December 14 is Monkey Day. But I’d rather share a video of these Monkees. The series ran from 1966 to ’68 on NBC, but I remember the series from the Saturday reruns shown from 1968-72 (CBS) and 1972-73 (ABC). Wow, all three networks.

Though originally conceived as a fictional TV band, the Monkees evolved into a real band that played their own instruments. At the time, a lot of people looked down on the Monkees because they weren’t a “real” group and appeared to be a ripoff of the Beatles, but in hindsight, more people seem to respect them as musicians and artists.

Opening theme, The Monkees