Welch, Rosanne Why The Monkees Matter (078647923X)
A hit television show about a fictitious rock band,
The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys-Best Comedy Series and Best Director. Capitalizing on the show's success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from
The Partridge Family to
Hannah Montana. Twenty years later, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.
This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers. Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and
Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers' move into films such as
Head, Easy Rider and
Five Easy Pieces.
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