Making The Monkees

Making The Monkees is brought to viewers by the Smithsonian Channel and features interviews with songwriters, band members, and former managers, as well as narration of the rise and fall of the popular band that outsold both Elvis and The Beatles in the United States. The "band" was put together in 1966 by Columbia Studios for the TV show The Monkees. Making The Monkeys outlines the planning behind the creation of the show, as well as the insistance that the band members must fit a mold much like The Beatles in order to tap into a phenomenal market trend of the times. By 1967 the manufactured pop band was a hit as a television show and from there the studio enlisted big names in the music and songwriting industry to further build up the band. The band themselves were not allowed to have anything to do with the actual music other than to add vocals to the pre-created music, which began the frustration that eventually led to the band's demise. The Smithsonian Channel's airing of Making The Monkees gives a very clear view of what caused the eventual end of the band. MORE