Why Mike Nesmith Said The Monkees Weren’t ‘Sex Objects’ Like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones
The Monkees‘ Mike Nesmith said his band appealed to 1960s audiences. Despite this, he didn’t think the Prefab Four were “sex objects” like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Notably, the three bands performed very differently on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom.
How The Beatles and The Rolling Stones inspired The Monkees
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart co-wrote several Monkees songs under the name Boyce & Hart. They were not afraid to draw influence from other bands.
In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart discussed their vision for the group. “On our blank canvas (the top page of the yellow pad) we painted sample colors of the pop acts who we thought could be possible influences for our new group: The Beatles, [The Rolling] Stones, [Herman’s] Hermits, [The] Rascals, [The] Turtles, [The Lovin’] Spoonful, [Tommy James and the] Shondells, [Paul Revere & the] Raiders, [The] Hollies, [The] Kinks,” he recalled. “Then we narrowed the hues down to what we thought were the most complimentary shades.”
The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith said the band’s appeal was related to the Vietnam War
During a 2016 interview with Vice, Nesmith discussed the appeal of The Monkees. “While we might’ve been romantic or love objects, we weren’t sex objects in the same way The Beatles or the Stones were,” Nesmith said. “It had to do with innocence.”
Nesmith put his band in the context of its peak era. “While these kids were in the yard playing with their Tonka toys, Vietnam and all this other stuff was happening all around them,” Nesmith said. “It creates a very odd tension during a time [period] that children are being protected from. The Monkees were part of that bubble that people could crawl into.”
How the Prefab Four, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones performed in the United States and the United Kingdom
While The Monkees were inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the American public reacted to the three bands differently. Three of The Monkees’ singles topped the Billboard Hot 100. The Beatles were far more successful on the Billboard Hot 100, as 20 of their singles reached No. 1 on the chart. The Rolling Stones were somewhere in the middle with eight Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 songs.
The United Kingdom was a different story. The Official Charts Company says only one Prefab Four song — “I’m a Believer” — was a No. 1 hit there. According to The Official Charts Company, the Fab Four had 17 No. 1 songs in their native U.K. Finally, The Official Charts Company says The Rolling Stones released eight U.K. chart-toppers.
The Monkees, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones were all popular but Nesmith felt the Prefab Four had a different appeal.
