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. Their original line-up consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork with English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conceived in 1965 by television producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider specifically for the situation comedy series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The band's music was initially supervised by record producer Don Kirshner, backed by the songwriting duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.
Peter Halsten Thorkelson, known professionally as Peter Tork, was an American musician, composer, and actor who was best known as the keyboardist and bass guitarist of the Monkees.
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. is the fourth album by the Monkees. It was released on November 6, 1967, when the Monkees were exerting more control over their music and had started to play many of the instruments themselves, something that their record company had previously forbidden. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. sold more than three million copies and was also the band's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Headquarters is the third album issued by the Monkees and the first with substantial songwriting and instrumental performances by members of the group itself, rather than by session musicians and professional songwriters. After a struggle for creative autonomy with their record label, the group had been allowed, to a degree, to record by themselves. Headquarters reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified double platinum in the United States with sales of more than two million copies within the first two months of release. It peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts. It is included in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The Best of the Monkees is a Monkees compilation released by Rhino Entertainment. It contains 25 songs from the Monkees' repertoire, listed in chronological order by release date. Also included is a bonus karaoke CD with five tracks. Unlike previous Rhino compilations, this one does not include any material from the 1980s or 1990s reunions, focusing strictly on the band's 1960s output.
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees is the fifth studio album by the Monkees. Released in April 1968, it was the first Monkees album not to reach Billboard's number one, peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. charts. It was also their first album to miss the UK charts altogether, with their four previous efforts all having reached the top ten. The album has sold over a million copies.
"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart, shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. It was originally recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' last No. 1 hit in the U.S.
The Monkees Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by the Monkees, issued by Colgems in June 1969.
Missing Links Volume Three is a compilation album of rare and previously unreleased songs by The Monkees, issued by Rhino Records in 1996. It is the third and final volume of a three-volume set, preceded by Missing Links in 1987 and Missing Links Volume Two in 1990.
The Monkees Anthology is a two-CD compilation set by the Monkees issued in 1998, and is the first collection to include material from their most recent studio album at the time, Justus. It includes almost all the original singles and B-sides, as well as a TV rarity and one live track.
"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is a song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, most famous for the version recorded by The Monkees in 1967. Inspired by a street named Pleasant Valley Way and their move to suburban West Orange, New Jersey, Goffin and King wrote the song about the dissatisfaction with the life in the suburbs.
Summer 1967: The Complete U.S. Concert Recordings is a four CD live set by the Monkees, recorded during the band's Summer 1967 tour. The CD was a limited edition release, with 3,500 copies being made available by Rhino Hand Made.
2001: Live in Las Vegas is a live album by the Monkees recorded during their successful "Monkeemania Returns Tour" (2001–2002). A companion DVD was released as well. The concert was recorded at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in March 2001.
The Definitive Monkees is a limited edition Monkees compilation album released in 2001. It contains 29 of the Monkees' greatest hits. The album includes two tracks from the 1980s reunions. The album featured a bonus disc which featured 31 of The Monkees' rarity songs.
Monkeemania is a two-disc Monkees compilation released in 2011. It contains 57 of the Monkees' songs, including hit singles, B-sides, album tracks and rarities. Several of these songs were unreleased in the 1960s, but were eventually issued on the Monkees' Missing Links archival compilation albums.
The Monkees: Original Album Series is a CD set by The Monkees which includes the first five albums by The Monkees. The CD set was released in 2010 as a slipcased box set.
"Goin' Down" is a song by the American pop rock band the Monkees, written by all four members of the group along with Diane Hildebrand, and was first released as the B-side to the "Daydream Believer" single on Colgems Records on 25 October 1967 in support of the band's fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.. The song managed to bubble under the Billboard Hot 100 upon its distribution.
Good Times! is the twelfth studio album by American pop rock band the Monkees. Produced mainly by Adam Schlesinger, the album was recorded to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary. It is the first Monkees studio album since Justus (1996), marking the longest gap between Monkees albums to date, and the first since the death of founding member Davy Jones. The album features surviving Monkees Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork, as well as a posthumous contribution from Jones.
Diane Hildebrand is an American pop singer-songwriter. She wrote for several musicians during the 1960s and 1970s, but is best remembered for her work with Screen Gems Music Publishing, penning material for the band the Monkees. In 1969, Hildebrand recorded her debut studio album, Early Morning Blues and Greens. She later released two additional albums under the name Joya Diane Skye.
"Words" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and released by the Monkees. First recorded for More of The Monkees in August 1966 under the supervision of Boyce and Hart, a new version of the song was made to be the B-side of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" in 1967, now produced by Chip Douglas.
