THE MONKEES - Biography - Emmy DVD, Davy Jones, Dolenz, Nesmith, Tork, Jones

THE MONKEES - Biography - Original Emmy Consideration DVD, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork

Hey, hey, its the Monkees! Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about the first of the manufactured bands that shocked the music industry in the late 60's by generating a slew of hit record including “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m a believer.”

Formed after two TV producers placed an ad for actor to star in a new TV show about a band clearly modeled on the Beatles, the four successful applicants became stars in their own right. The Monkees sang their own songs, but they didn't play their own instrument, even though that the way it looked on their TV show.

The Monkees were an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider 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 Englishman Davy Jones. The band's music was initially supervised by producer Don Kirshner.

At the time of the group's formation, its producers saw The Monkees as a Beatles-like band. At the start, the four actors provided vocals for the songs that were played during the television episodes and released as records, but were otherwise given extremely limited performing and production opportunities. They eventually fought for and earned the right to collectively supervise all musical output under the band's name. The group undertook several concert tours, allowing an opportunity to perform as a live band as well as on the TV series. Although the show was canceled in 1968, the band continued to record music through 1970. In 1986, their 20th year, the television show and music experienced a revival, which led to a series of reunion tours, and new records featuring various incarnations of the band's lineup.