The Monkees
7
a history test she must not fail, and the Monkees incredibly enacting great
moments in history so that she’ll learn what she needs to know to pass the test,
Russell fires, but then rehires the band. At that point, however, the security
guard who has been chasing the boys makes a salient comment: by hiring the
rock ’n’ rollers over Sven Helstrom and the Swedish Rhythm Kings, Russell has
sold out the country club and himself. The kids—Vanessa and her guests—are
happy, but Russell has lost his reputation. While it seems absurd to consider
these possibilities today, in this episode the Monkees represent rebellion: the
suggestions are that they represent the wave of the future as well as the voice of
youth.
The musically diverse tastes of the four were evident from the time they
began to take control of their own musical destiny. Although the plan was that
studio musicians—Glen Campbell, Larry Knechtel, and Danny Kortchmar
among others—would produce a Monkees sound, Raybert Productions allowed
the cast to create some of their own music. (A Monkee mutiny later resulted in
the Monkees’ producing their own music; but here, in 1966, producers were
keeping a firm hand.) Mike had an affinity for country music, and brought his
feel for the genre to the creation of “Papa Gene’s Blues,” and later, “Sunny
Girlfriend.” Peter and Mike had both been influenced by folk rock music, and
“The Kind of Girl I Could Love” reflects this fact. Davy’s performances on
“When Love Comes Knockin’,” and later, “Star Collector,” belie his theatrical,
music-hall background. Micky, who, in his autobiographical tome I ’m a
Believer: My Life, or Monkees, Music, and Madness, cites the Animals and
Stones, as well as Chuck Berry and Jerry lee Lewis as favorites, was the Monkee
most in touch with rock ’n’ roll; his vocals on “Saturday’s Child” and, later,
“For Pete’s Sake,” bears this out.
During the trajectory of the Monkees’ show, there was no hiding the fact
that the four came from different musical backgrounds, because of all their
biggest hits—including “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” “I
Wanna Be Free,” and “I’m a Believer,”—none were truly rock tunes reflecting
minimal influence by any other musical genre. The point was not that musicians
of differing tastes could make Monkee music together—it was that the
musicians in question took songs by standard pop writers (Tommy Boyce and
Bobby Hart, Gerry Goffin and Carole King) and created a unique Monkees
sound by filtering those songs through their own sensibilities.
The Monkees’ musical performances on the show also reflected their
varying tastes; the free-form structure of the show allowed for any number of
interesting variations of the traditional teaser or tag. For example, Davy
performed “Cuddly Toy” in tie and tails, singing and doing a soft-shoe as the
theatrical feel of the music demanded. Micky did a fantastic homage to James
Brown during a staged performance of the R & B influenced “Goin’ Down.”
Micky also ventured into what would become psychedelic rock, performing
“Daily Nightly” onscreen and thereby introducing the Moog synthesizer to the
masses. If there was a chase, whether it involved cars, horses, or feet, Mike and