It’s Tuesday and yes, that means it’s time for another debut album. Released in October 1966, The Monkees became the first of four consecutive U.S. number one albums for the group, although a “group” is actually far from what they were at the time.
Only one member of the band (Peter Tork) played on the album and his contributions were limited to playing rhythm guitar on the two Michael Nesmith compositions. Tork’s only other appearances on the album were as a backing vocalist on two songs.
Davy Jones appeared just four times; singing three lead vocals and handling the responses on the album’s final cut, while Nesmith sang lead on his two songs but didn’t appear anywhere else on the recording.
The primary figure was Micky Dolenz. The “drummer” didn’t play drums but he did sing lead on seven songs. It might come as a surprise to Monkees fans but Dolenz was the only member of the group to appear on the television theme song and the album’s hit single, Last Train To Clarksville.
Most of the backing vocals on the album were handled by Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Wayne Erwin, and Ron Hicklin. The session musicians included Wayne Erwin, Gerry McGee, Louis Shelton, Glen Campbell, and James Burton (guitars), Larry Taylor (bass guitar), Bobby Hart (keyboards), and Billy Lewis and Hal Blaine (drums).
So okay, it really wasn’t a group effort but it did top the Billboard Album Chart for 13 weeks and sold over 5 million copies. Part of the reason for the successful debut was the television comedy the members starred in, and the fact that fans thought the guys really were playing their own instruments.
And here it is … The Monkees, in its entirety.
Play button is on the left … Volume slider is on the right
‘The Monkees’ Debut Album
“(Theme From) The Monkees” (Boyce, Hart) Micky
“Saturday’s Child” (David Gates) Micky
“I Wanna Be Free” (Boyce, Hart) Davy
“Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” (Boyce, Venet) Micky
“Papa Gene’s Blues” (Nesmith) Michael
“Take A Giant Step” (Goffin, King) Micky
“Last Train To Clarksville” (Boyce, Hart) Micky
“This Just Doesn’t Seem To Be My Day” (Boyce, Hart) Davy
“Let’s Dance On” (Boyce, Hart) Micky
“I’ll Be True To You” (Goffin, Titelman) Davy
“Sweet Young Thing” (Goffin, King, Nesmith) Michael
“Gonna Buy Me A Dog” (Boyce, Hart) Micky w/ Davy
