the bassist, keyboard player, and main clown of the ’60s group The Monkees.
I was briefly a Monkees fan in my grade 12 year (’66-’67). I liked “Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone”, and even knew and played “I Want To Be Free” on my guitar at school. (I long thought “As Tears Go By” by the Stones is a better ballad.)
But, in the world of short-lived fads, I never bought a Monkees record and was well-aware of the limits of their singing and playing; an ‘ersatz band’–only two had musical experience and the four used a backup band on the road. Musical and writing talent as well as live-performing comparisons to The Beatles (upon whom they were modelled) were far-fetched and bogus.