to listen to as ''Headquarters''. Technically it was much better, but I think it suffers for that reason."<ref name="SandovalPage142">Sandoval (2005), p. 142.</ref> Tork favored working as a unified band, but Dolenz soon lost interest in drumming. "Dolenz was 'incapable of repeating a triumph,'" Tork commented in a DVD release of the second season. Producer Chip Douglas noted Dolenz's drumming required extensive editing, calling it "shaky".<ref name="SandovalPage108">Sandoval (2005), p. 108.</ref>

''Pisces'' was their fourth consecutive No. 1 album, holding the top spot for five weeks.<ref name="SandovalPage142" /> The album featured hits like "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (No. 3) and "Words" (No. 11).<ref name="SandovalPage116" /><ref name="SandovalPage302">Sandoval (2005), p. 302.</ref> It also included early use of the Moog synthesizer on tracks like "Daily Nightly" and "Star Collector". Nesmith's "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" became a milestone in the development of country-rock.<ref name="SandovalPage118">Sandoval (2005), p. 118.</ref> Nesmith reflected, ""One of the things that I really felt was honest was country-rock. I wanted to move the Monkees more into that because ... if we get closer to country music, we'll get closer to blues, and country blues, and so forth. ... It had a lot of un-country things in it: a familiar change from a I major to a VI minor—those kinds of things. So it was a little kind of a new wave country song. It didn't sound like the country songs of the time, which was Buck Owens."<ref name="SandovalPage118" />

Their next single, "Daydream Believer", with a piano intro by Tork, reached No. 1. Its B-side, "Goin' Down", featured Nesmith and Tork on guitars and Dolenz on lead vocals. The Monkees simultaneously held No. 1 positions on the singles and album charts.<ref name="SandovalPage143">Sandoval (2005), p. 143.</ref>

Both ''Headquarters'' and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' returned to the charts during the Monkees' 1986 reunion, remaining there for 17 weeks.<ref name="Discography">{{cite web|last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |title=Discography |url=https://www.monkees.com/read/discography/singles.php |publisher=Official Monkees Website |access-date=May 20, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302234847/http://www.monkees.com/read/discography/singles.php |archive-date=March 2, 2012 }}</ref>

==== ''The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees'' ====

No longer desiring to work as a group, the Monkees dropped Chip Douglas as a producer, and starting in November 1967, they largely produced their own sessions.<ref name="SandovalPage142" /> Although credited to the whole band, the songs were mostly solo efforts.<ref name="SandovalPage148">Sandoval (2005), p. 148.</ref> In a couple of cases, Boyce and Hart had returned from the first two albums to produce, but credit was given to the Monkees due to contractual requirements.<ref name="SandovalPage152">Sandoval (2005), p. 152.</ref>

Propelled by the hit singles "Daydream Believer" and "Valleri", along with Nesmith's self-penned top 40 hit "Tapioca Tundra", ''The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees'' reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts shortly after it was released in April 1968.<ref name="SandovalPage183">Sandoval (2005), p. 183.</ref> It was the first album released after NBC announced they were not renewing ''The Monkees'' for a third season. The album cover—a quaint collage of items in a knickknack shelf—was chosen over the Monkees' objections. It was the last Monkees' album to be released in separate, dedicated mono and stereo mixes.<ref name="SandovalPage183" /> During the 1986 reunion, it returned to the Billboard charts for 11 weeks.<ref name="Discography"/>

==== Beyond television and ''Head'' ==== ''The Monkees'' was cancelled in 1968.<ref name="downfall" />

Also in 1968, the Monkees starred in ''Head'', an American satirical musical adventure film written and produced by Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson and directed by Rafelson.<ref name="Head">{{cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20082/head#credits |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104013/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20082/Head/#credits |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 28, 2011 |title=Head|work=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=December 8, 2024}}</ref>

The plot and peak moments of the film came together at an Ojai, California, resort where the Monkees, Rafelson, and Nicholson brainstormed into a tape recorder,<ref name="LATimes">{{Cite news|last=King|first=Susan|title=A Monkees 'Head' trip|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 12, 2008|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-12-et-monkees12-story.html|access-date=April 30, 2010}}</ref> reportedly with the aid of a quantity of marijuana. Nicholson then took the tapes and used them as the basis for his screenplay, which according to Rafelson he structured while under the influence of LSD.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/28/monkees-head-jack-nicholson-interview|first=Dorian|last=Lynksey|title=The Monkees' Head: 'Our fans couldn't even see it'|work=The Guardian|date=April 28, 2011|access-date=May 26, 2016}}</ref> When the band learned that they would not be allowed to direct themselves or to receive screenwriting credit, Dolenz, Jones, and Nesmith staged a one-day walkout, leaving Tork the only Monkee on the set the first day.{{sfn|Baker|Czarnota|Hoga|1986|pages=91–102}} The strike ended after the first day when the studio agreed to a larger percentage share of the film's net for the group, but the incident damaged the Monkees' relationship with Rafelson and Bert Schneider and would effectively end their professional relationship with the producers.{{sfn|Baker|Czarnota|Hoga|1986|pages=91–102}}

The film was the antithesis of ''The Monkees'' television show. Rafelson and Nicholson's "Ditty Diego-War Chant" (recited at the start of the film by the group) ruthlessly parodies Boyce and Hart's "Monkees Theme". A sparse advertising campaign (with no mention of the Monkees) hurt any chances of the film doing well, and it played briefly in half-filled theaters. In the DVD commentary, Nesmith said that everyone associated with the Monkees "had gone crazy" by this time. They were each using the platform of the Monkees to push their own disparate career goals, to the detriment of the Monkees project. Nesmith added that ''Head'' was Rafelson and Nicholson's intentional effort to "kill" the Monkees, so that they would no longer be bothered with the matter.<ref name="SandovalPage219">Sandoval (2005), p. 219.</ref>

A poor audience response at an August 1968 screening in Los Angeles forced the producers to edit the picture from its original 110-minute length. The 86-minute ''Head'' premiered in New York City on November 6, 1968; the film later debuted in Hollywood on November 20. It was not a commercial success. This was in part because ''Head'' comprehensively demolished the group's carefully groomed public image while the counterculture audience they had been reaching for rejected the Monkees' efforts out of hand. Receiving mixed critical reviews and virtually non-existent box office receipts, the film succeeded in alienating the band's teenage fanbase while failing to attract a more adult audience.<ref name="LATimes"/> Rafelson and Schneider severed all ties to the band amid the bitterness that ensued over the commercial failure of ''Head''. At the time, Rafelson told the press, "I grooved on those four in very special ways while at the same time thinking they had absolutely no talent."<ref name="SandovalPage219" />

The film's soundtrack album reached No. 45 on the Billboard charts<ref name="SandovalPage210">Sandoval (2005), p. 210.</ref> and No. 24 in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5903.pdf| title=RPM Top 50 Albums - February 17, 1969}}</ref> ''PopMatters'' described ''Head'' as "a hypnogogic hallucination of a 60's pop record" whose composition encompassed musique concrète pieces and six new songs in the genres of psychedelic, Broadway and lo-fi rock.<ref name=PM>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/148574-getting-head-2495952575.html |title="GETTING" HEAD… THE MONKEES' LAST GREAT ALBUM |author=Staff |date=October 31, 2011 |website=PopMatters |access-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref>

