Hey, Hey, They're The Monkees!

Hey, Hey, They're The Monkees!

“Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees/ And people say we monkey around/ But we’re too busy singin’/To put anybody down/We’re just trying to be friendly/Come and watch us sing and play/We’re the young generation/And we’ve got something to say...”

When these words kicked off the first episode on NBC-TV’s new Monday night musical sitcom in September 1966, no one imagined what a phenomenon the network was kicking off. Devised by Bob Rafelson (who later went on to direct the hit movie Five Easy Pieces) and Bert Schneider, the Monkees were an attempt to create and market an American version of the Beatles, and the show’s concept was loosely based on the British Fab Four’s two classic films, A Hard Day’s Night and Help\ After devising the show, the producers secured Don Kirshner to coordinate the music, and he came up with the dynamic duo of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, not to mention some legendary pop songwriters— Neil Diamond, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil—to compose hit songs for the yet-to-be-formed band.