What are you listening to? [10]

A Guy

A Guy

cyclops said:

thelma, realize that the video is from the 60's. The Monkeys did not play their own music, they lip sync'd everything and none of the videos from that era were of very good quality to begin with.

Hold on there The Monkees did indeed sing, and eventually play. Whether they lip synced to their own music during the show I do not know, but they indeed sung those songs on recordings and performed live.

A Guy

A Guy, ok we are both right and wrong,
The Monkees

1966-1969Davy Jones(vocals)
Michael Nesmith(guitar, vocals)
Peter Tork(bass, vocals)
Micky Dolenz(drums, vocals)


Artistfacts for The Monkees
The group was created for a NBC television show. 437 young men auditioned for the roles - mostly struggling musicians and actors. Steven Stills and John Sebastian both auditioned and were turned down for roles on the show. It was rumored that Charles Manson tried out, but this was not true

• 58 Episodes of the TV show were made. It lasted two seasons and aired from 1966-1968. The idea for the fictional group came from the 1965 Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night.
• At first, the group did not play their own instruments - their vocals were recorded over tracks recorded by a group of session musicians who played on many hits from the '60s. The turning point came in 1967 when they insisted on playing their own material and getting producer credit as well.
• The Monkees were the object of scorn among some music fans who felt they were a product of deceptive corporate entertainment, taking up airspace that would be better suited to more authentic musicians. There wasn't much controversy over the use of session musicians on their albums, however, as manufactured bands were fairly common and The Monkees didn't keep it a secret. Mickey Dolenz explained how word got out: "Somebody just asked us. I don't remember who - exactly what moment, but somebody probably asked me, "So are you playing on all those early records?" And I said, "Well, no. Some of them were made before I was even cast." And I think, again, from my point of view, the whole confusion came, and still exists, if you think of the Monkees as a group, as a band, it gets very confusing. And it just isn't accurate. The Monkees was not a band. It still isn't a band. It was this television show about this band that wanted to be the Beatles. We wanted to be the Beatles. That's what all - that was what it was about. And we represented all those kids around the United States and the world that were in their basements and garages playing, you know, songs and trying to make a living. That's what the heart and soul of the show was about. That's what made us successful."

Source

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