The album had a mylar cover to give it a mirror-like appearance, so that the person looking at the cover would see his own head, a play on the album title ''Head''. Peter Tork said, "That was something special... [Jack] Nicholson coordinated the record, made it up from the soundtrack. He made it different from the movie. There's a line in the movie where [Frank] Zappa says, 'That's pretty white.' Then there's another line in the movie that was not juxtaposed in the movie, but Nicholson put them together in the [soundtrack album], when Mike says, 'And the same thing goes for Christmas'... that's funny... very different from the movie... that was very important and wonderful that he assembled the record differently from the movie... It was a different artistic experience."<ref name="SandovalPage204">Sandoval (2005), p. 204.</ref>

Released in October 1968, the single from the album, "The Porpoise Song", is a psychedelic pop song written by Goffin and King, with lead vocals from Micky Dolenz and backing vocals from Davy Jones, and it reached No. 62 on the Billboard charts<ref name="SandovalPage207">Sandoval (2005), p. 207.</ref> and No. 26 on the Canadian RPM charts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5821.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - November 2, 1968}}</ref>

''Head'' developed a cult following.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.openculture.com/2022/02/how-the-1968-psychedelic-film-head-destroyed-the-monkees-became-a-cult-classic.html|title=How the 1968 Psychedelic Film Head Destroyed the Monkees & Became a Cult Classic |website=openculture.com|last=Mills |first=Ted |date=February 21, 2022}}</ref> In 2013, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album at number 25 in their list of "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time".<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/lists/the-25-greatest-soundtracks-of-all-time-20130829/head-1968-19691231 |last1=Dolan |first1=Jon |last2=Hermes |first2=Will |last3=Hoard |first3=Christian |last4=Sheffield |first4=Rob |title=The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 29, 2013}}</ref>

=== Later years and separation === [[File:Monkees Television special 1969.jpg|thumb|1969 television special ''33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee''|left]]

==== Tork's resignation, ''Instant Replay'' and ''The Monkees Present'' ==== Tensions within the group were increasing. Tork, citing exhaustion, quit the band by buying out the last four years of his Monkees contract at $150,000 per year. Tork departed shortly after the band's September–October Far East tour in December 1968 and after the band completed work on their 1969 NBC television special, ''33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee''.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

In February 1969, the Monkees' seventh album, ''Instant Replay,'' without Tork's involvement beyond playing guitar on "I Won't Be the Same Without Her", was released, which reached No. 32 on the charts,<ref name="SandovalPage226">Sandoval (2005), p. 226.</ref> and No. 45 in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5975.pdf|title=RPM Top 50 Albums - April 14, 1969|website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca|access-date=October 23, 2023}}</ref> The single from the album was "Tear Drop City", which peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. Billboard chart, No. 27 on the Canadian chart,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5923.pdf|title=RPM Top 100 Singles - March 31, 1969|website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca|access-date=October 23, 2023}}</ref> and No. 34 on the Australian chart.<ref name="SandovalPage227">Sandoval (2005), p. 227.</ref> Dolenz contributed the biggest and longest Monkees' production, "Shorty Blackwell", a song celebrating his cat.<ref name="SandovalPage161">Sandoval (2005), p. 161.</ref> Dolenz called it his "feeble attempt at something to do with ''Sgt. Pepper.''"<ref name="SandovalPage161" /> In April 1969, the single "Someday Man" b/w "Listen to the Band" was released,<ref name="SandovalPage253">Sandoval (2005), p. 253.</ref> which had the unique distinction of the B-side, a Nesmith-composed country-rock song, charting higher (No. 63) than the Jones-sung A-side (No. 81).<ref name="Discography" /><ref name="SandovalPage253" /> In Canada, "Someday Man" was No. 74<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6006.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - May 19, 1969}}</ref> and "Listen to the Band" reached No. 53.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5928.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - July 7, 1969}}</ref> [[File:Monkees 1969 Joey Bishop Show.jpg|thumb|The Monkees (without Tork) performing on ''The Joey Bishop Show'', backed by the Goodtimers, in 1969. The images of Jones and Dolenz were re-used for the cover art of the 1970 Monkees album ''Changes''.]] The final album with Nesmith from the Monkees' original incarnation was their eighth album, ''The Monkees Present'', released in October 1969, which peaked at No. 100 on the Billboard charts.<ref name="SandovalPage253" /> It included the Nesmith composed country-rock singles "Listen to the Band" and "Good Clean Fun" (released in September 1969)<ref name="SandovalPage251">Sandoval (2005), p. 251.</ref>(No. 80 Canada<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.6092.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - October 18, 1969}}</ref>). Other notable songs include the Dolenz composition "Little Girl", which featured Louie Shelton on electric guitar joining Dolenz on acoustic guitar.<ref name="SandovalPage249">Sandoval (2005), p. 249.</ref>

In the summer of 1969, the three remaining Monkees embarked on a tour with the backing of the soul band Sam and the Goodtimers. Concerts for this tour were longer sets than their earlier performances tours, with many shows running over two hours. Although the tour was met with some positive critical reception (''Billboard'' in particular praised it), other critics were not favorable of the mixing of the Monkees' pop music with the Goodtimers' R&B approach. Toward the end of the tour, some dates were canceled due to poor ticket sales. The tour failed to re-establish the band commercially, with no single entering the Top 40 in 1969. Dolenz remarked that the tour "was like kicking a dead horse. The phenomenon had peaked".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monkeesconcerts.com/1969-north-american-tour.html |title=Monkees 1969 Tour - The Monkees Live Almanac |publisher=Monkeesconcerts.com |access-date=August 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816110832/http://www.monkeesconcerts.com/1969-north-american-tour.html |archive-date=August 16, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Nesmith's resignation, ''Changes'' and disbandment ==== On April 14, 1970, Nesmith joined Dolenz and Jones for the last time as part of the original incarnation of the Monkees to film a Kool-Aid commercial. The commercial featured the trio throwing Nerf balls around a mock living room.<ref name="SandovalPage267">Sandoval (2005), p. 267.</ref> Nesmith left the group to continue recording songs with his own country-rock group called Michael Nesmith & the First National Band, which he had started recording with on February 10, 1970.<ref name="SandovalPage263">Sandoval (2005), p. 263.</ref>

''Changes'', the ninth and final album by the Monkees released during its original incarnation, spawned the single "Oh My My" (US No. 98), which was accompanied by a music film promo (produced/directed by Dolenz). Dolenz contributed one of his own compositions, "Midnight Train", which was used in the re-runs of the Monkees TV series. The "Oh My My" b/w "I Love You Better" single from the ''Changes'' album was the last single issued under the Monkees name in the United States until 1986.<ref name="SandovalPage266">Sandoval (2005), p. 266.</ref> Originally released in June 1970,<ref name="SandovalPage270">Sandoval (2005), p. 270.</ref> ''Changes'' failed to chart in Billboard's Top 200 until the Monkees' 1986 reunion, when it stayed on the charts for four weeks (reaching No. 152).<ref name="Discography"/>

September 22, 1970 marked the final recording session by the Monkees before the band broke up. On that date, Jones and Dolenz recorded "Do It in the Name of Love" and "Lady Jane".<ref name="SandovalPage276">Sandoval (2005), p. 276</ref> The single was not mixed until February 19, 1971, and was released later that year.<ref name="SandovalPage84"/> The two remaining Monkees then lost the rights to use the name in several countries, the U.S. included. The single was not credited to the Monkees in the U.S., but to a misspelled "Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones".<ref name="SandovalPage84"/>

Both Jones and Dolenz pursued careers as solo artists in the years following the original breakup of the Monkees. However, Jones and Dolenz also toured as a duo in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-thought-seemed-stupid-tour-just-mike-nesmith.html/ | title='The Monkees': Micky Dolenz Thought It 'Seemed Stupid' to Tour with Just Mike Nesmith | date=March 9, 2023 }}</ref>

