Number 1 albums in 60s:

Beatles 13
Supremes 3
Simon & Garfunkel 2
Beach Boys Stones Cream Doors Big Brother Rascals Led Zep CCR Blind faith Blood sweat tears Mamas & Papas 1
Who Kinks Animals Hollies Byrds Turtles Raiders Spoonful Airplane Santana 0

Monkees 4
Tijuana Brass 5

Not exactly the history of the 60s written by rock writers and Rolling Stone. Yes, there is no overstating the Beatles dominance over the decade & charts. But the Monkees and Herb Alpert have been woefully under appreciated as massive album sellers of their era.

The Monkees had FOUR number one albums between November 1966 and December 1967.

That’s as many as The Beach Boys Rolling Stones Cream Doors Who Kinks Animals Hollies Byrds Turtles Raiders Lovin Spoonful Jeff airplane Santana Dead and Dave Clark 5 had for the decade combined!

I guess I’m just fascinated by the disparity between how history of the era is written and its actuality based on facts. I’m sure The Who, Stones, and Zeppelin surviving and growing much larger in 70s colors how we see 60s, especially w big rock becoming lingua franca of the 70s.

My other fascination this week: Of all the rock bands in the 60s, why were the Beatles & The Monkees able to be massive album sellers, when rock was still more the province of the 45 rpm single?

How about this factoid:

In 1967, the year of Sergeant Pepper’s, the Beatles spent 15 weeks atop the US albums chart.

In the same year, the Monkees were at the top of the albums chart for 29 weeks!

In 1 year. With 4 different albums.

History has seen few years this dominant

Loving the take that what we think of as the 60s was a large part of the 70s. And certainly, that those who blossomed in the 70s cloud their actual history in the previous decade.

I have no point to prove. But here are the Monkees on the Johnny Cash show playing a totally legit country tune of their own that no one’s ever heard of, The Monkees- Nine Times Blue. Written like many country gems by Papa Nez.

Only as a grown up have I discovered and developed a love for Country Monkees, with Mike Nesmith on vocals. Really foreshadowed what we know as country rock. Here’s “What am I Doing Hangin’ ‘round.”

Here’s a third in my country trilogy. The Monkees-The Door Into Summer. Sounds like it would’ve been a hit if it came out six years later.

And while we’re here, as many of you have noted, Mike Nesmith also wrote Different Drum. Which also happens to be one of my favorite singles of all time.

Not exactly country, but another Nesmith classic. The Monkees- You Just May be the One

But while I have you here, has everyone heard this: The Monkees- Me & Magdalena. Written by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab. It’s from their comeback album in 2016. And as awesome as any song I heard that year.

One further note to underscore what a sensation The Monkees were at their zenith. And on my Zenith.

I assumed there were years between number ones Last Train to Clarksville & Daydream Believer, because the latter was FIVE albums later.

In truth, DB was released ONE year later

Because some of you have brought it up, here is a criminally underrated psychedelic rock number from the movie Head. I think it would’ve been more well know but came out after their peak had ended. Here is Porpoise Song.

An equally interesting sixties stat. Even though the sixties weren’t his decade and one that required a comeback, Elvis Presley still had four number one albums in the 1960s. That’s how huge he was. And this was after the Army when he was supposedly finished.