Guitarist BEGGED Band Not to RECORD 'CRAP' Cover Song…Became #1 Hit of the Year!—Professor of Rock

Even though they were branded as the 2nd coming of the Beatles…today’s band wasn’t actually a band at all. The Monkees were the ultimate pretenders… actors assembled to play struggling musicians on TV. But you know what? The struggle was real. Unhappy with faking it, this manufactured band wanted to prove they could play. But their musical supervisor Don Kirshner wouldn’t let ‘em. Davey Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith could sing and they could dance… but they were forbidden to play their own instruments. The tension then got so bad, that Michael Nesmith called their Future #1 hit song crap. I’m A Believer, written by Neil Diamond was the song….Pissing off their producer, Nesmith was actually banned from the studio while it was being recorded. And the conflict wouldn’t end there. He then called their second album “the worst in the history of the world.” It’s the crazy story of how four pretenders went head to head with one of the industry’s biggest hitmakers… But was there any way they could win? Find out … NEXT on the Professor of Rock.

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Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time if you you were ever on the losing end of begging your parents for sugar cereal like lucky charms or fruity pebbles you’ll dig the channel of deep musical nostalgia, make sure to subscribe below right now. We also have a Patreon you'll want to check out. There you’ll find an additional catalog of exclusive content and you can even become an honorary producer to help us curate this music history. Introducing…

“Here [they] come, walking down the street… [they] get the funniest looks from everyone [they] meet… And with those introductory lyrics, you already know who I’m talking about… it’s the Monkees! This fighting foursome may not have been hired to actually be a rock and roll band, but they rose above all accusations of being fakes and phonies to prove that they were. And I can’t think of a better song with which to tell their story than today’s featured track: I’m a Believer. So let’s jump into it.

The origin story of The Monkees begins in the summer of 1965, with an advertisement in New York’s Daily Variety for a new NBC television series. The ad read: “Madness! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers. For acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17-21.” Inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Days Night and fulling looking to capitalize on Beatle-mania, US TV producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider threw together auditions for a show about a struggling pop band. In all, 437 boys responded, including Stephen Stills and future Three Dog Night vocalist Danny Hutton. Neither made the cut. Rather, the final four was whittled down to guitarist-songwriter Michael Nesmith, bassist and folk musician Peter Tork, former child actor Mickey Dolenz, and British actor-singer Davy Jones.

Dubbed the “Pre-fab Four,” The Monkees were created not to be a band, but for pretend to be one on TV. Hired primarily for their acting skills, according to People magazine the four were expected to “clown on camera and sing catchy tunes written by some of the top professionals in the business.” Behind the scenes, they would be propped up by “the man with the golden ear”… Don Kirshner.

[ProfessorofRock]

Poll: Who is your favorite BEATLE, MONKEE and STONE?

[AntoniaGavrihel-zmej]

Being a child of entertainers, I’ve met celebrities from the entire music, film, stage and TV and even sports industries. I say this to share my experience of meeting the Monkees as a 13 year old smitten girl. My mom was able to get me backstage to meet them. They were all quite welcoming and gracious but Davy Jones was by far the kindest, nicest man I’ve ever met. With such a huge crush on him, I could barely string two words together. My singer mother spoke on my behalf chuckling at my star-struck expression. And yet Davy Jones spent time with us. So amazingly kind. Thirty years later I happened to go to event in Alabama where Davy was signing copies of his newest album. Once again we chatted for quite a while and he said he remember that day. Again the most genuine person I’ve ever met. Still warms my little girl heart. Always appreciate their kindness.

[patrickmckinley]

One of my favorite quotes about the band came from Mickey. On a documentary about the Monkees, he captured the feeling he had going in : "We had as much chance to be real rock stars as Leonard Nimoy had to be a real Vulcan."

[nitapitts]

I'm 70 and have LOVED the Monkees since Day 1. My folks HATED them but I didn't care. I used to scrimp and save just to buy their albums. Now with streaming, all of their music is readily available. I also have a lot of Mickey's solo music.
I was also privileged to go to 4 of their concerts from the mid 1980's to the early 2010's (with just three of them.) Their concerts were some of the most fun I'd ever had.
A lot of their music has stood the test of time because it was and is good.
Monkees FOREVER!!!

[KGB]

"The Monkees are to the Beatles what Star Trek is to NASA. They are both totally valid in their own contexts."
--Micky Dolenz

[RealSaintB]

The Monkees are the epitome of 'fake it until you make it'. Big respect for how hard they worked to become a real band.

[halfbeardsilvertongue]

I loved watching The Monkees! I think their songs were the first ones I could actually sing along with. I'm 66 now. I will always cherish watching their show and singing their songs. RIP Gentlemen, you and Micky Dolenz will never be forgotten. Thank you.

