The Monkees

The Monkees were a four-man band who appeared in an American television series of the same name, which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. The Monkees were formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California and disbanded in 1970. At their peak they were one of the most popular musical acts of their time.

The End of The Monkees

Six albums were produced with the original lineup (four of which went to Number 1 on the Billboard chart), which was supplemented by a series of successful world concert tours. But tensions within the group were increasing, and Tork quit shortly after the band's Far East tour in late 1968, but not before completing work on their 1969 NBC television special, 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee. Three more albums would follow while Tork (in December 1968) and then Nesmith (in March 1970) left the group, leaving only Dolenz and Jones to record as The Monkees. Eventually, Jones too departed, leaving Dolenz as the sole remaining recording Monkee, and so marked the end of the first phase of The Monkees' recording career.

Related Topics:
Billboard - 1969

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At the same time, The Monkees TV series enjoyed a resurgence on Saturday Afternoon television for four seasons on CBS (September 1969 - September 1972) and on ABC (September 1972 - August 1973), after which its 58 episodes were sold to local markets for syndication in September 1975.

Related Topics:
CBS - 1972 - ABC - 1973 - 1975

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The Monkees Greatest Hits album charted in 1976 due to a new generation of young fans viewing the show for the first time on syndicated repeats. Dolenz and Jones took advantage of this exposure. They linked up with ex-Monkees songwriters Boyce and Hart ("Last Train to Clarksville," "Steppin' Stone," "Words," "Valleri," etc.), forming the group Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart. The group released one album on Capitol Records and successfully toured smaller venues in America, as well as making stops in Japan, Thailand and Singapore, from 1975-1977. A possible reunion of the full group at that time failed to materialize when Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith would not participate, though a Christmas single with Dolenz, Jones and Tork was released in 1976.

Related Topics:
Boyce and Hart - Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart - Capitol Records

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