ALBUMS: Greatest Hits
MVC Rating: 4.0/ $$
There are several examples of successful ‘assembled’ bands that made music, or at least pretended they were making music.
The Archies come to mind; Josie and the Pussycats, the Partridge family and Spinal Tap for that matter. The Rutles were a band parodying the Beatles.
I haven’t researched all ‘fictional’ bands but I can’t believe there’s any one of those that was or is more successful than the Monkees.
The Monkees have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, according to its Wikipedia entry. That makes them one of the top selling groups of all time with hits such as Last Train to Clarksville“, “Pleasant Valley Sunday“, “Daydream Believer“, and “I’m a Believer“.
I think their hits, many from the Boyce/Hart songwriting tandom, sound pretty good. I especially like (I’m not) Your Steppin’ Stone’..
In a 2012 interview, Dolenz described The Monkees as being “a TV show about an imaginary band… that wanted to be the Beatles that was never successful.”
Looking back I find it kind of weird — the show I mean. It was almost like pre-psychedelia TV effects (sped-up action, filming in reverse, the in and out camera lens thing. I’m sure there was some backmasking going on. “Mom, what’s in those Fruit Loops?”
I was about 9 and 10 years old, and a big fan. I remember it coming on about 11:30 and it usually capped off a full morning of cartoon watching. (Superceded sometimes by chores my mother would give us). So end of the Monkees or Johnny Quest would be a signal to the beginning of a long afternoon outdoors. Had to be home by sundown.