The Monkees, Head, and the 60s

How have a group conceived as a shortlived commodity outlived so many of their contemporaries? Why are The Monkees still important, and what does this tell us about their music, their TV show, and our understanding of popular culture today?

Despite being built in Hollywood, and not necessarily to last, The Monkees and their music, TV, and cinematic output have proved enduring. They are in many ways unique: as the first ‘made for TV’ band their success introduced methods of marketing pop that have since become standard industry practice, and their big-screen use of film and images in live performance is now a firmly established principle of concert staging. What’s more, they changed the rules of the pop game, taking control of their own affairs at the height of their success, risking magnificent failure by doing so.

The Monkees invented a new kind of TV, gave a new model to the music industry, and left behind one of the most enigmatic movies of the modern era, Head. This book is about all that and more. Drawing on years of original research and brand new interviews with key figures including songwriter Bobby Hart and producer Chip Douglas, it includes an extensive scene-by-scene analysis of the film and an exclusive essay on the impact of The Monkees and Head by KLF founder Bill Drummond.

Beginning by exploring the origins and personalities of the four Monkees before looking in depth at their work together on screen, on stage, and on record, The Monkees, Head, and the 60s is the first serious study of the band and the first to fully acknowledge their importance to the development of pop as we now know it.