The Monkees: Made in Hollywood

by Tom Kemper

"Thorough and remarkable" -- "Weird Al" Yankovic
"A lot of fun" -- Chris Shiflett,  Foo Fighters
"Best Music Books of 2023" -- Variety
"Fascinating and witty" --  Shindig

The behind-the-scenes story of the controversial 1960s made-for-tv rock band.
 
The Monkees represent a vital problem for rock: is it the music that matters or the personality and image of the performers? This book explores the system behind the Monkees, the controversial made-for-TV band that scored some of the biggest hits in the 1960s. The Monkees represent the cumulative result of a complex coordination of talented individuals, from songwriters to studio musicians to producers—in short, the 1960s Hollywood music industry. At the time, the new rock criticism bewailed the "fake" band while fans and audiences pushed the Monkees to the top of the charts. Through the Monkees' unlikely success, this book illustrates the commercial genius of the Hollywood system and its legacy in popular music today.

"I spent the entire summer of 1987 on the road opening up for The Monkees, and I didn't learn 1% as much about them as I learned from this thorough and remarkable book by Tom Kemper." -- "Weird Al" Yankovic

"The Monkees gets into the vast machinery that goes on behind the scenes of producing perfect pop - still relevant today even if the names and corporations have changed - and does it with a lot of fun." -- Chris Shiflett, Foo Fighters

"Kemper's book clarifies so much that is misunderstood in the Monkees story." -- Susanna Hoffs, The Bangles

"Kemper astutely explains how the highly integrated music industry created, developed, and eventually abandoned the Monkees." -- Library Journal

"A keenly incisive---and, at times, refreshingly objective and even-handed---analysis of the entertainment machinery of the era, and the manner in which radio, television, and other areas worked together to manufacture The Monkees seemingly out of thin air." -- Musoscribe

"A knowledgeable and incisive portrait of the popular music industry." -- Paul Hirsch, Northwestern University

"Fascinating and witty . . .The book is full of interesting insights . . . [and] Kemper is impressive in unpacking particular songs . . . a fresh and engaging take on an oft-told story." ― Shindig!

" Valuable, interesting, well-argued, and built on a pile of documented evidence. " - Psychobabble

"Belittled at the time of their creation in the mid-Sixties, as made-for-TV Help-era Beatles clones, The Monkees' music has stood the test of time, and then some. Tom Kemper suggests, in his excellent book, that the initial snobbery surrounding the group, at least in elevated critical circles, came about because of the rise of a new rock culture based on authenticity, individual expression and idealism." - Pick of the Week, Choice

"Kemper helps us understand what it is that continues to make the Monkees phenomenon 'compelling, fascinating and divisive." - The Spectator

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Tv

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2023

About the author

Tom Kemper is currently working on a book about the cookbook as literature and another on modern architecture, with plans for a book on the Beatles.

Reviews

[Chris Cox, a librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not your standard biography of the members of the Monkees. As a longtime fan who pretty much knows the story of the rise and fall and occasionally resurrection of the prefab four, I’m okay with that. Instead we get a detailed account of the record and television industry during the mid to late sixties that lead to the creation of the Monkees. I can see readers with different expectations being disappointed in this book, but I rather liked it and appreciated the author’s detailed research and clear understanding of the era he writes about.

