The Monkees - From Television To Concert Stage

From Television To Concert Stage

In assigning instruments for purposes of the television show, a dilemma arose as to which of the four would be the drummer. Both Nesmith, a skilled guitarist and bassist, and Tork, who could play several stringed and keyboard instruments, were peripherally familiar with the instrument but both declined to give the drum set a try. Jones, who did know how to play drums, tested well enough initially as a drummer, but the producers felt that the camera would exaggerate his short stature and make him virtually hidden from view. Thus, Dolenz (who only knew how to play the guitar) was assigned to become the drummer. Tork taught Dolenz his first few beats on the drums, enough for him to fake his way through filming the pilot, but Dolenz was soon taught how to play properly. Thus, the lineup for the TV show most frequently featured Nesmith on guitar, Tork on bass, Dolenz on drums, and Jones as a frontman, singer, and percussionist. This, however, is the exact opposite of the lineup which would have made the most sense based upon the Monkees' respective musical strengths; i.e.: Tork is actually a better guitar player than Nesmith, and while Jones' voice was certainly distinctive, Dolenz's voice is regarded as one of the most distinctive in popular music history and the hallmark of the Monkees' sound. This theoretical lineup was actually depicted once, in the music video for the band's song "Words", which shows Jones on drums, Tork playing lead guitar, Nesmith on bass and Dolenz fronting the group. In concert appearances, Tork also took much of the guitar duties, even in appearances with Nesmith, and Dolenz often plays rhythm guitar on stage.

Unlike most television shows of the time, the Monkees episodes were written with many setups, requiring frequent breaks to prepare the set and cameras for short bursts of filming. Some of the "bursts" are considered proto-music videos, in as much as they were produced to sell the records. Eric Lefcowitz, in The Monkees Tale, pointed out that the Monkees were — first and foremost — a video group. The four actors would spend 12-hour days on the set, many of them waiting for the production crew to do their jobs. Noticing that their instruments were left on the set unplugged, the four decided to turn them on and start playing.

After working on the set all day, the Monkees (usually Dolenz or Jones) would be called in to the recording studio to cut vocal tracks. As the Monkees were essential to this aspect of the recording process, there were few limits on how long they could spend in the recording studio, and the result was an extensive catalogue of unreleased recordings.