In a 1977 interview, Nesmith falsely claimed that the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined in 1967.<ref name="pantsonfire">{{Cite news |url=https://flashbak.com/in-1977-mike-nesmith-fooled-the-world-when-the-monkees-sold-more-records-than-the-beatles-and-rolling-stones-combined-386535/ |title=In 1977 Mike Nesmith Fooled the World: When The Monkees Sold More Records Than The Beatles and Rolling Stones Combined |date=September 18, 2017 |work=Flashbak |access-date=November 9, 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620102100/https://flashbak.com/in-1977-mike-nesmith-fooled-the-world-when-the-monkees-sold-more-records-than-the-beatles-and-rolling-stones-combined-386535/ |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> This inaccurate information was later repeated in newspapers and magazines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/celebrity-parents|title=Celebrity Parents |website=HuffPost|date=June 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609182939/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/celebrity-parents|access-date=September 29, 2021|archive-date=June 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Monkees - 1967 - The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-top-25-teen-idol-breakout-moments-20120511/the-monkees-1967-20120511 |first=Andy |last=Greene |date=May 11, 2012 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=August 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105075002/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-top-25-teen-idol-breakout-moments-20120511/the-monkees-1967-20120511 |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Reunions and revivals === ==== 1980s renaissance ==== {{More citations needed section|date=May 2025}} The Monkees experienced a significant resurgence in critical and commercial popularity during the mid-1980s. This revival was catalyzed by a marathon of their original television series, titled "Pleasant Valley Sunday", broadcast on MTV on February 23, 1986. Simultaneously, Nickelodeon began daily reruns of the show, reintroducing the band to a new generation. These promotional efforts sparked a resurgence of "Monkeemania", leading to a successful concert tour. The initial spark of the reunion occurred in February and March 1986, when Peter Tork and Davy Jones performed together in Australia. In May 1986, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork announced their "20th Anniversary Tour", which began in North America in June. The tour's success prompted additional performances in Australia, Europe, and North America, culminating in September 1989.

The Monkees' original albums saw renewed sales. Furthermore, the band released a new greatest hits compilation that achieved platinum certification. The success of the band during this period led to the release of their first single since 1971, "That Was Then, This Is Now". The track reached No. 20 on Billboard magazine's charts. The band's follow-up album, ''Pool It!'', was released in 1987. During the 1980s revival, Nesmith remained largely absent. He did not contribute to any of the Monkees' studio recordings during this period.

==== 1990s reunions ==== {{more citations needed section|date=May 2025}} The Monkees' eleventh album ''Justus'' was released in 1996. It was the first album since 1968 on which all four original members performed and produced, and it would be the last studio album in which all four Monkees directly participated (Jones's death would necessitate the use of archival recordings on later albums). ''Justus'' was produced by the Monkees, and all of its songs were written by one or two of the four Monkees. The album was recorded using only the four Monkees for all instruments and vocals, which was the inspiration for the album title and spelling (''Justus'' = Just Us).

The trio of Dolenz, Jones, and Tork reunited again for a successful 30th anniversary tour of American amphitheaters in 1996. Nesmith joined them onstage in Los Angeles to promote the new songs from ''Justus''. For the first time since the brief 1986 reunion, Nesmith returned to the concert stage for a tour of the United Kingdom in 1997, highlighted by two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in Wembley Park, London.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} In 1967, the Monkees had been the first group to headline on their own at the Empire Pool, as the Arena was then called.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Wembley Arena 1934-2004 The First Seventy Years|publisher=Wembley Arena|year=2004|page=18}}</ref> This was followed by a 1997 US tour featuring Tork, Jones, and Dolenz.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The full quartet also appeared in an ABC television special entitled ''Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees'', which was written and directed by Nesmith and spoofed the original series that had made them famous.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

==== 2000s reunions ==== After the 1997 tours, the group took another hiatus until they once again reunited in 2001 to tour the United States. However, this tour was also accompanied by public sniping. Dolenz and Jones had announced that they had "fired" Tork for his constant complaining and threatening to quit. Tork was quoted as confirming this, as well as stating that he wanted to tour with his own band, Shoe Suede Blues. Tork told WENN News that he "couldn't handle the backstage problems"; he added that because he was a recovering alcoholic, he was troubled by the overindulgence in alcohol by other members of the tour crew.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni0068658/|title=Monkees Split In Bitter Battle|publisher=WENN News|date=January 3, 2002|access-date=July 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206045148/http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0068658/|archive-date=December 6, 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Tork later stated in 2011 that alcohol played only a small role in his 2001 departure. He added, "I take full responsibility for the backstage problems on the 2001 tour. We were getting along pretty well until I had a meltdown. I ticked the other guys off good and proper... I really just behaved inappropriately, honestly. I apologized to them."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Exclusive: The Monkees Resolve Personal Issues for 45th Anniversary Tour|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-the-monkees-resolve-personal-issues-for-45th-anniversary-tour-20110307|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430174032/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-the-monkees-resolve-personal-issues-for-45th-anniversary-tour-20110307|archive-date=April 30, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 45th anniversary tour and Jones's death ==== ''An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour'' (without Nesmith) commenced on May 12, 2011, in Liverpool, England,<ref>{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Joyce|title=The Monkees, 1960s American mop-top pop band, will celebrate 45 year reunion with tour through UK|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-02-21/entertainment/28639628_1_band-year-reunion-uk|newspaper=The NY Daily News|access-date=May 20, 2012|date=February 21, 2011|location=New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029004112/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-02-21/entertainment/28639628_1_band-year-reunion-uk|archive-date=October 29, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> before moving to North America in June and July for a total of 43 performances.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monkees announce 10-date concert tour|url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/02/21/Monkees-announce-10-date-concert-tour/UPI-30601298316685/|work=United Press International|date=February 21, 2011|access-date=May 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226181521/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2011/02/21/Monkees-announce-10-date-concert-tour/UPI-30601298316685/|archive-date=February 26, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Monkees biographer Andrew Sandoval noted, "Once they hit the stage, the old magic was apparent. For the next three months...[they brought] the music and memories to fans in the band's grandest stage show in decades".<ref name="Sandoval"/> The tour grossed approximately $4 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Michael Nesmith Talks About His Long Journey Into Darkness and Coming Back to the Light|url=https://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/02/michael-nesmith-talks-about-his-long.html|publisher=Vintage Vinyl News|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502135145/http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/02/michael-nesmith-talks-about-his-long.html|archive-date=May 2, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