[Rob Paczkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a musicologist or “ pop culture historian “ ( not sure if this is a thing) this is actually a book for you. I am a huge Monkees fan and of course the Monkees name is in the title so I had to read it. Why 5 stars? Actually mostly because this book exists almost 55 years after the demise of this “fake” group. How can a group be fake when there are hits and records and discussion of them over 50 years later? Here’s the spoiler for my fellow Monkees fans. There is not a ton on the actual Monkees. There is little new for even modest fans and the book does not go beyond the demise of the group and there is a reality check in as we all really know it was a sad ending. But it is a must read as it does tell a very compelling reason for their existence against great odds but was it really? The book can get a bit “social studies textbook” like in spots but there is a great comparison to what was out there, changing tastes and an industry ready to pounce. A good behind the scenes how this group came to be on an industrial level. Also there is a deep dive into the intricacies of individual hits and why they have such enduring power still. As a Monkees fan, the parts on the Monkees as a group are all the information that I-had pre internet that filtered out over the years for me as a fan from the beginning. The music is what has lasted for me as a listener for 57 years. I still listen to them at least a few times every couple weeks. But I came to appreciate most all music because of them and have an extensive music collection because of my appreciation of them. The fact that they have been touring on and off for most of the 50 years, they have come out with individual music and came out with 4 Albums as the Monkees since that inglorious end. So they have a lasting influence that lead to many of the formed bands since (Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, K-pop or whatever it’s called, I’m old and trying to sound hip). Good for any music fan plus you might give a deep dive to some of the music that shouldn’t exist.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start off by clarifying that I absolutely love the Monkees. I grew up with a father who has been a fan since 1966, and eventually he introduced their music/TV series to me, which started my own love affair with the band. We went to see Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith on their final tour, just about a month before Nesmith sadly passed away, and it was one of the most enjoyable concerts I’ve been to so far. So you can understand why I was expecting to love this book. But, sadly, I did not.

I knew going in that it doesn’t focus so much on the band as much as it does the Hollywood scene of the day and the 1960s music industry as a whole; I found some of that to be interesting. I enjoyed the content of the book, but not really the way it was presented. It kind of reads like a very long Wikipedia article in places, which hindered my enjoyment of it.

I think my rating is more of a 2.5, but I’ll round up to a 3.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not so much about the Monkees themselves, but more about the machinery behind them that created the music. A little too deep in the weeds for me.

[Chet Slonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s there not to like about this book at a time where media was able to produce a product that was
not available to the general public before. This is a great read on how a group of guys got put together for the sake of bringing craziness and music as a offshoot of the Beatles. It is a must for Rock and Roll historians who have many choices to read about this band and gives the “Hollywood” side of the Monkees. The support they had was incredible as their T.V. Legend cut short even with the help of a mega industry supporting them. Here’s to the four that incorporated music, comedy and acting that held the interest of millions and their legend still lives on.

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was absolutely in love with the Monkees in 2nd and 3rd grade. At the time I had no idea of their origin story. As an adult I knew on a high-level that they were a manufactured band, but I didn't know all the gory details, as outlined in this book. The book is not for most Monkees fans, but it's more appropriate for those in the music industry. Parts of it are quite interesting (especially how the songs on the first album were composed and produced to be of the style of popular bands and Leonard Bernstein's analysis of "I'm a Believer"), but overall it was too in the weeds for me.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a standard history of a pop group, but rather an in-depth look at the US pop industry in the mid to late 1960’s and how this industry created a fabricated a pop group in the form of The Monkees.

The book has a been too much ‘intellectual’ musing for me.

When all is said and done, I don’t care that the Monkees weren’t truly authenticate. As a 10 year old I loved their TV show and their songs. And still do.

[John Schorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clinical -- at times excessively so -- examination of the meteoric rise and fall of The Monkees. The details are all here, and both sides of the debate are given an airing. You certainly can resent the manufactured cynicism behind this band, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy "I'm A Believer" or "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

[Rene Salomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulously written by Kemper, a story I always wanted to hear. Its a very well researched insiders look into the super prefab act straight out of the LA school of rock promo. Essentially the formula of the Monkees became much more common in the music world after this band. I was a fan of all things Monkee in the 60s and this was the story I was looking to read. Well done Mr Kemper.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the scenes of the pop sensation that was The Monkees. As Davey Jones himself said, “we’re not a rock and roll band, we’re an act.” The show was silly fun and some good music came out of it… does it really matter if most of it was the work of studio musicians?

[Kifflie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't really what I expected; it was more dry and academic than what I was looking for. It was still interesting to examine how the culture of Los Angeles birthed the Monkees. I did enjoy the chapter about the songs and how Leonard Bernstein analyzed "I'm a Believer."

[Brian]

Much to dry for me. I was looking for fun behind the scenes antics and stories, but this book gives you the business history of the recording industry the lead to the creation of the group.