“The Monkees” is a song by The Monkees from the album The Monkees (1966)

* Yes, the full title of this song is “(Theme from) The Monkees” so its inclusion in the “SONG by ARTIST from ALBUM of the same name” header series is questionable. But the parentheses imply that it could be considered an optional part of the title. Plus when I suggested a while back that Five Man Electrical Band might well have been the first band to do the “SONG by ARTIST from ALBUM” thing, The Avocado’s very own Jose Peterson suggested that the Monkees had done it first – with the caveat about the title. Of course this was before it was brought to my attention that Bo Diddley had beaten both of them to it by re-releasing his 1955 single “Bo Diddley” as part of his 1958 self-titled album, so it is kind of a moot point now (though as the man himself stated in that very song, he is “A MAN” not a band). But whatever the case, The Monkees deserve more respect – while at this point in their career The Monkees were not allowed to play on their own songs and forced to rely largely on outside songwriters, eventually they fought for and gained more creative freedom, making some great music to rival many of their sixties peers. And while it wasn’t Mike Nesmith’s real hat, it is the one he wore to the audition!

Have a Great Day Thread, Avocado!