I lived through the “Monkee” era. I knew their songs and watched their TV show. Yet, I can’t name a single song of theirs that was written by Mike Nesmith (or any of the other Monkees).
Yes, the Monkees sang on their songs, but rarely, maybe never played the instruments on any of those recordings. The songs were written by professional songwriters like Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart and Neil Diamond. The backing tracks were recorded, not by the Monkees, but by professional studio musicians.
I enjoyed their music, but truthfully, they were not really musicians, not really a band. They were four kids that were hired by studio executives to portray a pop band on a television show.
Mickey did do all his own vocals and sang most of the his except Daydream Believer which Davey sang.
Jimmy Hendrix opened for the Monkees 8 dates on their ‘67 tour.
“I lived through the “Monkee” era. I knew their songs and watched their TV show. Yet, I can’t name a single song of theirs that was written by Mike Nesmith (or any of the other Monkees).“
Mike wrote: Papa Gene’s Blues, Sweet Young Thing, You Told Me, Mary Mary, You Just May Be The One, Daily Nightly, Sunny Girlfriend and quite a few more on their later records.
Micky wrote - “Randy Scouse Git”; Peter wrote - “For Pete’s Sake” (the song we heard during the end credits)
They all started playing instruments after their 2nd album; the popularity of the show required them to go on tour so they HAD to learn how to be a band. They were all guitar players so Micky had to learn how to play drums also. Peter was probably the most well-rounded musician but was relegated to play the bass. Davy - Maracas and tambourine.
After the tv show ended, they still put out albums for a few years. Each Monkee wrote or chose his own song and often produced the sessions.
They were actually quite talented; they just weren’t allowed to use it much in the beginning. All Columbia/Screen Gems wanted was pretty faces and voices.