The Monkees represent a vital problem for rock and pop, and perhaps the major question: is it the music that matters or the personality and image of the performers? This book explores the system behind the Monkees, the controversial made-for-tv band that scored some of the biggest hit records of the 1960s. The Monkees represent the cumulative result of a complex coordination of talented individuals, from songwriters to studio musicians to producers - the system of the 1960s Hollywood music industry.

The new rock criticism bewailed the fake band, while fans and audiences made the Monkees a major commercial success. More than any other band in the 1960s, the Monkees illustrate the genius of the system and its role in popular music.

'I spent the entire summer of 1987 on the road opening up for The Monkees, and I didn’t learn 1% as much about them as I learned from this thorough and remarkable book by Tom Kemper.'
– "Weird Al" Yankovic

'The Monkees gets into the vast machinery that goes on behind the scenes of producing perfect pop – still relevant today even if the names and corporations have changed – and does it with a lot of fun.' – Chris Shiflett, Foo Fighters

'Kemper's book clarifies so much that is misunderstood in the Monkees story.' – Susanna Hoffs, The Bangles