The Monkees: Two of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock & Roll
l-r: Peter Tork, Davy Jones Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith The Monkees Origin: Los Angeles, California Genres: Pop, folk-pop, rock, psychedelic rock Members: Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith NBC created The Monkees for a television show. The idea was for a fictional music group inspired by the 1964 Beatles ' movie A Hard Day's Night . Four hundred and thirty-seven struggling musicians and actors auditioned for the roles. Steven Stills and John Sebastian were in that group but weren't accepted. Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork made the final cut. Nesmith was the most accomplished musician in the group. He wrote " Different Drum ," recorded by The Stone Ponies with Linda Ronstadt . The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did his " Propinquity " and " Some Of Shelley's Blues ."