The Monkees assembled to be the stars of an American television series of t… Read Full Bio ↴The Monkees assembled to be the stars of an American television series of the same name, which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. The original lineup was: Micky Dolenz (drums, vocals), Michael Nesmith (guitar, vocals), Davy Jones (percussion, vocals) and Peter Tork (bass, keyboards, vocals) . The Monkees were formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California and initially disbanded in 1970 at the conclusion of their recording contract. At their peak they were competing with The Beatles for the top spot on album charts.

In the years since their original disbanding, the group has reunited in various incarnations, mostly involving Dolenz, Tork and Jones, but not Nesmith. The first reunion began in 1986 and at first featured only Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. Davy Jones joined the others and a new album was released before they split again in 1989.

The next regrouping took place between 1993 and 1997 and featured a new album that included the particpation of all four members. A further reunion between 2001 and 2002, was followed by another reunion in 2011 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the television show. This reunion was cut short before 2011 had ended due to scheduling problems with the anniversary tour.

The unexpected death of Davy Jones at the beginning of 2012 prompted the most recent reunion tour, this time featuring Dolenz, Tork and Nesmith.

Created by producers of a TV series to be an American Beatles, the antics of the Monkees band members on the television series were very reminscent of Beatles' antics in films like 'Help' and 'Hard Day's Night'. Indeed, in songs like 'Forget that Girl...', the band and even the lead singer could sound just like the Beatles. With songs provided by Don Kirshner from such writers as Neil Diamond and Carole King, among others, the Monkees were assured of pop success. However, in the beginning, the four group members were hired only as actors to front the band and to provide the vocals whilst studio musicians recorded the backing music. These recordings were provided by Kirshner. Things changed though after the success of the single Last Train to Clarksville, the first hit, leading to demands that the band play live gigs. Having learned to play the music, the band became angry when the second LP was recorded (by Kirshner) by studio musicians, without their knowledge or musical input. They therefore demanded and obtained control of the music.

Nesmith who revealed that the band did not perform on their records was also instrumental in getting Don Kirshner sacked. the next album Headquarters was recorded by The Monkees alone, using hand picked producer Chip Douglas. While not as successful as their first two albums it made it to number one, only to be replaced a week later by The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album. The Monkees eventually settled on a formula of using their own talents as well as those of studio musicians. After two seasons the network and the group could not reach agreement on the format of a third season and the show was canceled even though the ratings were still high. A feature film named Head co-written by The Monkees, Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson) followed.

Peter Tork was the first to leave the band, in 1968, during 1969 The TV show went into Saturday morning reruns and the three remaining Monkees recorded two more albums. in 1969 Nesmith departed and began a serious foray into merging country and rock music. He also eventually developed a format that became MTV. By the way his mother invented a product called Liquid Paper, sold it to the Gillette Company for $47 million dollars then died a year later leaving the money to her only son. The remaining two Monkees Dolenz and Jones recorded one last album named Changes in late 1969.

There has, however, been a resurgent interest in The Monkees' music Rhino Records has been instrumental in restoring all their albums, adding bonus tracks, and equipping them with complementary liner notes and stories.

Davy Jones died on February 29, 2012 in Indiantown, Florida.

Peter Tork died on February 21, 2019, at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut.

Michael Nesmith died on December 10, 2021, in Carmel Valley, California.

DISCOGRAPHY (from www.themonkees.net):

The Monkees (1966)
More of The Monkees (1967)
Headquarters (1967)
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (1967)
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (1968)
Head (1968)
Instant Replay (1969)
The Monkees Present (1969)
Changes (1970)
Then & Now...The Best of the Monkees (1986)
Pool It! (1987)
Live 1967 (1987)
Justus (1996)
Good Times! (2016)

Dandruff
The Monkees Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

by Jack Nicholson & Robert Rafelson
"Supernatural, perhaps..."
"Change one tape, the entire process is regeared. Leisure: the
inevitable by-product of our civilization. The tragedy of your times, my
young friends, is
that you may get exactly what you want."
Cop: "Out..."
Mike: "Oh"

Cop: "Out...get outta here."
Micky: "Hi. What's going on?"
Cop: "Move it! Out!"
Peter: "Oh, hello officer, certainly glad to..."
Cop: "Shut up!...Okay, weirdos..."
Director: "Alright, fellas, will you come forward, please?"
Micky: "Who's that?"
Director: "Alright, now, jump up and down a little, huh, fellas? Get
lost in it...""
Davy: "Jump into this?!? What is this stuff?"
Director: "...there you go...very good. Look, you're supposed to be
dandruff, fellas."
All: "Dandruff?"
Director: "Will you work at it, please? Jump up and down a little
bit..."

Playback: "Dandruff, dandruff..."
Director: "Good, that's better, that's good."

Overall Meaning

The Monkees' "Dandruff?" song captures a conversation between a group of young friends and a police officer. The conversation is interrupted by a director who invites the friends to participate in a video shoot where they are to pretend to be dandruff. The director's request seems unusual, and the friends show their skepticism towards the idea. However, they go ahead and participate in the shoot, jumping up and down as instructed. The chorus of the song, "dandruff, dandruff," is played in the background as the shoot takes place.

The lyrics of "Dandruff?" are reflective of the counterculture movement of the 1960s, which was characterized by unconventional ideas, behaviors, and artistic expressions. The song seems to highlight the absurdity of conforming to societal norms while also conveying a message of existentialism. The lyrics, "Leisure: the inevitable by-product of our civilization. The tragedy of your times, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want," imply that modern civilization creates a culture of leisure at the expense of existential fulfillment.

Line by Line Meaning

Supernatural, perhaps...
The situation may have some strange, unexplainable aspects to it.

Change one tape, the entire process is regeared. Leisure: the inevitable by-product of our civilization. The tragedy of your times, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want.
A commentary on the nature of modernization and leisure, and how it changes the way we approach life, and how we may not realize the consequences of our own desires.

Out...
The cop is telling someone to leave immediately.

Oh
Mike is reacting to the cop's order to leave.

Move it! Out!
The cop is getting more forceful in his demand that someone leave the area.

Oh, hello officer, certainly glad to...
Peter is trying to be polite to the cop and is happy to see him.

Shut up!...Okay, weirdos...
The cop becomes more aggressive in his tone, insulting the people he's addressing.

Who's that?
Micky is asking who the director is.

Alright, now, jump up and down a little, huh, fellas? Get lost in it...
The director is asking the band members to jump around a bit and have fun with their performance.

Jump into this?!? What is this stuff?
Davy is surprised and confused by the idea that they are supposed to be dandruff.

...there you go...very good. Look, you're supposed to be dandruff, fellas.
The director is pleased with the band's performance and is giving them feedback on what their role in the scene is supposed to be.

Dandruff, dandruff...
This is a line from a playback that the band is responding to in their performance.

Good, that's better, that's good.
The director is giving the band members positive feedback about their performance.

Contributed by Claire A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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