Who We Are
Band Members
Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz was born in Los Angeles on March 8, 1945. His father George, starred in a number of films, and played the title character in the mid-1950s television series The Count of Monte Cristo.
Micky first established himself as a performer at age ten when, under the stage name of “Mickey Braddock,” he starred in his own first TV series, Circus Boy, which aired on NBC and then ABC from 1956 to 1958. In his early teens, Micky guest-starred on a number of television shows. As he graduated high school and began attending college in the mid-‘60s, Dolenz also learned to play guitar. He soon began to perform with a number of rock ’n roll bands, including one called The Missing Links.
In the fall of 1965, Micky was one of 400 applicants who responded to a trade ad that announced auditions for a new TV show about a rock band. He auditioned for The Monkees’ TV show by playing and singing Chuck Berry’s legendary rocker “Johnny B. Goode,” and wound up chosen for the show along with three other members of the soon to be band The Monkees: Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork.
The Monkees' debut single, "Last Train to Clarksville," featuring Micky on lead vocals, hit the charts on September 10, 1966 and rocketed swiftly to number one. Two days later, the television show debuted on NBC to great success. The TV ratings remained high for two seasons, and the show won two Emmy awards for the first season for “Outstanding Comedy Series” and “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy” going to veteran director James Frawley.
Michael Nesmith
Nesmith was born in Houston, Texas, in 1942. After a tour of duty in the Air Force, Nesmith was given a guitar as a Christmas present from his mother and stepfather. Learning as he went, he played solo and in a series of working bands, performing folk, country, and occasionally rock and roll. His verse poems became the basis for song lyrics, and after moving to Los Angeles with Phyllis and friend John London, he signed a publishing deal for his songs.
Nesmith's "Mary, Mary" was recorded by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, while "Different Drum" and "Some of Shelly's Blues" were recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. "Pretty Little Princess", written in 1965, was recorded by Frankie Laine and released as a single in 1968 on ABC Records. Later, "Some of Shelly's Blues" and "Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)" were made popular by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 1970 album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy. Nesmith began his recording career in 1963 by releasing a single on the Highness label. He followed this in 1965 with a one-off single released on Edan Records followed by two more recorded singles; one was titled "The New Recruit" under the name "Michael Blessing", released on Colpix Records, coincidentally also the label of Davy Jones, though they did not meet until the Monkees formed.
The Gretsch guitar company built a one-off, natural-finish, 12-string electric guitar for Nesmith when he was performing with The Monkees. (Gretsch had a promotional deal with the group.) He earlier played a customized Gretsch twelve-string, which had originally been a six-string model. Nesmith used this guitar for his appearances on the television series, as well as The Monkees' live appearances in 1966 and 1967. Beginning in 1968, Nesmith used a white six-string Gibson SG Custom for his live appearances with The Monkees. He would use that guitar in their motion picture Head for the live version of "Circle Sky", and also for the final original Monkees tour in 1969 with Davy Jones. and Micky Dolenz.
Peter Tork
Tork was born at the former Doctors Hospital, in Washington, D.C. Although he was born in the District of Columbia in 1942, many news articles incorrectly report him as born in 1944 in New York City, which was the date and place given on early Monkees press releases.
He began studying piano at the age of nine, showing an aptitude for music by learning to play several different instruments, including the banjo and both acoustic bass and guitars. Tork attended Windham High School in Willimantic, Connecticut, and was a member of the first graduating class at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. He attended Carleton College before he moved to New York City, where he became part of the folk music scene in Greenwich Village during the first half of the 1960s. While there, he befriended other up-and-coming musicians such as Stephen Stills.
Tork was a proficient musician, and though the group was not allowed to play their own instruments on their first two albums, he was an exception, playing what he described as "third chair guitar" on Mike Nesmith's song, "Papa Gene's Blues," from their first album. He subsequently played keyboards, bass guitar, banjo, harpsichord, and other instruments on their recordings. He also co-wrote, along with Joey Richards, the closing theme song of the second season of The Monkees, "For Pete's Sake".
Davy Jones
David Thomas Jones was born at 20 Leamington Street, Openshaw, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on 30 December 1945. His television acting debut was on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. He portrayed Colin Lomax, Ena Sharples' grandson, for one episode on 6 March 1961. He also appeared in the BBC police series Z-Cars. After the death of his mother from emphysema when he was 14 years old, Jones rejected acting in favour of a career as a jockey, apprenticing with Newmarket trainer Basil Foster. Even though Foster believed Jones would be successful as a jockey, he encouraged his young protégé to take a role as the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver! in London's West End, a move which changed Jones' life forever. In turn, Jones cared for Foster in his later years, bringing him to the United States and providing him financial support.
Foster was approached by a friend who worked in a theatre in the West End of London during casting for the musical Oliver!. Foster replied, "I've got the kid." Jones was cast and appeared to great acclaim as the Artful Dodger. He played the role in London and then on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award. On 9 February 1964, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with Georgia Brown who was playing Nancy in the Broadway production of Oliver!. This was the same episode of the show in which the Beatles made their first appearance. Jones said of that night, "I watched the Beatles from the side of the stage, I saw the girls going crazy, and I said to myself, this is it, I want a piece of that."
Jones debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of 14 August 1965, with the single "What Are We Going To Do?" The 19-year-old singer was signed to Colpix Records, a label owned by Columbia. His debut album David Jones, on the same label, followed soon after (CP493). In 1967 the album was issued in the UK, in mono only, on the Pye Records label (NPL 18178).
Jones sings lead vocals on many of the Monkees' recordings, including "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer".