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| The Monkees discography | |
|---|---|
 The Monkees in 1966 Clockwise (from top-left): Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Davy Jones | |
| Studio albums | 14 |
| Live albums | 11 |
| Compilation albums | 41 |
| Singles | 26 |
The Monkees' discography spans over 50 years, from the release of their first single, "Last Train to Clarksville" in August 1966 [1] [2] [3] to their final live album The Mike and Micky Show in April 2020. [4] [5] [6] [7] Their discography is complicated due to the large volume of unique releases in many international markets, the release of many recordings not credited to the Monkees for lack of rights to the trademark, and the existence of many bootleg, promotional, and novelty recordings that are beyond the scope of this article.
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The Monkees' record releases were originally conceived as tie-ins with their eponymous television series about a fictitious band struggling to make ends meet as rock musicians. [8] Columbia Pictures (the parent company of the series' production company Screen Gems) created Colgems Records in 1966 with a focus on releasing records by the Monkees along with other music connected with the film and television productions of Columbia‒Screen Gems. RCA Victor handled manufacturing and distribution of Colgems records, and released the Monkees' recordings on the RCA label outside the United States. [9] From 1966 to 1971 the Monkees released 12 singles, [10] nine studio albums (including the soundtrack to their film Head ), and three compilation albums in the United States. [11] [9] .
After the band's initial breakup and the dissolution of Colgems Records in 1971, control of the Monkees' catalogue moved to Bell Records, [12] who issued the single "Do It in the Name of Love" (credited to "Mickey Dolenz & Davy Jones"), [13] [14] a compilation album, [15] [16] and reissues of Colgems-era songs as singles on their Flashback Records imprint. [17] [18]
In 1975 and 1976 band members Dolenz and Jones reunited with longtime Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to record new music and perform live as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. [19] Capitol Records signed the quartet and released one studio album and two singles in the United States, plus a third single and a live album in Japan. [20] Dolenz and Jones also reunited with fellow Monkee Peter Tork for the 1976 Christmas single "Christmas Is My Time of Year", released on a vanity press by producer Chip Douglas. [21] [22]
In 1974 the Monkees' catalogue was transferred to Arista Records, [23] who continued Monkees reissues on the Flashback imprint. [17] In 1986 Dolenz and Tork recorded three new songs for Arista as "Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork (of the Monkees)". [24] On the Arista label (in the U.S.) the Monkees released three charting singles, [25] three compilation albums, [26] three compilation EPs, [27] and reissues of some of the band's albums, including for the first time on compact disc. [28] Arista Records in Australia and New Zealand released the double-LP compilation Monkeemania in 1979, which included three previously unreleased recordings, [29] marking the beginning of a flood of previously unreleased Monkees material to be released over the next few decades.
From 1982 to 1991 Rhino Entertainment licensed and issued Monkees recordings on their own label, [30] including the Monkees' first live album, [31] reissues of all nine of the Monkees' Colgems studio albums, [32] [33] the reunion album Pool It! [34] and its two associated singles, [35] and the first two volumes of Missing Links , compilations devoted entirely to previously unreleased music from the Colgems era. [36]
By 1994 Rhino Records gained control of the Monkees' catalogue and trademark [37] and it continues to release Monkees recordings as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. [38] Since 1994 Rhino has released in the United States three Monkees studio albums [39] with five associated digital singles [40] and two associated EPs, [41] [42] two box sets, [43] [44] 20 compilation albums, [45] [46] two digital compilation EPs, [47] [48] and several album reissues. Mail-order imprint Rhino Handmade released multi-disc expanded editions of seven of the Monkees' studio albums and of their 1967 live recordings. [49]
For the purposes of this article, all major mass-market recordings released in the United States and credited to The Monkees are included, along with some of the more notable international and niche-market releases. Also included are recordings credited to at least two of the Monkees as the main artists when use of the Monkees trademark was unavailable. Recordings listed are from the United States and credited to The Monkees, unless indicated otherwise.
