The Monkees

In fact, their legacy has been further strengthened by Rhino Entertainment's acquisition of The Monkees' franchise from Columbia Pictures in the early 1990s, with remastered editions of both the original television series and their music library having now surfaced in stores on DVD and compact disc collections. He is widely recognised as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Millions of people still listen to their music and it seems likely that Monkees singles will remain a staple on pop-rock and oldies stations for decades to come. His daughter, Scarlet Page, is a respected photographer. Modern day bands continue to cover their work, with the alternative rock group Smashmouth most recently having a hit with I'm a Believer in 2001. Since 1990, Jimmy Page has been instrumental in remastering the entire Led Zeppelin back catalogue and is currently involved in various charity concerts and charity work particularly the Action for Brazil's Children Trust (ABC Trust), founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998. The Sex Pistols went as far as recording a version of The Monkees' (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone and there are some close parallels between the careers of the two bands. Page has been one member of Led Zeppelin that has always left open the option for a group reunion.

Many of these punk performers had grown up on TV reruns of the series, and in keeping with the prevailing anti-industry, anti-Establishment trend of their music, they adopted The Monkees as symbols of rebellion against the mainstream music industry, citing the group's insistence on breaking out of their manufactured TV image and proving that they could write and perform as a real band. Following a highly successful tour in 1995 to support No Quarter, Page and Plant recorded Walking Into Clarksdale, their first full CD together since 1979. The Monkees found unlikely fans among musicians of the punk rock period of the mid-1970s. The soundtrack to the special was released in 1995 as the CD No Quarter, and in 2004 as the DVD No Quarter Unledded. Most notably, the critical appeal of the band has only increased since their original inception, while it remains unproven that modern day boy bands will experience the longevity that the Monkees have enjoyed. The 90 minute special, dubbed UnLedded premiered to the highest ratings in MTVs history. The Monkees also frequently contributed their own songwriting efforts on their albums. In 1994, Page reunited with Plant for the penultimate performance in MTVs "Unplugged" series.

The group was shown playing musical instruments on the show, or actually played instruments during live shows, unlike boy bands. Source: IMDB. The Monkees did not perform the tightly harmonized ballads or synchronized dance routines boy bands are noted for today. In addition, he also collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the Death Wish 3 soundtrack, released in 1985. However, The Monkees differ from typical modern boy bands in several respects. Various other projects soon followed such as The Firm, with Paul Rodgers, session work for Graham Nash, Box of Frogs, and Robert Plant, a solo album Outrider, a collaboration with David Coverdale in Coverdale Page, and a live album with The Black Crowes. The Monkees, selected specifically to appeal to the youth market with their manufactured personae and carefully produced singles, can be seen as the original precursor to the modern proliferation of studio and corporation-created bands, or the modern boy band. In 1984, Page recorded with Plant in the guise of The Honeydrippers.

In fact, Davy Jones has gone on record to say another reunion of The Monkees as a complete unit "will never happen again." The remaining three Monkees (Dolenz, Jones and Tork) tour sporadically, most recently in 2001. Page then linked up with Roy Harper for an album and tour. However, once the revival craze died down, so did Michael Nesmith's interest in the group, and the Monkees disbanded once again. Page made a successful return to stage with the ARMS Charity series of concerts in 1983 which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane. The full quartet also appeared in an ABC television special (written and directed by Nesmith) in 1997, spoofing the original series that had made them famous. After Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, Page attempted to form a supergroup with ex-Yes members to be called XYZ however it came to naught. For the first time since the initial reunion in 1986, Nesmith returned to the concert stage full-time for a tour of the United Kingdom in 1997, and two sold-out concerts at Wembley Arena in London highlighted the success of the band in the 1990s. As a result their final studio album (In Through the Out Door) was more heavily influenced by bassist John Paul Jones and singer Robert Plant.

