The Monkees vs. Their Producer: How "I’m a Believer" Became the #1 Hit of the Year

Even though they were branded as the 2nd coming of the Beatles…today’s band wasn’t actually a band at all. The Monkees were the ultimate pretenders… actors assembled to play struggling musicians on TV. But you know what? The struggle was real. Unhappy with faking it, this manufactured band wanted to prove they could play. But their musical supervisor Don Kirshner wouldn’t let ‘em. Davey Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith could sing and they could dance… but they were forbidden to play their own instruments. The tension then got so bad, that Michael Nesmith called their Future #1 hit song crap. I’m A Believer, written by Neil Diamond was the song….Pissing off their producer, Nesmith was actually banned from the studio while it was being recorded. And the conflict wouldn’t end there. He then called their second album “the worst in the history of the world.” It’s the crazy story of how four pretenders went head to head with one of the industry’s biggest hitmakers… But was there any way they could win? Find out … NEXT on the Professor of Rock.

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