On August 8, 2011, the band canceled ten last-minute shows due to what was initially reported as "internal group issues and conflicts",<ref>{{cite news|title=The Monkees cancel Palace show, tour|author=Shannon Fromma|url=https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/The-Monkees-cancel-Palace-show-tour-1786733.php|work=Times Union|date=August 9, 2011|access-date=August 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211214813/http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/The-Monkees-cancel-Palace-show-tour-1786733.php|archive-date=February 11, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> though Tork later confirmed "there were some business affairs that couldn't be coordinated correctly. We hit a glitch and there was just this weird dislocation at one point".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|title=Peter Tork: Monkees Canceled Tour Due to a 'Glitch'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/peter-tork-monkees-canceled-tour-due-to-a-glitch-20111011|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512132323/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/peter-tork-monkees-canceled-tour-due-to-a-glitch-20111011|archive-date=May 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Jones clarified that "the (45th Anniversary) tour was only supposed to go until July. And it was great, the best time we've had because we're all on the same page now. We jelled onstage and off. But then more dates were being added. And more... Some of these shows were 2{{fraction|1|2}} hours long... The audiences were great. But, let's face it, we're not kids."<ref>{{cite web|last=ERVOLINO|first=BILL|title=Davy Jones and David Cassidy team up at bergenPAC|url=https://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/129248218_Ex_teen_idols_together_at_bergenPAC.html?c=y&page=1|publisher=northjersey.com|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013133318/http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/129248218_Ex_teen_idols_together_at_bergenPAC.html?c=y&page=1|archive-date=October 13, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 45th anniversary tour was the last Monkees tour with Jones, who died of a heart attack at age 66 on February 29, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Davy Jones' Death Caused By Severe Heart Attack|url=https://idolator.com/6205531/davy-jones-death-severe-heart-attack|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710051714/http://idolator.com/6205531/davy-jones-death-severe-heart-attack|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2012|access-date=March 2, 2012|newspaper=idolator.com|date=March 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name=WPTV>{{cite news|title=Davy Jones, lead singer of The Monkees, dies in Indiantown, according to medical examiner's office|url=https://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_martin_county/davy-jones-lead-singer-of-the-monkees-dies-from-heart-attack-this-morning-according-to-tmz-report|access-date=February 29, 2012|newspaper=WPTV|date=February 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302183131/http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_martin_county/davy-jones-lead-singer-of-the-monkees-dies-from-heart-attack-this-morning-according-to-tmz-report|archive-date=March 2, 2012}}</ref>

==== Reunion with Nesmith ==== On August 8, 2012, the surviving trio announced a series of U.S. shows for November and December, commencing in Escondido, California and concluding in New York City. The brief tour marked the first time Nesmith performed with the Monkees since 1997.<ref name=rhino2012tour>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/an-evening-with-the-monkees-fall-tour-announced |title=An Evening With The Monkees - Fall Tour Announced |publisher=rhino.com |date=May 13, 2015 |access-date=August 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905091837/http://www.rhino.com/article/an-evening-with-the-monkees-fall-tour-announced |archive-date=September 5, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Jones's memory was honored throughout the shows via recordings and video. During one point, the band went quiet and a recording of Jones singing "I Wanna Be Free" played while footage of him was screening behind the band. For Jones's signature song, "Daydream Believer", Dolenz said that the band had discussed who should sing the song and had concluded that it should be the fans, saying "It doesn't belong to us anymore. It belongs to you."<ref name=RSkickoff>{{cite news | first = Peter | last = Holslin | title = Monkees Delight Believers in Reunion Tour Kickoff | magazine = Rolling Stone | date = November 9, 2012 | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/monkees-delight-believers-in-reunion-tour-kickoff-20121109 | access-date = November 12, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111222230/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/monkees-delight-believers-in-reunion-tour-kickoff-20121109 | archive-date = November 11, 2012 | url-status = live }}</ref>

The fall 2012 tour was very well received by both fans and critics, resulting in the band's scheduling a 24-date summer tour for 2013. Dubbed "A Midsummer's Night with the Monkees", the concerts also featured Nesmith, Dolenz, and Tork. "The reaction to the last tour was euphoric", Dolenz told ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. "It was pretty apparent there was a demand for another one."<ref name=RS2013tour>{{cite news | first = Andy | last = Greene | title = The Monkees Reveal U.S. Summer Tour Dates | magazine = Rolling Stone | date = April 29, 2013 | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-reveal-u-s-summer-tour-dates-20130429 | access-date = May 2, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130502002238/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-reveal-u-s-summer-tour-dates-20130429 | archive-date = May 2, 2013 | url-status = live }}</ref> A third tour with Nesmith followed in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/monkees-spring-2014-tour/|title=Monkees Announce 2014 Spring Tour|first=Dave|last=Swanson|date=March 31, 2014|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/monkees-kick-2014-music-zoo-series-1/|title=MUSIC REVIEW; The Monkees kick off the 2014 Music in the Zoo series at the Minnesota Zoo|website=tcdailyplanet.com|first=Patrick|last=Dunn|date=June 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/music/2014/03/the_monkees_swinging_in_to_bet.html|title=The Monkees swinging in to Bethlehem for May concert|last=Schoof|first=Dustin |website=lehighvalleylive.com|date=March 17, 2014}}</ref>

In March 2014, the Monkees were inducted into the Pop Music Hall of Fame.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/4-of-the-best-bubblegum-pop-songs-from-the-1960s/|title=4 of the Best Bubblegum Pop Songs from the 1960s|first=Thom|last=Donovan|date=October 24, 2024|website=American Songwriter}}</ref>

==== ''Good Times!'' and 50th anniversary ==== Dolenz and Tork toured as the Monkees in 2015 without Nesmith's participation. Nesmith stated that he was busy with other ventures, although Dolenz said that he was welcome to join them.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-plot-50th-anniversary-tour-new-lp-good-times-20160205|title=The Monkees Plot 50th Anniversary Tour, New LP 'Good Times!'|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=November 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044154/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-plot-50th-anniversary-tour-new-lp-good-times-20160205|archive-date=December 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2016, Dolenz announced that the Monkees would be releasing a new album, titled ''Good Times!'', as a celebration of their 50th anniversary. ''Good Times!'' featured contributions by all three surviving members, as well as a posthumous contribution from Jones through vocals he had recorded in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-plot-50th-anniversary-tour-new-lp-good-times-20160205 |title=The Monkees Plot 50th Anniversary Tour, New LP 'Good Times!' |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |date=February 5, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206003747/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-monkees-plot-50th-anniversary-tour-new-lp-good-times-20160205 |archive-date=February 6, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The album was released in May 2016 to considerable success, reaching No. 14 on the Billboard 200.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/418654/monkees/chart?f=305|title=The Monkees - Chart history - Billboard|magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719071311/https://www.billboard.com/artist/418654/monkees/chart?f=305|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