The trio of Dolenz, Jones and Tork reunited again for a successful 30th anniversary tour of American amphitheaters in 1996, while Nesmith joined them onstage in Los Angeles to promote the new songs from Justus. Page and drummer John Bonham would frequently be absent from the recording studio in the band's later years, showing up after songs were already written. In the 1990s, The Monkees continued to create new musical material, eventually recording an album which all four members performed and produced; this became Justus in 1996. This habit would severely affect his later performances with Led Zeppelin, which were often hit-and-miss. From 1986 to 1989, The Monkees would conduct major concert tours in the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and Europe. In 1976 Page started using heroin. A new album by the touring trio, Pool It!, quickly followed and met with moderate success. His guitar solo in the famous rock song "Stairway to Heaven" was voted by readers of Guitar World Magazine as the greatest guitar solo of all time.

The sudden revival of The Monkees in 1986 helped move the first Monkees single since 1970, "That Was Then, This Is Now", into the American Top 20. Page also put to use his bowed playing technique he developed during his session days, and experimented with feedback devices and a theremin. He also appeared with the band in a 1986 Christmas medley music video for MTV and took part in a dedication ceremony at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where The Monkees received a star in 1989. His landmark guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" (Led Zeppelin II) has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as the inspiration for Van Halen's trademark 2-hand tapping technique. To show his support, Nesmith appeared onstage with Dolenz, Jones and Tork twice, both times in Los Angeles, in 1986 and 1989. His use of distorted fuzz guitar ("Whole Lotta Love"), slide guitar ("You Shook Me", "In My Time of Dying"), pedal steel guitar ("Your Time is Gonna Come", "Tangerine"), eastern scales ("Black Mountain Side", "Kashmir"), acoustic guitar ("Gallows Pole", "Bron-Yr-Aur") and recording techniques made Led Zeppelin a prototype for all future rock bands. Spurred on by massive MTV promotion, the reunited trio quickly became one of the hottest acts of 1986, with their original albums selling in the millions and a new greatest hits collection reaching platinum status. As a producer, composer and guitarist for the band, he was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, with his trademark Gibson Les Paul guitar and Marshall amplification.

Nesmith was forced to sit out most of these reunion projects because of prior commitments to his bustling Pacific Arts video production company. Page's past experiences both in the studio and with The Yardbirds was critical in the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. In 1986, a Monkees TV show marathon on the video music channel MTV re-launched The Monkees, sparking worldwide interest by both original fans and their children, who flocked to see The Monkees in sold-out shows. After a handful of shows on their first tour, The New Yardbirds renamed themselves Led Zeppelin. At the same time, The Monkees TV series enjoyed a resurgence on Saturday Afternoon television for four seasons (September 13, 1969 to September 2, 1972 on CBS and September 9, 1972 to August 25, 1973 on ABC); after which, its 58 episodes were sold to local markets for syndication in September 1975. Despite the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page wished to continue the group with a new line-up. 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. The musical potential of the line-up however was scuttled by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success.

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. Within weeks Page was again offered to join The Yardbirds and at first played bass guitar with the group after the departure of Paul Samwell-Smith, before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. 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. On May 16, 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a band with John Entwistle on bass (instead of Jones), however the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems sent the project down like a "lead zeppelin". 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. After being invited to replace Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds on March 20, 1965, Page turned down the offer and instead suggested his friend Jeff Beck. The Monkees had several international hits — which are still heard on oldies stations — including "I'm a Believer", "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", "Daydream Believer", "Last Train to Clarksville" — and even a number of social criticism songs, the best known of which is probably "Pleasant Valley Sunday". It is estimated that Jimmy Page appeared on 60% of rock music recorded in England between 1963 and 1966.

