Took was the most accomplished musician but he was not the only one who could play an instrument. Dolenz was the only Monkee who couldn't play an instrument when he was hired. He had his own bands before the Monkees, but he was always the singer. Michael Nesmith was a guitar-playing singer/songwriter before the Monkees and was actually working in the music business in L.A. Davey Jones was known as a broadway singer, but he could actually play the drums. Tork started learning instruments as a 9-year old and could play piano, banjo, bass and guitar. It has been said that the best lineup of the Monkees based on ability and not looks would've been Dolenz as the lead singer and Jones as the Drummer with Tork on guitar and Nesmith on bass. May he rest in peace. I've always felt they were an underrated group. Even the Beatles liked the Monkees.
I loved the Monkees when I was a kid, the show, the albums, everything. When I got older I dove deeper into their music and their story. Kind of like the Beach Boys, they were much more "depthy" than most people think. HEAD was a weird-ass movie though, gave me nightmares.
The interesting thing about The Beach Boys is that they heard The Beatles "Rubber Soul" and strived their hardest to make an album "that good". The Result was "Pet Sounds" which is considered a production masterpiece. The Beatles under the influence of "Pet Sounds" then made "Sgt. Pepper." It's Interesting to me how "pop" groups like The Monkees and The Beach Boys were admired by The Beatles.
They started showing the reruns on tv around the time I was finishing high school. It became a way to pass the time during boring summer days watching the show and I came to actually enjoy most of the songs.
I laughed at them when the show had its run, but I still watched it and simply laughed. Tork and Mike Nesmith were the real deal on the Monkees. The show was essentially an American TV version of A Hard Day's Night. Nesmith wrote Different Drum, a hit for Linda Ronstadt, and other songs. I'll give Mickey credit for learning how to play the drums well enough not to embarrass himself. It was a fun show to watch loaded to the gills. Rest In Peace. You've earned it.