With the release of the album, the band, featuring Dolenz and Tork, commenced their 50th anniversary tour. Nesmith did not participate in most of the tour, again citing other commitments. He did, however, make a few appearances throughout the summer of 2016, appearing virtually via Skype to perform "Papa Gene's Blues" at one concert and in person for a four-song encore at another. In September, he replaced Tork on the tour for two dates while Tork attended to a family emergency. After Tork returned to the tour, Nesmith performed with the band for a concert at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on September 16.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-nesmith-to-reunite-with-monkees-for-one-last-concert-w435433|title=Michael Nesmith to Reunite With Monkees for One Last Concert|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=August 20, 2016|access-date=August 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823131311/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/michael-nesmith-to-reunite-with-monkees-for-one-last-concert-w435433|archive-date=August 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== The Mike and Micky Show, ''Christmas Party'', and Tork's death ==== On February 20, 2018, a new tour was announced as "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show", their first tour as a duo; Tork was unable to participate due to health problems (a fact that was not revealed until after his death). Though the pair played Monkees music and promoted the tour under the Monkees banner, Dolenz and Nesmith respected Tork's absence by insisting that the shows be billed as a separate duo rather than being billed as official Monkees shows. Nesmith stated, "There's no pretense there about Micky and I being the Monkees. We're not."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/monkees-micky-dolenz-mike-nesmith-announce-tour-w516902|title=Monkees' Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith Announce First Tour as Duo|first=Andy|last=Greene|date=February 20, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623033127/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/monkees-micky-dolenz-mike-nesmith-announce-tour-w516902|archive-date=June 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The tour was cut short in June 2018 due to Nesmith undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery following a health issue that had persisted since early in the tour. After a month-long stay in the hospital, he and Dolenz announced March 2019 as make-up dates for the missed shows.<ref name="Nesmith's surgery 2018">{{cite web|url=https://people.com/music/the-monkees-mike-nesmith-health-issue-band-cancels-tour-dates/|title=The Monkees' Michael Nesmith Suffers 'Minor Health Issue', Band Cancels Last 4 Tour Dates|website=People|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623033029/https://people.com/music/the-monkees-mike-nesmith-health-issue-band-cancels-tour-dates/|archive-date=June 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Monkees released a Christmas album, ''Christmas Party'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/the-monkees-to-release-christmas-party-their-first-ever-holiday-album|website=Rhino.com|title=The Monkees To Release Christmas Party, Their First Ever Holiday Album|date=September 20, 2018|access-date=February 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224041551/https://www.rhino.com/article/the-monkees-to-release-christmas-party-their-first-ever-holiday-album|archive-date=December 24, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> on October 12, 2018. The album features a mix of holiday standards and original songs written by contemporary artists. In addition to newly recorded material from the three surviving Monkees, two previously recorded songs featuring vocals from Jones were also included.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-christmas-album-rivers-cuomo-peter-buck-726429/|title=The Monkees Made a Christmas Album With Rivers Cuomo and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck|first=Andy|last=Greene|date=September 20, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=September 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920195927/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-christmas-album-rivers-cuomo-peter-buck-726429/|archive-date=September 20, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tork died of cancer on February 21, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47319788|work=BBC News|title=Monkees musician Peter Tork dies at 77|date=February 21, 2019|access-date=February 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221175249/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47319788|archive-date=February 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> After Tork's death, Dolenz and Nesmith's rescheduled shows (and additional shows) of "The Mike and Micky Tour" were billed as Monkees shows.<ref name="Monkees2020">{{cite web |title=UPDATED: THE MONKEES - NEW TOUR DATES AND LIVE ALBUM COMING IN 2020 (Press Release) |url=https://www.monkees.com/article/updated-the-monkees-new-tour-dates-and-live-album-coming-in-2020 |website=Monkees.com |publisher=The Monkees |access-date=July 17, 2025 |date=2019}}</ref><ref name="Nesmith's surgery 2018" />

==== ''Dolenz Sings Nesmith'', farewell tour, and Nesmith's death ==== In May 2021, Dolenz released a solo album, ''Dolenz Sings Nesmith'', featuring songs written by Nesmith and produced by Christian Nesmith.<ref name="variety.com">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2021/music/news/monkees-micky-dolenz-sings-mike-nesmith-1234978891/|title=Micky Dolenz on Why the Monkees Are Doing a Farewell Tour and His New 'Dolenz Sings Nesmith' Album|first1=A. D.|last1=Amorosi|website=Variety|date=May 21, 2021}}</ref>

Following the success of the Mike and Micky Show, Dolenz and Nesmith announced a follow-up tour, An Evening with the Monkees, to begin in early 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-2020-tour-911179/|title=The Monkees Announce 2020 Tour Dates, New Live Album|website=rollingstone.com|first=Andy|last=Greene|date=November 12, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Monkees2020" /> The tour was delayed, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 4, 2021, it was announced that the rescheduled dates would be billed as a farewell tour. "The Monkees Farewell Tour" consisted of over 40 dates in the US from September to November; because of restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they were unable to play shows in Canada, the UK or Australia. The final date and final show for the Monkees Farewell Tour was held on November 14, 2021, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/monkees-farewell-concert/|title=Monkees Say Farewell: Set List and Videos|first=Corey|last=Irwin|date=November 15, 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>

Nesmith died of heart failure on December 10, 2021, less than a month after the final date of the 2021 tour.<ref name="rsnesmithdeath">{{cite magazine |last1=Greene |first1=Andy |title=Michael Nesmith, Monkees singer-songwriter, dead at 78 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/monkees-michael-nesmith-dead-1270079/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 10, 2021}}</ref> Nesmith's death left Dolenz as the only surviving member of the Monkees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/19/micky-dolenz-monkees-interview-2022/10540516002/|title='The last man standing': Micky Dolenz reflects on his life as the only surviving Monkee|first=Ed|last=Masley|website=USA TODAY|date=October 19, 2022}}</ref>

=== Micky Dolenz === thumb|Dolenz performing on "The Monkees Celebrated by Micky Dolenz" tour, 2022

In early 2022, Dolenz announced that he would embark on a series of April 2022 concert dates called the "Micky Dolenz Celebrates the Monkees 2022 Tour".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/micky-dolenz-monkees-tribute-tour-1235173648/|title=Micky Dolenz Announces Monkees Celebration Tour|website=variety.com|first=Chris|last=Willman|date=February 7, 2022}}</ref>

==Impact and legacy== The Monkees were selected specifically to appeal to the youth market as American television's response to the Beatles.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kernfeld |first1=Barry |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000049253 |title=Monkees, the - Grove Music |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.49253 |access-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref> Andrew Sandoval wrote the following in ''The Hollywood Reporter'':

{{blockquote|[The Monkees] pioneered the music video format and paved the way for every boy band that followed in their wake, from New Kids on the Block to 'N Sync to the Jonas Brothers, while Davy set the stage for future teen idols David Cassidy and Justin Bieber. As pop stars go, you would be hard pressed to find a successful artist who didn't take a page from the Monkees' playbook, even generations later. Monkee money also enabled Rafelson and Schneider to finance ''Easy Rider'' and ''Five Easy Pieces'', which made Jack Nicholson a star. In fact, the Monkees series was the opening salvo in a revolution that brought on the New Hollywood cinema, an influence rarely acknowledged but no less impactful.<ref name="Sandoval" />}}

The ''Chicago Tribune'' interviewed Davy Jones, who said, "We touched a lot of musicians, you know. I can't tell you the amount of people that have come up and said, 'I wouldn't have been a musician if it hadn't been for the Monkees.' It baffles me even now".<ref>{{cite news |last=Knopper |first=Steve |date=January 28, 2011 |title=The littlest Monkee is still going strong |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/01/28/the-littlest-monkee-is-still-going-strong/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415172831/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-28/entertainment/ct-ott-0128-davy-jones-20110127_1_jones-and-tork-monkee-business-daydream-believer |archive-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref>

The Monkees found unlikely fans among musicians of the punk rock period of the mid-1970s. Many of these punk performers had grown up on TV reruns of the series, and sympathized with the anti-industry, anti-establishment trend of their career. Sex Pistols and Minor Threat both recorded versions of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and it was often played live by Toy Love. Japanese new wave pop group the Plastics recorded a synthesizer and drum-machine version of "Last Train to Clarksville" for their 1979 album ''Welcome Back''.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Glenn A. Baker, author of ''Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees'', described the Monkees as "rock's first great embarrassment" in 1986:

<blockquote>Like an illegitimate child in a respectable family, the Monkees are destined to be regarded forever as rock's first great embarrassment; misunderstood and maligned like a mongrel at a ritzy dog show, or a test tube baby at the Vatican... The fact was ignored that session players were being heavily employed by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds and other titans of the age. However, what could ''not'' be ignored, as rock disdained its pubescent past, was a group of middle-aged Hollywood businessmen had actually assembled their concept of a profitable rock group and foisted it upon the world. What mattered was that the Monkees had success handed to them on a silver plate.<ref name="baker" /></blockquote>

