-- 1968
The
Beatles was one of the hottest musical acts ever. People (and especially
girls) went so crazy over the Fab Four (as they were sometimes
called) that reporters and concerned parents and TV hosts talked
about Beatlemania. While concert venues hired thousands of security
guards to keep up to 55,000 screaming fans in line, and show business
records were shattered, the Beatles and their manager made quite a
bit of money!
And
hundreds of thousands of teenaged boys grew their hair longer to copy
the Beatles' “mop tops.”
 |
| A Hard Day's Night |
In
all that Beatle-craze, which included the release of a movie starring the Beatles called A
Hard Day's Night, some TV producers got a great idea: let's
create a pretend Beatles-like band and make a fun TV show with the
same kind of comedy featured in the Beatles' movie.
Does
that sound like an idea that would work? Believe me, I was a teenager
at the time: it worked!
Four
likeable musician-actors were cast as band members, asked to grow their hair and get "Beatle haircuts," and recorded some music. They took a six-week acting course and filmed TV episodes. Before the TV show even
debuted, the first Monkees single became a hit, and later
the first album shot up the charts as well. When the show first
aired, September 12, 1966, it quickly became a massive success.
Money
was definitely made!
As
a matter of fact, the TV show and singles and albums were such a success, that the
band went on tour and were greeted by some Monkee-mania--crowds of
enthusiastic fans, screaming girls!
Did
you know...?
Since
the Beatles were often called “the Fab Four,” of course people
poked fun at the manufactured group the Monkees by calling them the
Pre-Fab Four.
Both
the Beatles and the Monkees have animal names that are slightly
misspelled!
Some
musicians who were considered for roles in the Monkees were guitarist
and singer/songwriter Stephen Stills (later famous in the bands
Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), Paul
Williams (later famous as a composer and songwriter), the group The
Lovin' Spoonful, and Danny Hutton (later famous in the band Three Dog
Night)--plus hundreds of other people who auditioned to be part of
the band and show.
Although
the people casting the show chose musicians to play the roles of the four musicians, the producers
were reluctant to let them actually play their own music!
Later, after they became very popular and therefore much more powerful,
the guys in the band insisted on playing (and at times even writing and
producing) their own music.
“Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees” was the silly song that started each show.
And “I'm a Believer” was a huge hit for the group.
Although
the Monkees-as-a-group was a major hit in almost every way, including
television ratings, the TV show was canceled on this date in 1968.
Also canned on this date were the shows “Bewitched” (in 1972) and
“Sanford and Son” (in 1977).
Also
on this date:
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