This was later proved false and it has since been revealed that the story was concocted for publicity purposes by the Australian journalist and music writer Lillian Roxon, who had been accompanying the tour with her friend, the Australian singer Lynne Randell, who was one of the supporting acts and who was romantically involved with Jones at the time. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then girlfriend, Jackie DeShannon. Reports circulated at the time that he had been removed from the tour after complaints from the conservative women's group Daughters Of The American Revolution. In 1965 Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer for the newly formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on tracks by John Mayall, Nico, and Eric Clapton. The Monkees also deserve credit for helping bring America's attention to the Jimi Hendrix Experience, who they took on as an opening act during their 1967 concert tour, even though Hendrix quit after only a few shows. Under the auspices of producer Shel Talmy, Page recorded The Kinks "You Really Got Me" (1964) (although there is a dispute on whether Page or Dave Davies played lead), the guitar part on Them's "Baby Please Don’t Go" (1965), and recorded a lead guitar part on The Who's first single "I Can't Explain", although there is disagreement over whether or not it was used. Supporters of the group also point out that producers and Kirshner had the good taste to use some of the best songwriters of the period, including Neil Diamond, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Harry Nilsson and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, as well as using top-ranking Los Angeles session musicians on the records. His studio output in 1963 included Brian Poole & The Tremeloes' "Twist and Shout", Heinz's "Just Like Eddie" and in 1964, The Rolling Stones "Heart of Stone", Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game", and Lulu's hit "Shout".

Many now feel that the controversy unfairly targeted The Monkees and conveniently ignored the fact that almost all the leading British and American groups — up to and including The Beatles — habitually used sessions players on their recordings, and that this practice had always (until then) passed without comment. After brief stints with the band Micky Finn, and Carter Lewis and The Southerners, Page committed himself to full-time session work. Nevertheless, they were warmly welcomed by many top British stars including The Beatles, who knew them to be skilled musicians and sympathised with their wish to have more control over their music. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris & Tony Meehan which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in 1963. When the group toured Britain in 1967 there was a major controversy over the supposed revelation that the group did not play on their own records, and the news made the front pages of several UK and international music papers, with the group derisively dubbed "The Pre-Fab Four". It wasn't until an offer from Mike Leander from Decca Records that Page was to receive regular studio work. This experience led directly to his later ventures The Archies and Josie and The Pussycats, which were animated series — the "stars" existed only on an animation cel and obviously could not demand creative control over the records issued under their name. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for EMI, "The Worrying Kind" and "Bald Headed Woman".

Kirshner was reported to have been incensed by the group's rebellion and swore never to repeat his mistake. While still a student, Page would often jam on stage at the Marquee with bands such as the Cyril Davis All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Led by Nesmith, the band eventually rebelled against Kirshner, who was later fired, and beginning with their third album, Headquarters, the four Monkees did play most of the parts on the rest of their record albums. Living from out of the back of a van and intermittent wages however, led Page to take up a totally different focus in painting at Sutton Art College in Surrey. This campaign eventually forced the series' musical coordinator Don Kirshner to let them have more participation in the recording process (against his strong objections), which included Nesmith producing his own songs and band members making some instrumental contributions. Page was then asked by Neil Christian to join his band, The Crusaders, which gave him his first taste of touring life and an appearance on a November 1962 single, "The Road to Love". Their frustrations were increased by the fact that they were all accomplished musicians in their own right. After graduating from school with an initial aim to work as a lab assistant, Page’s love of the guitar saw him switch to playing for Beat poet Royston Ellis before joining his first band, Red E Lewis and The Red Caps.

The Monkees had complained that the producers would not allow them to play their own instruments on their records. At the age of 14, Page appeared on ITV's Search For Stars talent quest programme. This gave the four stars increased confidence in their battle for creative control over the music used in the series. King. The results were far better than anyone had a right to expect, and wherever they went they were greeted by scenes of fan hysteria not seen since The Beatles. Page's musical tastes however also encompassed acoustic folk playing particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James and B.B. Against the initial wishes of the producers, Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork went out on the road. The Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" was an early favourite on his first electric guitar, a second hand 1949 Gibson.

The massive success of the series and its spin-off records had created intense pressure to mount a touring version of the group by late 1966. His early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley, and Johnny Day who played guitar for The Everly Brothers. Critics of The Monkees complained that they were a made-for-TV knockoff of The Beatles (although John Lennon was a fan of the show), and that The Monkees were a group chosen by a casting director. Jimmy Page began learning guitar when he was 12. Members of The Monkees, Nesmith in particular, cite Head as one of the crowning achievements of the band. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother a doctor's secretary. But over the intervening years Head has developed a cult following for its innovative style and anarchic humor, and the soundtrack album (long out of print but now available in an expanded CD version) is counted among their best recordings. Page was born in the north London suburb of Heston in Middlesex.

