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The Monkees may be the most successful producer-arranged band of all time. The band started as a group of actors hired for a television show about a band. The comedy series, titled The Monkees, led to the band forming for real. 

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees smiling
Micky Dolenz | Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork went on to have a much bigger impact on music than they would on television. Some of their most notable successes were thanks to Dolenz’s writing. 

Micky Dolenz was a prolific songwriter for The Monkees 

Dolenz started out playing The Monkees’ drummer on the show, but he turned out to have many more musical talents. According to Album Liner Notes, at the beginning of The Monkees, the band was constrained by their producers. They had little to no input in the music they performed. When they were finally able to gain more independence, Dolenz’s talent shone. 

The Monkees’ early hits were all written by outside songwriters. “I’m A Believer” was actually written by Neil Diamond. “Daydream Believer” was penned by John Stewart. When Dolenz was finally given the opportunity to pick up a pen and write a song for The Monkees, the results were undeniably good.

The band went on to have epic success for decades. Dolenz finally got a producer credit on The Monkees’ seventh studio album, “Instant Replay.” One of the most notable tracks on that album, “Shorty Blackwell,” was written by Dolenz himself, with help from a special friend.

Micky Dolenz’s cat, Shorty Blackwell, inspired the song by the same name 

According to Music in Minnesota, Dolenz had one of the very first Moog synthesizers ever made. It was so impressive that when John Lennon came to a party at Dolenz’s house, he spent the whole night on the machine. Lennon wasn’t the only one to be fascinated with the Moog.

Dolenz’s cat, a sleek, black feline named Shorty Blackwell, loved it as well. The cat even inspired the song that is named after him. According to Monkees Live Almanac, Shorty the cat wasn’t the only Shorty to work on the song. Shorty Rogers played trumpet, bringing Dolenz’s vision for the song to life. 

There’s even a picture of Shorty Blackwell playing Dolenz’s Moog. He retweeted it in 2018 with the caption, “My talented cat Shorty Blackwell ~.” Unfortunately, Shorty Blackwell wouldn’t have a chance to inspire more than one song. The Monkees only released two more albums before splitting in 1970. 

The Monkees broke up in 1970

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While the official line is that the Monkees broke up in 1970, that’s not quite true. According to Music in Minnesota, the group continued to tour for decades after. Their show was canceled, but the Monkees were not officially over. Album Liner Notes discusses The Monkees’ unlikely comeback in the 1980s, which featured Dolenz at the helm of the group. 

At the time, The Monkees TV show was syndicated on MTV. Dolenz decided to release new music and tour. Jones was not involved, leaving Dolenz to head the group. A new song from the album, That Was Then, This is Now, even broke through the top 20.

That kind of stellar comeback after decades away from the music scene is rare, especially considering how emblematic the Monkees were of their time. Even though they were the quintessential ’60s band, they were able to appeal to audiences for decades. Much of that is thanks to Dolenz. 

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