The time has come to tell the full, unblinking story of The Monkees.
“Making The Monkees” is set to air on the Smithsonian Channel Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. EST/PST. It tells the tale of the formation of the group in 1965, the phenomenal success of the television show and the group’s music, plus the downfall when the public learned the Monkees were created by Hollywood. Hard to believe these days that it was a shock.
Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz were so popular that, along with the obvious Monkee-themed toys, clothing, lunchboxes and other merchandise, the band outsold The Beatles and Elvis Presley combined in 1967.
Seriously, we’re looking at the press release right now and that’s what it says.
The band broke up in 1968 after bickering with producer Don Kirshner over creative rights and making the movie “Head.”
The one-hour documentary includes recent interviews with the principals and key figures. We’ll venture to say this probably doesn’t include Nesmith, who has famously eschewed participating in projects involving the Monkees. But who knows?