Also known as: Monkees, The
Origin: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Although they were initially an artificially manufactured band, created to star in a TV show about a successful pop group that closely resembled The Beatles , the Monkees proved to be much more than that, achieving three number one singles, releasing nine LPs and for a short time, even rivaling The Beatles in popularity. The Monkees name was even purposely spelled wrong to duplicate the play on words misspelling of The Beatles . The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night and Help! were the inspiration for producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider (collectively known as "Raybert") to begin creating …