The Beach Boys vs. The Monkees: Who Had More No. 1 Hits?
The Beach Boys and The Monkees will forever be remembered as two of the best pop bands ever — even if they constantly get compared to The Beatles. During their peak era, The Beach Boys and The Monkees had the same number of chart-topping singles. One band managed to have another chart-topper years later.
The Beach Boys and The Monkees both evolved from bubblegum to psychedelia
The Beach Boys did very well for themselves in the 1960s. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits says they had three No. 1 singles during that decade. They were “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “Good Vibrations.” Those songs encapsulate the band’s pea period pretty well. The first two show off the band’s bubblegum/doo-wop side, while “Good Vibrations” is one of their prime psychedelic experimentations.
During the same decade, The Monkees also had three No. 1 hits. They were “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Daydream Believer.” The Monkees also evolved from a bubblegum pop group into a more experimental act with their record Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., but they never managed to get one of their psychedelic songs to hit No. 1.
The Monkees had a hit in the 1980s but it didn’t hit No. 1
While both bands peaked during the 1960s, their stories didn’t end there. The Beach Boys managed something incredible in 1988. That year, their yacht rock single “Kokomo” made it all the way to No. 1, returning them to the top of the charts 22 years after “Good Vibrations.” That’s an incredible accomplishment. It was also part of a larger trend of 1960s stars having big hits in the 1980s. Some of The Beach Boys’ contemporaries who found success in the 1980s included the Grateful Dead, Roy Orbison, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and Barbra Streisand.
The Monkees also had a hit during that decade: the synth-pop tune “That Was Then, This Is Now.” However, that single only made it to No. 20 on the charts. However, it’s not too late for The Monkees to come out on top. In recent years, older songs by Kate Bush, The Beatles, and others have become hits. Perhaps a new TikTok trend will catapult “Valleri” or “Pleasant Valley Sunday” to the top of the chart.
The Beach Boys’ Mike Love wrote ‘Kokomo’ with another rock star
“Kokomo” is perhaps The Beach Boys’ most famous beach-themed single. During a 2019 interview with Keys Weekly, The Beach Boys’ Mike Love discussed his band’s approach to writing songs. “[W]e chose the subject matter from what we were living in Southern California,” Love said. “We were just a few miles from the beach.”
Love reflected on the popularity of “Kokomo.” “It’s said to be our biggest hit single and everybody sings along,” he said. “‘Kokomo’ was a name that originated with John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. Phillips wrote the melody and the verse, and I wrote the chorus, and our friend Terry Melcher produced the record, and he came up with the ‘Oooh I want to take you.’ And it was a true collaboration.”
The fictional Kokomo appears to have been inspired by three places. “We have three states we like a lot: California, Hawaii and Florida,” Love said. “And Key West is a wonderful place, so we are looking forward to going to the epicenter of Kokomo.”
