The Monkees’ songs appealed for all the right reasons: they were highly melodic, uplifting, enhanced by visual cues (but not dependent upon them) and occasionally innovative, as on the improvised Moog swirls in “Daily Nightly” and the controlled chaos of “Randy Scouse Git.” Billboard was especially generous to the early material, gushing, “All the excitement generated by the promotional campaign … is justified by this debut disk loaded with exciting teen dance beats.” B-sides like “Words” and “The Girl I Knew Somewhere” were no less tuneful or hummable than their flipside counterparts. Though lyrics were generally of secondary importance, behind the novelty of Peter Tork’s frayed delivery of “Your Auntie Grizelda” lay clever internal rhyming and relevant moralizing. And the piano intro to “Daydream Believer,” played by Tork, remains one of the most memorable opening riffs ever.
Hey, Hey Let Them In: 10 Reasons The Monkees Should Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Twelve performers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. The Monkees weren't one of them. TIME makes a case for the pop-rock group that changed music forever — one sitcom episode at a time
Reason No. 2: The Quality of Their Songs, Even Those That Weren’t Hits
Full List
Monkees Hall of Fame
- Reason No. 1: Their Chart Success
- Reason No. 2: The Quality of Their Songs, Even Those That Weren’t Hits
- Reason No. 3: The Many Talents They Discovered
- Reason No. 4: Their Standoff Against Don Kirshner and the Music Industry
- Reason No. 5: Their Vital Innovations in Music Video
- Reason No. 6: Their (O.K., Not So Vital) Innovations in Music Itself
- Reason No. 7: Micky Dolenz’s Lyrical Talents
- Reason No. 8: They Gave Us the Movie Head
- Reason No. 9: Their Central Role in Defining Authenticity in Rock
- Reason No. 10: The Real Purpose of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame