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)

Hollywood
The Monkees Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The sun that's falling from the southwestern sky
Tells me that I must depart,
So, by sundown today, I'll be on my way,
But I'll be leaving my heart.
It's not the countryside that appealed to my eyes,
It's the spirit and it captured my mind,
But the things I tried to be made a wreck out of me,
Now a different road, I must find.

These things I think are new, I guess they're really old,
It seems I've done 'em once before
Now, to go back to that fork in the road,
Takes all the strength of my soul and more.
Oh, goodbye, goodbye you cruel town,
You've been a fair-weather friend,
Now I will go to some places that I know
Where things don't start just to end.
These things I think are new, I guess they're really old,
It seems that I've done 'em once before,
Now, to go back to that fork in the road,
Takes all the strength of my soul and more.
Oh, goodbye, good goodbye you cruel town,
You've been a fair-weather friend,

Now I will go to some place that I know
Where things don't start just to end.

Overall Meaning

The Monkees's song Hollywood narrates the story of the singer leaving the town of Hollywood, where he had come to chase his dreams. He says that the setting sun in the southwestern sky tells him that he must depart, but he'll be leaving his heart behind. He acknowledges that it wasn't the charming countryside that drew him to Hollywood but the spirit and vitality of the city that captured his mind. However, the singer soon realises that the dreams he tried to pursue have left him feeling wrecked, and he must find a different road. He feels like he's done these things before and must go back to the fork in the road, which takes all the strength of his soul and more. The singer concludes by bidding a goodbye to the cruel town of Hollywood, a fair-weather friend, and says he'll go to someplace where things don't start just to end.

The song's lyrics are an apt reflection of the struggles of chasing one's dreams and the emotional cost it can have on an individual. Hollywood represents the land of dreams, where people come with the hope of achieving their goals in the entertainment industry. However, the reality of the situation is very different, and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood often overshadow the struggles that an individual has to face. The singer's internal conflict of trying once again to chase his dreams by going back to the fork in the road highlights the mental and emotional toll that come with the pursuit of success.

Line by Line Meaning

The sun that's falling from the southwestern sky
The sunset reminds me that it's time to leave this place

Tells me that I must depart,
The sunset tells me it's time to leave

So, by sundown today, I'll be on my way,
I'm leaving this place by the end of today

But I'll be leaving my heart.
I'll be leaving behind the memories and emotions I have for this place

It's not the countryside that appealed to my eyes,
It wasn't just the scenery that made me love this place

It's the spirit and it captured my mind,
It's the atmosphere and feeling of the place that I fell in love with

But the things I tried to be made a wreck out of me,
Trying to fit in and be someone I'm not has caused me to suffer

Now a different road, I must find.
I need to find a new path for myself

These things I think are new, I guess they're really old,
I thought I was experiencing new things, but they're actually just repeating themselves

It seems I've done 'em once before
I've been in this same situation before

Now, to go back to that fork in the road,
I need to go back to the moment where I made a decision

Takes all the strength of my soul and more.
It will take a lot of inner fortitude to make this change

Oh, goodbye, goodbye you cruel town,
Farewell to this place that has been harsh to me

You've been a fair-weather friend,
This place has only been there for me during good times

Now I will go to some places that I know
I'm leaving to go somewhere familiar

Where things don't start just to end.
Somewhere where things are lasting and not temporary like this place

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL NESMITH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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