Nov 5th in Pop History
On this day, November 5th, in:
• 1966 - Eight weeks after their TV series debuted, The Monkeys had the number one record in the US with Last Train To Clarksville.
The Monkeys were an American pop band originally active between 1966 and 1971, with reunion albums and tours in the decades that followed. Their original line-up consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork with English actor/singer Davy Jones.
Dolenz described The Monkees as initially being "a TV show about an imaginary band... that wanted to be the Beatles that was never successful.” Ironically, the success of the show led to the actor-musicians becoming one of the most successful bands of the 1960s.
The Monkees have sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the biggest-selling groups of all time with international hits, including Last Train to Clarksville, I’m a Believer, Pleasant Valley Sunday, and Daydream Believer.
Mediaite columnist Paul Levinson, noted that "The Monkees were the first example of something created in a medium — in this case, a rock group on television — that jumped off the screen to have big impact in the real world. The Monkees didn’t exist prior to their television series. They didn’t play clubs, didn’t make demos, didn’t play at all because they didn’t exist, prior to NBC’s television show, which ran for two successful seasons from 1966-1968.” In 2014 the Monkees were inducted into America's Pop Music Hall of Fame.
Please check out their great music on the following links if they’re new to you:
Last Train To Clarksville
Gonna Buy Me a Dog (Just for Fun)
Best of the Monkeys
Also, on this day, November 5th, in:
• 1977 - ABBA had the # 1 song beginning today, with The Name Of The Game
• 1983 - The Police spent their 15th week at # 1 on the Album chart with Synchronicity
Also, on this day, in…
• 1983 - Islands In The Stream from Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton floated on top once again for a fourth week on the AC chart.
• 1988 - The Beach Boys had the number one record in the US when Kokomo, from the movie Cocktail, reached the top. It made # 25 in the UK. It had been 22 years since the group had their last US chart topper with Good Vibrations. Their only other Top Ten hit in that time had been Rock and Roll Music in 1976
