The Monkees

The Monkees

From Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve by Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellan

March 10, 2026 · 4 min · Episode 300

About this episode

This episode explores the rise and legacy of The Monkees, a band created for television during the British Invasion era.

Back in the mid-1960s American television networks were trying to get with the youth scene, and a big part of that scene was the British Invasion. So NBC said "we'll call your Beatles, Animals, Stones, and Kinks -- and raise you some Monkees. Recruited as actors more than musicians, at the time, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork were put down as the "prefab four" -- a wholly made for television creation. But they were a smash and over the years have gained respect as prime purveyors of power pop. The Monkees TV show lasted just a couple of years -- and some of the efforts that followed didn't connect with an audience (the movie Head for specifics). The Monkees were largely forgotten until MTV came around in the mid-1980s and decided that the original Monkees TV show was just the thing to put on the new music network. Comeback tours and albums followed as a new generation discovered the Monkees. Micky Dolenz is now the last Monkee standing, but he carries the flag proudly performing around the country in his Monkees Celebration shows. Happy sellout crowds are the result -- now just who were they calling "Pre-Fab" way back when? As always find extra clips…

People in this episode

Hosts: Randy Hodgins, Steve McLellan

Topics covered

  • The Monkees
  • British Invasion
  • 1960s television
  • comeback tours
  • power pop

Keywords

  • Monkees
  • Micky Dolenz
  • Davy Jones
  • 1960s
  • MTV
  • power pop
  • comeback

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NBC, MTV

Books & works: Head

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