''Mediaite'' columnist Paul Levinson noted that "The Monkees were the first example of something created in a medium—in this case, a rock group on television—that jumped off the screen to have big impact in the real world."<ref name="Levinson">{{cite journal |last=Levinson |first=Paul |date=February 2012 |title=Why The Monkees Are Important |url=https://www.mediaite.com/online/why-the-monkees-are-important/ |url-status=live |journal=Mediaite |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301185648/http://www.mediaite.com/online/why-the-monkees-are-important/ |archive-date=March 1, 2012 |access-date=March 2, 2012}}</ref>

When commenting on the death of Jones on February 29, 2012, ''Time'' magazine contributor James Poniewozik praised the television show, saying the following:

<blockquote>... even if the show never meant to be more than entertainment and a hit-single generator, we shouldn't sell ''The Monkees'' short. It was far better TV than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure. Whatever Jones and the Monkees were meant to be, they became creative artists in their own right, and Jones' chipper Brit-pop presence was a big reason they were able to produce work that was commercial, wholesome and yet impressively weird.<ref name="Poniewozik">{{cite magazine |last=Poniewozik |first=James |date=February 2012 |title=RIP Davy Jones, The Monkees' Daydreamboat |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/29/rip-davy-jones-the-monkees-daydreamboat/?xid=rss-topstories |url-status=live |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525005037/http://entertainment.time.com/2012/02/29/rip-davy-jones-the-monkees-daydreamboat/?xid=rss-topstories |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |access-date=February 29, 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

The band released four chart-topping albums<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/the-monkees-billboard-chart-record-still-stands-1235008332/|title=Michael Nesmith & The Monkees Set a Billboard Chart Record in 1967 That Still Stands Today|website=billboard.com|first=Paul|last=Grein|date=December 11, 2021}}</ref>{{efn|Those four albums were ''The Monkees'', ''More of the Monkees'', ''Headquarters'', and ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.'', respectively.<ref name="auto2"/>}} and three chart-topping songs ("Last Train to Clarksville", "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer"),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-10-biggest-hot-100-hits-502980/|title=The Monkees' 10 Biggest Hot 100 Hits|website=billboard.com|first=Keith|last=Caulfield|date=February 29, 2012}}</ref> and sold at least 21 million records in the US.<ref name="RIAA">{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=The+Monkees#search_section |title=Gold & Platinum: The Monkees |work=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=January 5, 2025}}</ref>{{efn|In 1977, Michael Nesmith told a journalist that the Monkees had sold 35 million records in 1967 alone. Nesmith later admitted that this statement was a falsehood.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/realgilbertgottfried/videos/10152884279437205/ |last=Gottfried |first=Gilbert |author-link=Gilbert Gottfried |date=2015 |title=Exclusive: Mike Nesmith: I lied about The Monkees selling 35 million records |website=Facebook |access-date=January 5, 2025}}</ref><ref name="pantsonfire" />}} In fact, the band's four number one albums all reached the top of the charts in 1967. As of 2021, no other band has had four number one albums in the same calendar year.<ref name="auto2"/>

===In popular culture=== The Criterion Collection, which has a stated goal to release "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films, [and] has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements"<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.criterion.com/about_us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521102119/http://www.criterion.com/about_us |archive-date=May 21, 2012 |access-date=May 20, 2012 |publisher=The Criterion Collection}}</ref> recognized the Monkees' film ''Head'' as meeting their criteria when they fully restored and released it on DVD and Blu-ray in 2010. They stated that ''Head'' was "way, way ahead of its time" and "arguably the most authentically psychedelic film made in 1960s Hollywood".<ref>{{cite web |last=Stephens |first=Chuck |title=Head-zapoppin'! |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1665-head-zapoppin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704064125/http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1665-head-zapoppin |archive-date=July 4, 2012 |access-date=May 20, 2012 |publisher=The Criterion Collection}}</ref> ''Head'' dodged commercial success on its release but has since been reclaimed as one of the great cult objects of its era."<ref>{{cite web |title=Head |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27527-head |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606011949/http://www.criterion.com/films/27527-head |archive-date=June 6, 2012 |access-date=May 20, 2012 |publisher=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>

In the book ''Hey, Hey We're The Monkees'', Rafelson wrote that, with ''Head'', he explored unprecedented cinematic techniques, including filming actors underwater, the use of polarization, and inventing "double-matte experiences". "When it was shown in France, the head of the Cinematheque overly praised the movie as a cinematic masterpiece, and from that point on, this movie began to acquire an underground reputation."<ref>{{cite book |last=Bronson |first=Harold |title=Hey, Hey We're the Monkees |publisher=General Publishing Group, Inc. |year=1996 |isbn=1-57544-012-1 |location=Los Angeles |page=146}}</ref> In 2010, Nick Vernier Band created a digital "Monkees reunion" through the release of ''Mister Bob (featuring the Monkees),''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Monkees | Old Songs New Songs Remix to download new releases from iTunes |url=https://oldsongsnewsongsremix.com/the-monkees-2/#new_monkees_song |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823155306/http://oldsongsnewsongsremix.com/the-monkees-2/#new_monkees_song |archive-date=August 23, 2011 |access-date=August 19, 2015 |publisher=Oldsongsnewsongsremix.com}}</ref> a new song produced under license from Rhino Entertainment, containing vocal samples from the band's recording "Zilch". The contract bridge convention known as either Last Train or Last Train to Clarksville was so named by its inventor, Jeff Meckstroth, after the Monkees' song.<ref>{{OEB|7|295}}</ref>

==== Comic books ==== A comic book series, ''The Monkees'', was published in the United States by Dell Comics, which ran for 17 issues from 1967 to 1969.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |page=161}}</ref>

==== Biopic ==== In 2000, VH-1 produced the television biopic ''Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Daydream Believers: The Monkees' Story (2000) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241357/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016044912/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241357/ |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |access-date=August 19, 2015 |publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

==== Musical ==== A stage musical opened in the UK at the Manchester Opera House on Friday March 30, 2012, and was dedicated to Davy Jones (the Jones family attended the official opening on April 3).<ref name="Playbill">{{cite magazine |last=Gioia |first=Michael |title=Monkee Business, Featuring Songs of The Monkees, Premieres March 30 at Manchester Opera House |url=https://www.playbill.com/news/article/161263-Monkee-Business-Featuring-Songs-of-The-Monkees-Premieres-March-30-at-Manchester-Opera-House |url-status=dead |magazine=Playbill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830001948/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/161263-Monkee-Business-Featuring-Songs-of-The-Monkees-Premieres-March-30-at-Manchester-Opera-House |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=August 6, 2012 }}</ref> The production is a Jukebox musical and starred Stephen Kirwan, Ben Evans, Tom Parsons and Oliver Savile<ref name="Playbill" /> as actors playing the parts of the Monkees (respectively Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith, Tork) who are hired by an unscrupulous businessman to go on a world tour pretending to be the real band. The show includes 18 Monkees songs plus numbers by other 60s artists. It ran in Manchester as part of the "Manchester Gets it First" program until April 14, 2012, before a UK tour.<ref name="Playbill" /><ref name="BBC Musical">{{cite news |date=November 4, 2011 |title=Monkees musical to hit the stage |newspaper=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15591897 |url-status=live |access-date=August 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510173333/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15591897 |archive-date=May 10, 2012}}</ref> Following its Manchester run, the show appeared in the Glasgow King's Theatre and the Sunderland Empire Theatre.<ref name="Playbill" />

== Awards and achievements == ===Grammy Awards=== The Grammy Awards is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. It shares recognition of the music industry as that of the other performance arts: Emmy Awards (television), the Tony Awards (stage performance), and the Academy Awards (motion pictures).

