Made for TV: Official Soundtrack to Season 1 of The Monkees [1LP/1CD/1Blu-Ray]

Made for TV: Official Soundtrack to Season 1 of The Monkees [1LP/1CD/1Blu-Ray]On August 16, 1966, The Monkees introduced themselves to the world with the groups debut single, Last Train To Clarksville. A month later, the song was racing to #1 when The Monkees television series debuted on September 12. Within weeks, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork were a global phenomenon, destined to become one of the most popular bands of the 1960s. MADE FOR TV: FAVORITE EPISODES AND BIGGEST HITS FROM SEASON 1 OF THE

On August 16, 1966, The Monkees introduced themselves to the world with the group’s debut single, “Last Train To Clarksville.” A month later, the song was racing to #1 when The Monkees television series debuted on September 12. Within weeks, Micky Dolenz,

Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork were a global phenomenon, destined to become one of the most popular bands of the 1960s. 

MADE FOR TV: FAVORITE EPISODES AND BIGGEST HITS FROM SEASON 1 OF THE MONKEES is a LP/2CD/BR collection serving up the first season’s greatest hits with 14 rare, broadcast-exclusive TV mixes created especially for the show, more than two dozen songs from the season, plus 10 fan-favorite episodes—including the series premiere. Monkees historian and author Andrew Sandoval produced the set and contributed the liner notes, including detailed guides to the episodes and songs.

Inspired by A Hard Day’s Night, producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider created The Monkees, which ran for two seasons on NBC from 1966 through 1968. Rafelson’s initial vision was for a musical Marx Brothers—a band of playful jokesters prone to hijinks and breaking into

song. What couldn’t be scripted, however, was the organic chemistry of the foursome, which flipped the script and transformed a fictional band into a genuine musical force.

MADE FOR TV includes songs written for the group by some of the world’s best songwriters with Neil Diamond’s “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” and Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Take A Giant Step.” Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart are heavily featured, underscoring the team’s essential contribution to Season One with the theme song, the B-side “Words” and an early version of the gold-certified #3 hit “Valleri.”

The featured episodes capture the zany spirit of the first season, which won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. It begins with the debut episode, “Royal Flush,” which earned director James Frawley an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy. As a fitting bookend, the collection concludes with the season’s final episode, “The Monkees On Tour,” which documents the group coming together as a live unit during their record-setting concert run in early 1967.