Sadly, it was not a commercial success; this was in part because Head, being an antithesis of The Monkees TV show, comprehensively demolished the group's carefully-groomed public image, as evidenced by the following stanzas from Rafelson and Nicholson's "Ditty-Diego" (recited at the start of the film by The Monkees), which ruthlessly parodies Boyce and Hart's "Monkees Theme":.
. It was filmed in Screen Gems Studios and on location in California, Utah and The Bahamas from February 11 to May 21, 1968 and premiered in New York City on November 6 of that year. He was the founding member for the band Led Zeppelin and, prior to that, a member of The Yardbirds from late 1966 through 1968. The film, created and edited in a stream of consciousness style, featured cameo appearances by movie star Victor Mature and musician Frank Zappa. James Patrick Page, known as Jimmy Page, (born January 9, 1944) is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock and roll. After the television show was cancelled, Rafelson directed the four Monkees in a feature film, Head, executive-produced by Schneider and co-written and co-produced by Rafelson with a then relatively unknown actor named Jack Nicholson.

The Monkees won two Emmy Awards in 1967: Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy (James Frawley). The Monkees were seen in humorous commercials for Kellogg's Rice Krispies, which were seen at the end of biweekly telecasts of The Monkees TV show on NBC; they also made an ad for Black Label Aftershave by Yardley. The Monkees' 2 main commercial sponsors were Kellogg's and Yardley Cosmetics of London; they alternated every week. The 1965 pilot episode was co-written by Paul Mazursky and the late Larry Tucker, who later co-wrote the movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which Mazursky directed; he went on to direct such films as Harry and Tonto and Down and Out in Beverly Hills.

The show was produced by Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, who later produced the film Easy Rider ; Rafelson went on to direct such films as Five Easy Pieces and The King of Marvin Gardens. The Monkees were put together by a number of people who went on to later success. As a television show, The Monkees used techniques rarely seen on television—characters breaking the fourth wall and talking to the camera and sometimes even to people off-camera in the studio, fantasy sequences, jump cuts, and at least once a week a musical romp which might have nothing to do with the story line. In fact, many of the episodes included what now look very much like video clips: short, self-contained films featuring one of the songs from a Monkees album. All four were trained in both improvisational comedy and performing musically as a group before the pilot episode was filmed, so that they could look and act like a cohesive band even though it was only their voices being used on the initial recordings.

Nesmith and Tork were both already professional musicians, but Dolenz and Jones were better known as actors. Rumors have circulated that Charles Manson also auditioned, but these rumors have been shown to be false. 437 hopeful actors and musicians auditioned for the parts; a then relatively unknown Stephen Stills was shortlisted for a role, but was eventually knocked out because of his bad teeth, with Peter Tork finally winning the role Stills had hoped to get. They were cast after ads were placed in trade publications calling for actors to play "4 insane boys" on a new television series.

The four young men who became The Monkees were British-born David ("Davy") Jones (percussion/vocals), George Michael ("Micky") Dolenz (drums/vocals), Michael Nesmith (guitar/vocals), and Peter Tork (bass/keyboards/vocals). Modeled on the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night, The Monkees featured the antics and music of a fictional pop-rock group which, due to the necessities of the program and the massive success of the records, became a real pop-rock group. The television show first aired on September 12, 1966 on the American NBC television network and lasted for two seasons and 58 episodes; its final primetime episode ran on September 9, 1968. The Monkees last worked together for a brief period in 2001.

The first reunion lasted from 1986-1989, and a second regrouping took place between 1996-1997. Several reunions of the original lineup have taken place. The Monkees were formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California and disbanded in 1970. The Monkees were a four-person band who appeared in an American television series of the same name, which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968.

Heart and Soul (1987) US #27. That Was Then, This Is Now (1986) US #20. Oh My My (1970) US #98. Good Clean Fun (1969) US #82.

