Biography
The Monkees are an American rock and pop band originally active between 1966 and 1971, with reunion albums and tours in the decades that followed. They were formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider specifically for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork; and the English actor and singer Davy Jones. The band's music was initially supervised by producer Don Kirshner, backed by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.
Band Members
Davy Jones
David Thomas Jones (30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, actor and businessman, best known as a member of the band the Monkees, and for starring in the TV series of the same name. His acting credits include a Tony-nominated performance as the Artful Dodger in the original London and Broadway productions of Oliver! as well as a guest star role in a hallmark episode of The Brady Bunch television show and later reprised parody film; Love, American Style; and My Two Dads. Jones is considered a teen idol.[1][2]
Micky Dolenz
George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a vocalist and drummer of the 1960s pop/rock band the Monkees. In 1965, Dolenz was cast in the television sitcom The Monkees and became the drummer and a lead vocalist in the band created for the show. He was not actually a drummer and needed lessons even to be able to mime credibly, but eventually was taught how to play properly. By the time The Monkees went on tour in late 1966, Dolenz was competent enough to play the drums himself.[5] He learned to play right-handed and left-footed because of a leg disease called Perthes making his right leg weak.
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith (born December 30, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1968). Nesmith's songwriting credits include "Different Drum" (sung by Linda Ronstadt with the Stone Poneys). After the break-up of the Monkees, Nesmith continued his successful songwriting and performing career, first with the seminal country rock group the First National Band, with whom he had a top-40 hit "Joanne", and then as a solo artist. He is a noted player of the 12-string guitar, performing on custom-built 12-string electric guitars with the Monkees (built by Gretsch) and various 12-string acoustic models during his post-Monkees career. He is also an executive producer of the cult film Repo Man (1984). In 1981, Nesmith won the first Grammy Award given for Video of the Year for his hour-long television show, Elephant Parts.[1]
Peter Tork
Peter Halsten Thorkelson[1] (February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019), better known as Peter Tork, was an American musician, composer and actor, best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the Monkees. Tork was a proficient musician, and though other members of the group were not allowed to play their own instruments on their first two albums, he was an exception, playing what he described as "third chair guitar" on Michael Nesmith's song "Papa Gene's Blues" on their first album. He subsequently played keyboards, bass guitar, banjo, harpsichord, and other instruments on their recordings. He co-wrote, along with Joey Richards, the closing theme song of the second season of The Monkees, "For Pete's Sake". On the television show, he was relegated to playing the "lovable dummy", a persona Tork had developed as a folk singer in New York's Greenwich Village.[12]