{| class="wikitable" |- ! style="width:10%;" | Year ! style="width:40%;" | Category ! style="width:35%;" | Nominated work ! style="width:15%;" | Result |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1967 | Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording | rowspan="2" |"Last Train to Clarksville" | {{nom}} |- | Best Contemporary (R&R) Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | 1968 |Best Performance by a Vocal Group | rowspan="2" |"I'm a Believer" | {{nom}} |- | Best Contemporary Group Performance (Vocal or Instrumental) | {{nom}} |}

=== Notable achievements === * Gave the Jimi Hendrix Experience their first U.S. concert tour exposure as an opening act in July 1967.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Sharon |url=https://archive.org/details/jimihendrixmanma00lawr |title=Jimi Hendrix: The Intimate Story of a Betrayed Musical Legend |publisher=Harper |year=2005 |isbn=0-06-056301-X |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/jimihendrixmanma00lawr/page/n96 84] |url-access=limited}}</ref> * Inspired Gene Roddenberry to introduce the character of Chekov in his ''Star Trek'' TV series in response to the popularity of Davy Jones, complete with hairstyle and appearance mimicking that of Jones.<ref>''The Making of Star Trek'', by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry, (c) 1968 Ballantine Books, pp. 249–250.</ref><ref>''TV Guide'', September 4–10, 1993 p. 20.</ref> * Inducted into America's Pop Music Hall of Fame in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=home |url=http://www.americaspopmusichalloffame.org/#!inductees/cd9g |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112212441/http://www.americaspopmusichalloffame.org/#!inductees/cd9g |archive-date=January 12, 2016 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |website=Americanpopmusichalloffame.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monkees inducted into the American Pop Music Hall of Fame |url=http://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/monkees-inducted-into-the-american-pop-music-hall-of-fame |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531205041/http://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/blog/monkees-inducted-into-the-american-pop-music-hall-of-fame |archive-date=May 31, 2016 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |website=The Monkees Live Almanac}}</ref> * Honored by the Music Business Association (Music Biz) with an Outstanding Achievement Award celebrating the band's 50th anniversary on May 16, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 9, 2016 |title=Music Biz to Celebrate 50 Years of The Monkees with Outstanding Achievement Award at Nashville Convention - Music Business Association - Music Biz |url=https://musicbiz.org/press-releases/music-biz-to-celebrate-50-years-of-the-monkees-with-outstanding-achievement-award-at-nashville-convention/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515034710/http://musicbiz.org/press-releases/music-biz-to-celebrate-50-years-of-the-monkees-with-outstanding-achievement-award-at-nashville-convention/ |archive-date=May 15, 2016 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |website=Music Business Association - Music Biz |language=en-US}}</ref> * Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Monkees - Music Inductees |url=https://vocalgroup.org/inductees/the-monkees/ |access-date=January 14, 2022 |website=The Vocal Group Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Controversies== ===Rock and Roll Hall of Fame=== Various magazines and news outlets, such as ''Time'',<ref>{{cite magazine|last=McCombs|first=Joseph|title=Hey, Hey Let Them In: 10 Reasons The Monkees Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/19/the-monkees-should-be-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-times-10-part-treatise/#their-chart-success|magazine=Time Magazine|access-date=May 20, 2012|date=April 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513174516/http://entertainment.time.com/2012/04/19/the-monkees-should-be-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-times-10-part-treatise/#their-chart-success|archive-date=May 13, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> NPR,<ref>{{cite web|last=Hirsh|first=Marc|title=NOW Can We Induct The Monkees Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?|website=NPR|date=March 2012|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/03/01/147736081/now-can-we-induct-the-monkees-into-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame|publisher=NPR Radio|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518213237/http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/03/01/147736081/now-can-we-induct-the-monkees-into-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame|archive-date=May 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Goldmine'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Marder|first=Phill|title=No Monkee business allowed in the Rock Hall of Fame?|date=July 7, 2011 |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/blogs/no-monkee-business-allowed-in-the-rock-hall-of-fame|publisher=Goldmine Magazine|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104003136/http://www.goldminemag.com/blogs/no-monkee-business-allowed-in-the-rock-hall-of-fame|archive-date=January 4, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Marder|first=Phill|title=10 more bands snubbed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|date=January 29, 2012 |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/blogs/10-more-bands-snubbed-by-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame|publisher=Goldmine Magazine|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418135020/http://www.goldminemag.com/blogs/10-more-bands-snubbed-by-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame|archive-date=April 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Yahoo! Music<ref>{{cite web|last=Hoskyns|first=Barney|title=Why Aren't the Monkees In the Rock and Roll of Fame?|work=Yahoo! Music |url=https://music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocks-backpages/why-aren-t-monkees-rock-roll-fame-125232196.html|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421102110/http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/rocks-backpages/why-aren-t-monkees-rock-roll-fame-125232196.html|archive-date=April 21, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> and MSNBC<ref>{{cite web|last=Sclafani|first=Tony|title=Hey hey, it's the fans who want the Monkees in the Rock Hall|url=http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/13/11182790-hey-hey-its-the-fans-who-want-the-monkees-in-the-rock-hall?lite|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=May 20, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512022857/http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/13/11182790-hey-hey-its-the-fans-who-want-the-monkees-in-the-rock-hall?lite|archive-date=May 12, 2012}}</ref> have argued that the Monkees belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1992, Davy Jones told ''People'' that he knew that the Monkees would never make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20113185,00.html|title=Tales from a Monkee : People.com|website=People|access-date=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328133459/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20113185,00.html|archive-date=March 28, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2007, Peter Tork complained to the ''New York Post'' that Jann Wenner had "blackballed" the Monkees from being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tork contended that Wenner held a grudge against the Monkees because the band members did not always write their own songs or play their own instruments during their early years.<ref name="CSM">{{cite news|title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The top 5 biggest omissions|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2010/1215/Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-The-top-5-biggest-omissions/The-Monkees|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|access-date=May 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519000116/http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2010/1215/Rock-and-Roll-Hall-of-Fame-The-top-5-biggest-omissions/The-Monkees|archive-date=May 19, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Members== * Micky Dolenz – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards (1966–1971, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001–2002, 2011–2021) * Davy Jones – lead and backing vocals, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar, bass (1966–1971, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001–2002, 2011–2012; died 2012) * Michael Nesmith – lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, backing and lead vocals (1966–1970, 1986, 1989, 1996–1997, 2012–2014, 2016, 2018–2021; died 2021) * Peter Tork – bass, rhythm and lead guitars, keyboards, banjo, backing and occasional lead vocals (1966–1968, 1976, 1986–1989, 1996–1997, 2001, 2011–2018; died 2019)

=== Timeline === {{#tag:timeline| ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:75 bottom:95 top:5 right:0 Alignbars = late DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1966 till:12/10/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1966 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1966

