Artist:The Monkees
Song:Last Train To Clarksville
Album:Greatest Hits
Well, of course The Monkees were a made for TV pop group but as pop music goes, the music is very well done by some of the best session musicians in Los Angeles. The idea for The Monkees came from TV producers Bert Schneider & Bob Rafelson. They wanted to recreate the vibe of The Beatles film A Hard Day's Night on TV. So in Sept. 1965, they placed an ad in Variety. Over 400 auditioned including Harry Nilsson & Stephen Stills. Of the four that were hired, only Michael Nesmith was a real musician. Peter Tork had toyed a bit with folk music and Micky Dolenz & Davy Jones were actors. The four of them sang on the records but Schneider & Rafelson hired session musicians and the songs were mostly written by professional songwriters. Last Train To Clarksville was written by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart and was The Monkees first and biggest hit. The TV series tried to make them look like a band but they were scorned by hipper music fans as The Pre-Fab Four. It really bothered Nesmith because he could really play but the records that they made themselves later on weren't that good and didn't sell. This comp has all their big hits. The Monkees are still touring. Michael Nesmith was the only one to have any real solo success and he's also a pioneer in the music video business. Bob Rafelson went on to direct major films like Five Easy Pieces. The Monkees had a good ride for a year and the music was pretty good. Here's a music video for Last Train To Clarksville by The Monkees.
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