"Listen to the Band" | ||||
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Single by The Monkees | ||||
from the album The Monkees Present | ||||
B-side | "Someday Man" | |||
Released | 26 April 1969 | |||
Recorded | 1 June & 9 December 1968 RCA Victor Studios Nashville, TN & Hollywood, CA | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:45 (album) 2:28 (single) | |||
Label | Colgems #5004 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Michael Nesmith | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Nesmith | |||
The Monkees singles chronology | ||||
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"Listen to the Band" is a song by American pop rock band the Monkees, released on Colgems single 5004 on April 26, 1969. Written by Michael Nesmith, it is the first time Nesmith sang lead vocals on a Monkees single A-side.
The song was written during Nesmith's RCA Nashville sessions and recording commenced on June 1, 1968. It was completed on December 9, 1968 at RCA studios in Los Angeles, with a horn section added to the track (arranged by Shorty Rogers).
"Listen to the Band" was first heard in a live performance on the Monkees' television special 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee (filmed in late 1968), with Peter Tork making his final appearance before leaving the band. The one-hour special aired on NBC on April 14, 1969, and the single was released 12 days later.
The single's flip side, "Someday Man", was a song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols and produced by Bones Howe. It was sung by Jones and recorded at the same time as Goffin and King's "A Man Without a Dream", which had appeared on the Monkees' previous album, Instant Replay (1969). "Someday Man" was heavily promoted in trade ads and was designated as the "plug side" on the promotional single, peaking on the Billboard chart at No. 81. However, DJs began to prefer the B-side, and Colgems accordingly began making updated picture sleeves, with "Listen to the Band" now listed as the A-side. The single reached No. 63 on the Billboard charts.
The song was later included on the Monkees' album The Monkees Present , released on Colgems 117 on October 11, 1969. The Monkees were by now a trio (Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones), with Peter Tork having left in December 1968. The album version runs 2 minutes and 45 seconds, 15 seconds longer than the single version.
In 1970, Nesmith re-recorded the song with The First National Band for their second album, Loose Salute .
The song includes a long held cadenza on the electric guitar that rises from G to the key of C with the accompaniment of the organ before Nesmith repeats the spoken title of the song to "Listen to the Band". The song features a brass section that plays during the instrumental section as if the brass were the band. The song ends with the recorded sound of an audience cheering for the band, sourced from the album 144 Genuine Sound Effects on the Mercury Hill label. Nesmith later revealed that the chord progression of "Listen to the Band" was created by playing another song he wrote, "Nine Times Blue", backwards.[ citation needed ]
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 63 |
Robert Michael Nesmith, better known as Mike Nesmith, was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same (1966–1968). His songwriting credits with the Monkees include "Mary, Mary", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Circle Sky" and "Listen to the Band". Additionally, his song "Different Drum" became a hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.
The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of the television show of the same name, the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the 1960s. With international hits, four chart-topping albums and three chart-topping songs, the band sold more than 75 million records worldwide.
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The Monkees is the debut studio album by the American band the Monkees. It was released on October 10, 1966 by Colgems Records in the United States and RCA Victor in the rest of the world. It was the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group, taking the top spot on the Billboard 200 for 13 weeks, after which it was displaced by the band's second album. It also topped the UK charts in 1967. The Monkees has been certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA, with sales of over five million copies.
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