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bar:DJ from:01/01/1966 till:02/19/1971 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:08/01/1967 till:02/19/1971 color:drums width:3 bar:DJ from:07/04/1976 till:12/24/1976 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:02/23/1986 till:07/10/1989 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2002 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:01/01/2011 till:02/29/2012 color:lVocals bar:DJ from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:rGuitar width:3 bar:DJ from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2002 color:rGuitar width:3 bar:DJ from:01/01/2011 till:02/29/2012 color:rGuitar width:3 bar:PT from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/1969 color:Bass bar:PT from:11/01/1966 till:01/01/1969 color:Keys width:5 bar:PT from:01/01/1966 till:11/01/1966 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:PT from:01/01/1966 till:11/01/1966 color:lGuitar width:3 bar:PT from:11/01/1966 till:01/01/1969 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:PT from:11/01/1966 till:01/01/1969 color:lGuitar width:7 bar:PT from:11/01/1966 till:01/01/1969 color:bVocals width:3 bar:PT from:07/04/1976 till:07/04/1976 color:bVocals width:3 bar:PT from:07/04/1976 till:07/04/1976 color:Bass width:3 bar:PT from:07/04/1976 till:12/24/1976 color:Keys bar:PT from:02/23/1986 till:07/10/1989 color:lGuitar bar:PT from:02/23/1986 till:07/10/1989 color:bVocals width:3 bar:PT from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:lGuitar bar:PT from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:PT from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:bVocals width:3 bar:PT from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 color:Bass width:7 bar:PT from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 color:Keys width:5 bar:PT from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 color:lGuitar bar:PT from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 color:bVocals width:3 bar:PT from:01/01/2011 till:10/12/2018 color:lGuitar bar:PT from:02/29/2012 till:10/12/2018 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:PT from:01/01/2016 till:10/12/2018 color:Keys width:7 bar:PT from:01/01/2011 till:10/12/2018 color:bVocals width:3 bar:MN from:01/01/1966 till:04/14/1970 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:01/01/1966 till:04/14/1970 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:09/07/1986 till:09/08/1986 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:09/07/1986 till:09/07/1986 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:MN from:09/07/1986 till:09/08/1986 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:07/09/1989 till:07/10/1989 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:07/09/1989 till:07/10/1989 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:MN from:07/09/1989 till:07/10/1989 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:07/09/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:07/09/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:08/08/2012 till:12/31/2014 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:08/08/2012 till:12/31/2014 color:rguitar width:9 bar:MN from:08/08/2012 till:12/31/2014 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:02/01/2016 till:05/27/2016 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:02/01/2016 till:05/27/2016 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:MN from:02/01/2016 till:05/27/2016 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:09/14/2016 till:09/16/2016 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:09/14/2016 till:09/16/2016 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:MN from:09/14/2016 till:09/16/2016 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MN from:05/01/2018 till:10/12/2018 color:rGuitar width:9 bar:MN from:05/01/2018 till:12/10/2021 color:lGuitar bar:MN from:05/01/2018 till:12/10/2021 color:LVocals width:3 bar:MD from:01/01/1966 till:02/19/1971 color:lVocals width:15 bar:MD from:01/01/1966 till:02/19/1971 color:rGuitar width:3 bar:MD from:01/01/1966 till:02/19/1971 color:Drums width:9 bar:MD from:07/04/1976 till:12/24/1976 color:lVocals bar:MD from:02/23/1986 till:07/10/1989 color:lVocals bar:MD from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:lVocals width:3 bar:MD from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:Drums width:15 bar:MD from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2002 color:lVocals width:3 bar:MD from:02/23/1986 till:07/10/1989 color:rguitar width:3 bar:MD from:01/01/1996 till:07/10/1997 color:rguitar width:9 bar:MD from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2002 color:rguitar width:15 bar:MD from:01/01/2011 till:12/10/2021 color:lVocals width:15 bar:MD from:01/01/2011 till:12/10/2021 color:rGuitar width:3 bar:MD from:01/01/2011 till:12/16/2016 color:Drums width:3

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==Discography== {{Main|The Monkees discography}} * ''The Monkees'' (1966) * ''More of the Monkees'' (1967) * ''Headquarters'' (1967) * ''Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.'' (1967) * ''The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees'' (1968) * ''Head'' (1968) * ''Instant Replay'' (1969) * ''The Monkees Present'' (1969) * ''Changes'' (1970) * ''Pool It!'' (1987) * ''Justus'' (1996) * ''Good Times!'' (2016) * ''Christmas Party'' (2018)

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{Cite book|title=Long Title: Looking for the Good Times; Examining the Monkees' Songs, One by One|last=Arnold|first=Mark|author-link= Mark Arnold (historian)|year=2017|isbn=9781629331751|publisher=BearManor Media}} * {{Cite book|title=Headquartered: A Timeline of The Monkees Solo Years|last=Arnold|first=Mark|author-link= Mark Arnold (historian)|year=2020|isbn=9781629335346|publisher=BearManor Media}} * {{cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |year=1986 |title=Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees |publisher=Plexus Publishing |isbn=0-312-00003-0}} * {{cite book |last=Baker |first=Glenn A. |orig-year=1986 |year=2000 |title=Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees |publisher=Plexus Publishing |isbn=0-85965-292-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/monkeemaniatrues00bake}} * {{cite book |last=Bronson |first=Harold |year=1996 |title=Hey, Hey We're the Monkees |publisher=General Publishing Group |isbn=1-57544-012-1}} * {{cite book |last=Falkenberg |first=Lise Lyng |author-link=Lise Lyng Falkenberg |year=2001 |title=The Monkees: Caught in a False Image |publisher=Underskoven |isbn=87-90767-31-4}} ** {{cite book |last=Falkenberg |first=Lise Lyng |author-link=Lise Lyng Falkenberg |year=2012 |title=The Monkees: Caught in a False Image |publisher=Smashwords/Amazon |isbn=978-1-4764-2233-6}} * {{cite web |last=Gilliland |first=John |year=1969 |author-link=John Gilliland |title=Revolt of the Fat Angel: Some Samples of the Los Angeles Sound |work=Pop Chronicles |publisher=Digital.library.unt.edu |format=audio |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/partners/UNTML/browse/?start=42&fq=untl_collection%3AJGPC }} * {{cite book |last=Lefcowitz |first=Eric |year=1985 |title=The Monkees Tale |publisher=Last Gasp |isbn=0-943249-00-7}} ** {{cite book |last=Lefcowitz |first=Eric |orig-year=1985 |year=1989 |title=The Monkees Tale |publisher=Last Gasp |isbn=0-86719-378-6}} * {{cite book |last=Lefcowitz |first=Eric |year=2010 |title=Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV Band |publisher=Retrofuture |isbn=978-0-86719-338-1}} * {{cite book |last=Sandoval |first=Andrew |year=2005 |title=The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |isbn=1-59223-372-4 }}

==External links== {{Wikiquote}} {{Commons category}} * {{Official website}} *{{AllMusic}} *{{Discogs artist}} * {{IMDb name}} *{{MusicBrainz artist}} * [https://www.rockerzine.com/index.php/2013/03/mike-nesmith-still-a-believer/ Mike Nesmith Interview - ''Rocker Magazine'' 2013] * [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/peter-tork Peter Tork Interview] at NAMM Oral History Collection (2009) * [https://vault.fbi.gov/the-monkees FBI Records: The Vault - The Monkees] at vault.fbi.gov

{{The Monkees|state=expanded}} {{Michael Nesmith}} {{Davy Jones}} {{Peter Tork}} {{Billboard Year-End number one albums 1956–1969}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkees, The}} Category:The Monkees  Category:1966 establishments in California Category:2021 disestablishments in California Category:American pop rock music groups Category:Arista Records artists Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines Category:Bell Records artists Category:Bubblegum pop groups Category:Colgems Records artists Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2021 Category:Musical groups established in 1966 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Category:Musical quartets from California Category:Psychedelic pop music groups Category:RCA Records artists Category:American rock and roll music groups Category:Television personalities from Los Angeles Category:Fictional musical groups Category:Television series about fictional musicians