Pick a Day

Peter Tork (of The Monkees) is born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.

Michael Nesmith (of The Monkees) is born Robert Michael Nesmith in Houston, Texas.

Micky Dolenz (drummer, vocalist for The Monkees) is born George Michael Dolenz, Jr. in Los Angeles, California.

Davy Jones (of The Monkees) is born in Manchester, England.

An ad appears in Variety looking for "Four Insane Boys, Ages 17-21" to star in a new TV show: The Monkees.

The theme song to The Monkees TV series is recorded at RCA studios in Hollywood. The only Monkee to participate is Micky Dolenz, who does the vocal - the rest of the musicians are session performers.

The Monkees release their first single, "Last Train To Clarksville." It's a lighthearted-sounding song with a somber subtext: The lyric is about a guy who gets drafted into the Vietnam War and wonders if he's ever coming home.

The Monkees TV show makes its debut, with four actors chosen to portray a pop band based on The Beatles. While The Monkees are a fictional band, they become very real and eventually play on their own recordings instead of studio musicians.More

The Monkees' self-titled debut album hits #1 in America and stays for 13 weeks.

The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" hits #1 in America. The song is a subtle protest against the Vietnam War.

The Monkees' "I'm A Believer," written by Neil Diamond, hits #1 in America. The song stays at the top for seven weeks.

The Monkees, who are stars thanks to their TV show, play their first concert. About 8,000 screaming fans show up for the performance in Honolulu, confirming their status as real-life superstars.

The Monkees' album More of the Monkees hits #1 in America.

The Monkees announce during an appearance on the British TV show Top of the Pops that they will play on their own records from now on instead of using session players.

The Monkees release Headquarters, proving they're more than a group of actors who just play a band on TV. Although it's their third album, it's the first that allows them creative control over songwriting and performing without relying on session musicians. The album goes to #1 on the Billboard 200.

The Monkees, starring the eponymous band, wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

The Monkees' Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones album hits #1 in America.

The Monkees' "Daydream Believer" hits #1 in America for the first of four weeks.

The last episode of The Monkees airs on NBC, concluding the show's two-season run. Titled "The Frodis Caper," it's a very sci-fi episode directed by Micky Dolenz. It opens with the band waking up to "Good Morning Good Morning" by The Beatles, one of the first uses of a Beatles song in a non-Beatles production.

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees marries the model Samantha Juste, who is the "disc girl" on the BBC show Top Of The Pops. Dolenz, who met her on the show, wrote some of The Monkees song "Randy Scouse Git" about her. They divorce in 1975.

The Monkees movie Head is released. The studio that commissioned the film expected something light and funny, but got a trippy commentary on the manipulation of The Monkees, complete with a scene where the group jumps to their death off a bridge. The film bombs when it is released, but later becomes a cult classic.

Peter Tork leaves The Monkees, paying $160,000 to buy out his contract.

Davy Jones announces he's leaving The Monkees, essentially dissolving the group, which had dwindled to a duo.

Davy Jones of the Monkees guest stars on The Brady Bunch episode "Getting Davy Jones," where Marcia tries to get the dreamy singer to perform at her prom.More

MTV, which has bought the rights to 45 episodes of The Monkees TV series, airs them all in the "Pleasant Valley Sunday" marathon in honor of the group's 20th anniversary. The shows launch a Monkees revival, and the group reforms to tour later in the year.More

The Monkees, minus Mike Nesmith, begin their 145-date "20th Anniversary World Tour" at the Concord Hotel in the Catskill Mountains. The group has risen in popularity thanks to MTV, which started airing old episodes of their TV show.

The Monkees, on a reunion tour, have an amazing six albums on the Billboard 200. The highest is The Monkees at #92.

The Monkees get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, all four Monkees reunite for the first time - Mike Nesmith was a holdout on their reunion tour.

Rhino releases all 58 episodes of the The Monkees in a deluxe VHS box set. It's a big box: 21 tapes, making it the largest video release of all time.More

The Monkees, minus Mike Nesmith, embark on a 45th Anniversary Tour with a date at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. It's the group's fourth and final reunion tour, as Davy Jones dies in 2012.