Buffalo Springfield — elected to the Hall despite playing together only two years — are as much revered for the careers and projects they spawned as for the albums they released in their short lifespan, and similarly, the Monkees warrant acknowledgement for their role as a launching pad for talent. Neil Young, newly successful with Buffalo Springfield, further cut his chops as a studio musician by lending a searing guitar solo to Davy Jones’ scathing “You and I.” Jack Nicholson may have already been in films, but he added writer and producer credits to his résumé with his work on the band’s sole film, Head. And Jimi Hendrix toured with the Monkees in 1967 for a short while in his quest for American exposure post-Monterey, a famously mismatched pairing that nevertheless introduced the Experience to broader swaths of America than he could have reached without them.
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. 3: The Many Talents They Discovered
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