[jamesdignanmusic]

Pretenders schmetenders. No-one looks down their noses at bands like the Supremes, who didn't play their instruments, didn't write their songs, and were groomed into shape by the Motown machine. How were the Monkees any different? They could sing, they could play, and their outpit included some of the most memorable songs from a decade where song standards were incredibly high. And many of those songs were written by Mike Nesmith. People should give them the credit they're due and stop calling them a "pretend band".

[funorama]

Michael Nesmith was a sweet soul. I have 2 letters written in 1961 by Mike to my grandmother Analee Huffaker who was his high school music teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas Texas. An excerpt from one of the letters was published in a July 1967 Tiger Beat magazine interview where Michael expresses that my grandmother taught him the joy of music. It’s about the most beautiful words you could ever hope to hear from a musician complimenting his music teacher. This quote should be on a plaque in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame because it would be the prettiest thing anyone could read in such a museum. Google up the article and read for yourself.

[ladywisewolf]

I grew up in Hollywood, Ca. and was in Junior High from '66-'68. The Monkees filmed their TV series one block from my school at Columbia Studios. A few of us girls figured this out and so every day after school we stalked out along the chain link fence separating the street from the back lot where the Monkee's studio office was located at the top of some old wooden stairs on the outside of one of the buildings. Every afternoon when they were through filming, all four would climb the stairs and so we would call out to them and they would turn around and wave. There were no security guards at that time and only a few of us girls were there, but as time past the word got out and the crowd got huge and loud, and the Monkees moved on. But for a brief time, it was just a couple of my friends and the Monkees every day after school.

[christinetarquin]

What I loved about the Monkeys, is that all their songs were singable to any teenager. By that, I mean the words were clear, & precise to hear over your transistor radio and if you could hear the lyrics, you could sing along with the radio which made it a joy to hear it and to sing along. One is happy when they know the words to a song. 🎵

[aspersion]

The Monkees should be in the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame! If Tupac, NWA and other artists from other genres can be inducted, The Monkees damn well should be! When you look at their popularity, not just in the 1960s, but also their resurgence in the 1980s and beyond… There is no reason to exclude them. The idea that they don’t deserve to be in there because they didn’t play their instruments is asinine considering most artists in the 1960s used “the wrecking crew”/session musicians too. We shouldn’t wait until Mickey Dolenz is dead to correct this.

[cjmarshall]

Back in 1986, MTV also re-ran episodes of the Monkees, helping to revive their popularity. I was working as a child photographer, and one of my subjects - a boy of about 9 years old - said to me "Oh, do you know the Monkees? I love the Monkees!" I looked at him, smiled, and said "Yes, Son, I know the Monkees. I wasn't much older than you when I knew the Monkees." This brought a big smile from his mother who was standing next to us. It really made my day.

[beckyfearereck]

I’ve been a Monkees fan for about 43 years, I’ve even met 3 of the 4 guys in a restaurant in Chicago when they were here for the 20th anniversary. Guys, great music!

[christineml]

The Monkees are a gem! They had a fun TV show, they could sing, they were cute - how could you not love 'em?

[keithw]

Fun Fact.. Michael Nesmith's mom Bette was a typist and got tired of having to retype entire pages because of one little Typo and had an idea which was using a flat white paint to correct mistakes and thus she invented Liquid Paper.

[amputeeright]

I always preferred Mickey's singing. "Last Train to Clarksville" is a favorite.

[seereadnhear]

I don't care what anybody says they should have been already in the Rock and Roll Hall Of fame. There's one left give them that honor.

[kennethpayne]

I loved the Monkees as a kid, but as I grew older I came to see them as fake. Then one day not too long ago, I came across the famous poster of The Monkees, with opening act The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

I showed it to a friend of mine, a professional musician, and laughed about the accompanying story, namely that Micky Dolenz heard Hendrix in some underground NYC club as a 17-year-old and decided to give him a shot. I expressed how funny it was that Dolenz was enough of a musician to recognize Hendrix's talent. My friend looked at me in disbelief -- "You know, " he said, "No one could achieve the commercial success of the Monkees without an incredible amount of talent."

Your video is a great reminder of what tremendous musicians these kids were.

[RobertDWF]

in the 1990s I used to hang out in a little bar in Studio City called Residuals. On Saturday nights this little "conversation bar" would have a band in. This particular night it was an all-girl blues band. Sheila E sat in for a few songs with them, then the band took a break and some dude with an acoustic guitar got up to do a few songs. It was Peter Tork. No fan fair, no splash, no ego - just some really good songs. I wish I could remember what he played. I do remember he was really good. Fun night for a guy who watched their show in first run back in the day.