The Monkees - Conception

Conception

Aspiring filmmaker Bob Rafelson developed the initial idea for The Monkees in 1962, but was unsuccessful in selling the series. He had tried selling it to Revue, the television division of Universal Pictures. In May 1964, while working at Screen Gems, Rafelson teamed up with Bert Schneider, whose father, Abraham Schneider, headed the Colpix Television and Screen Gems Television units of Columbia Pictures, ultimately forming Raybert Productions.

The Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night inspired Rafelson and Schneider to bring Rafelson's idea for the Monkees to fulfillment. As "The Raybert Producers," they sold the show to Screen Gems Television on April 16, 1965. Rafelson's and Schneider's original idea was to cast an existing New York-based folk rock group, The Lovin' Spoonful, which was not widely known at the time. However, the canny John Sebastian had already signed the Spoonful to a record company, which would have denied Screen Gems the right to market music from the show on record.

On July 14, 1965, The Hollywood Reporter stated that future band member Davy Jones was expected to return to the United States in September 1965 after a trip to England "to prepare for TV pilot for Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson." Jones had previously starred as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway show Oliver!, which began on December 17, 1962, and his performance was later seen on The Ed Sullivan Show the same night as The Beatles' first appearance on that show, February 9, 1964. He was Tony-nominated for best supporting actor in a musical in 1963. In September 1964, he was signed to a long term contract to appear in TV programs for Screen Gems, make feature films for Columbia Pictures and to record music for the Colpix label. Hence, Rafelson and Schneider already had him in mind for their project after their plans for the Lovin' Spoonful fell through; when they chose him, he was essentially a proto-star looking for his lucky break.
On September 8–10, 1965, Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran an ad to cast the remainder of the band/cast members for the TV show:

Madness!! Auditions. Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running Parts for 4 insane boys, age 17-21. Want spirited Ben Frank's types. Have courage to work. Must come down for interview.

Out of 437 applicants, the other three chosen for the band/cast of the TV show were Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz. Nesmith had been a working as a musician since early 1963, and had been recording and releasing music under various names, including Michael Blessing and "Mike & John & Bill" and had studied drama in college; contrary to popular belief, of the final four, Blessing was the one member who actual saw the ad in the Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Tork, the last to be chosen, had been working the Greenwich Village Scene as a musician, and had shared the stage with Pete Seeger; he learned of The Monkees from Stephen Stills, whom Rafelson and Schneider had rejected. Dolenz was an actor who had starred in the TV series Circus Boy as a child, using the stage name Mickey Braddock, and he had also played guitar and sung in a band called "The Missing Links" before the Monkees, which had recorded and released a very minor single, "Don't Do It." By that time, he was again using his real name of Micky Dolenz; he found out about The Monkees through his agent.