[sonicl]

The Monkees.

The four young men who became The Monkees were British-born David Thomas ("Davy") Jones (vocals/percussion/guitar/{drums-live only}), Hollywood native George Michael ("Micky") Dolenz Jr. (vocals/drums/keyboards/guitar), Texan Robert Michael ("Mike"/"Wool Hat") Nesmith (guitars/vocals), and Peter Halsten ("Peter Tork") Thorkelson (bass/keyboards/banjo/guitar/trombone/vocals), who had lived with his family in both the eastern United States and Canada.

They were cast after ads were placed in trade publications like Variety calling for "folk & roll musicians" to play "4 insane boys" on a new television series. 437 hopeful actors and musicians auditioned for the parts; a then relatively unknown Stephen Stills was short-listed for a role, but lost out because producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider felt he looked too old for the part, and because he did not want to lose his music publishing rights to Screen Gems. Stills referred friend and former roommate Tork to audition. (False rumors have circulated that Charles Manson also auditioned. He was incarcerated at the time.)

The Monkees, selected specifically to appeal to the youth market with their manufactured personae and carefully produced singles, are seen as an original precursor to the modern proliferation of studio and corporation-created bands. But this critical reputation has softened somewhat, with the recognition that the Monkees were neither the first manufactured group nor unusual in this respect. The Monkees also frequently contributed their own songwriting efforts on their albums and saw their musical skills improve. They ultimately became a self-directed group, playing their own instruments and writing their own songs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkees