The artifice of the Monkees didn’t just bother critics and music purists. It bothered the boys themselves, leading to a showdown with music supervisor Don Kirshner, who had assembled the studio musicians and staff songwriters responsible for much of the first two albums. Kirshner was hired for expediency’s sake: the group had been contracted for 32 episodes, and Kirshner had access to a stable of the best songwriters. The Monkees, who were forbidden from playing the instruments on those early albums, later rejected the puppet roles they’d been assigned in what VH1 referred to as “a high-stakes musical mutiny.” Mike Nesmith threatened to quit, but Kirshner was ultimately fired instead, and the boys were given the autonomy to write and perform nearly everything on their next album, a garage-rock classic called Headquarters.
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. 4: Their Standoff Against Don Kirshner and the Music Industry
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