Someday Man (1969) US #81. Listen to the Band (1969) US #63. Teardrop City (1969) US #56. Porpoise Song Theme from HEAD (1968) US #62.

It's Nice To Be With You (1968) US #51. Washburn (1968) US #19. D.W. Tapioca Tundra (1968) US #34.

Valleri (1968) US #3. Daydream Believer (1967) US #1. Words (1967) US #11. Pleasant Valley Sunday (1967) US #3.

Randy Scouse Git (1967) UK #1. The Girl I Knew Somewhere (1967) US #39. A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You (1967) US #2. (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone (1966) US #20.

I'm A Believer (1966) US #1. Last Train to Clarksville (1966) US #1. The Best of The Monkees (2003). Music Box (35th Anniversary boxed set) (2001).

Anthology (1998). Justus (1996). Missing Links, Volume III (1996). Greatest Hits (1995).

Listen to the Band (25th Anniversary boxed set) (1991). Missing Links, Volume II (1990). 20th Anniversary Tour Live (1987). Missing Links (1987).

Live 1967 (1987). Pool It! (1987). Then And Now...the Best of The Monkees (1986). More Greatest Hits (1982).

The Monkees Greatest Hits (1976). Changes (1970). The Monkees Present Micky, David, Michael (1969). Instant Replay (1969).

Head (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1968). The Birds, The Bees, & The Monkees (1968). Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, Ltd. (1967). The Monkees' Headquarters (1967).

More of The Monkees (1967). The Monkees (1966). "The Frodis Caper"). Mijacogeo (a.k.a.

Monkees Blow Their Minds. "The Band Contest"). Some Like It Lukewarm (a.k.a. Monkees Mind Their Manor.

"The Paris Show"). The Monkees In Paris (a.k.a. "Leave The Driving To Us"). Monkees Race Again (a.k.a.

The Devil & Peter Tork. The Monkees' Paw. Monstrous Monkee Mash. Monkees Watch Their Feet.

Fairy Tale. The Christmas Show. Monkees On The Wheel. Monkees In Texas.

Hitting The High Seas. A Coffin Too Frequent. The Wild Monkees. Card Carrying Red Shoes.

Monkees Marooned. "Double Barrell Shotgun Wedding"). Hillbilly Honeymoon (a.k.a. Weakling.

I Was A 99Lb. Art, For Monkees' Sake. Monkee Mayor. Everywhere A Sheik, Sheik.

"The Bank Robbery"). The Picture Frame (a.k.a. It's A Nice Place To Visit. Monkees On Tour.

Monkees At The Movies. Monkees In Manhattan (a.k.a “The Monkees Manhattan Style”). Monkees Get Out More Dirt. Monkees On The Line.

Monkee Mother. Monkee Chow Mein. Alias Micky Dolenz. Monkees A La Mode.

Captain Crocodile. Monkees At The Circus. The Prince And The Pauper. Monkees In The Ring.

"The Audition"). Find The Monkees (a.k.a. I Was A Teenage Monster. The Case Of The Missing Monkee.

Son Of A Gypsy. "Davy And Fern"). Too Many Girls (a.k.a. Dance, Monkees, Dance.

"Peter And The Debutante"). One Man Shy (a.k.a. I've Got A Little Song Here. Monkees A La Carte.

Here Come The Monkees (original pilot episode). The Chaperone. Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth. Monkees In A Ghost Town.

Success Story. The Spy Who Came In From The Cool. Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers The success of the First Season lands The Monkees on the cover of TV Guide, January 1967 . Machine.

Monkee Vs. Monkee See, Monkee Die. Royal Flush. on "The Spy Who Came In From The Cool" and "Monkee Chow Mein" and Disneyland on "Monstrous Monkee Mash" and "The Wild Monkees").

C.I.S. Subtle social commentary (e.g. Criminals with short hair and business suits. Multiple roles.

"The Fairy Tale"). Adaptation of classic literature (e.g. Authority resistance. Drag.

Last minute interviews. Musical romps. Peter gets in trouble. Davy falls in love.

Stock footage.