What began as a television premise became a genuine pop phenomenon with songs that defined the late 1960s.
For the full picture, listen to 'Last Train to Clarksville' alongside something from 'Headquarters.' It shows the distance they traveled from TV concept to actual band.
They started as a fictional band for a sitcom, but 'Last Train to Clarksville' and 'I'm A Believer' became actual chart-toppers that people sang along to for real. Neil Diamond wrote 'I'm A Believer,' which spent seven weeks at number one in 1966. Their television show gave them a built-in audience that helped propel songs like 'Daydream Believer' up the charts.
Put together in 1965 for a television sitcom about a struggling rock band, they initially relied on outside songwriters for hits. By 1967, they pushed for more creative control and recorded the album 'Headquarters' mostly by themselves. They released nine studio albums before breaking up in 1971.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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