They were created for television, but The Monkees quickly became one of the biggest pop phenomena of the 1960s. When the foursome of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork released their self-titled debut album in 1966, it spent 13 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and launched a run of enduring pop hits.
“I told people I would outsell The Beatles, and they laughed at me,” music publisher and television impresario Don Kirshner once recalled. “Then the first album sold four million.”
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In other words, The Monkees were America’s Fab Four.
“At the height of their popularity, recordings by The Monkees outsold those of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and the group shattered sales records previously set by the likes of Elvis Presley and The Beatles,” Vocal Group Hall of Fame shared.
Now, six decades later, Rhino is taking listeners back inside that unlikely phenomenon with The Monkees: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Slated for release Oct. 30, the 3CD/1LP box set features the original album in both stereo and mono alongside demos, alternate takes, television mixes, backing tracks and other archival recordings. Unlike previous expanded editions released in 1994, 2006 and 2016, this version features new handwritten liner notes from Dolenz.
But the bonus material isn’t the only reason to revisit the landmark album. Beneath the bright colors, catchy hooks, and wildly popular two-season TV show was a remarkable collection of songs written by some of the biggest names in music, including Nesmith, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce, and Bobby Hart.
“Donnie Kirshner was responsible to some degree in picking The Monkees’ songs because he was head of Screen Gems Columbia Music in the famous Brill Building in New York,” Dolenz, the “last Daydream Believer,” told Forbes in 2023, speaking to the sheer volume of legends who contributed to The Monkees catalog. “He WAS the Brill Building during that period, along with those incredible writers like Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, David Gates, Paul Williams, Diane Hildebrand, etc. We were surrounded by the best of the best.”
Expanding the original 12-track The Monkees album, the 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original record in both stereo and mono, featuring songs including “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I Wanna Be Free,” “Take a Giant Step,” and “Papa Gene’s Blues.”
The set also digs into the album’s making, with rehearsals, demos, alternate vocal takes, and television versions of several songs. Highlights include multiple versions of “I Wanna Be Free,” alternate takes of “Papa Gene’s Blues,” and “The Kind of Girl I Could Love,” and TV mixes of “Last Train to Clarksville” and other songs.
For collectors and longtime fans, the third disc goes even deeper, offering master backing tracks and rehearsal recordings for songs including “(Theme From) The Monkees,” “Let’s Dance On,” “Sweet Young Thing,” “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day,” and “You Just May Be the One.” The collection also includes vintage radio and TV promotional spots, giving listeners another glimpse into the making and marketing of one of the era’s biggest pop albums.
“Look, with us, the proof is in the pudding,” Dolenz said. “You don’t stand up as The Monkees have for six decades if there wasn’t something there.”
The Monkees: 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition drops Oct. 30. Preorder is available now from the official Monkees store.
