In 1967, The Monkees achieved an unprecedented feat by outselling both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member, reflects on this historic moment and the enduring legacy of their music.
In the crowded landscape of 1960s pop music, few achievements still feel as startling decades later as this one: The Monkees once sold more albums in a single year than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. This remarkable moment is back in focus after Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of The Monkees, shared a reflective Instagram post marking the legacy of More of the Monkees, released in January 1967.
“This month in 1967, More of the Monkees was released — and wow, what a ride that record had,” Dolenz wrote alongside a video montage of classic Monkees clips set to “Mary, Mary.”
“It knocked our debut album right out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts…and then stayed there for 18 weeks,” he continued. “Between the first two albums, we somehow held the top of the charts for 31 consecutive weeks, which still makes my head spin a little.”
The Numbers Behind the Phenomenon
The numbers remain staggering. More of the Monkees went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., sold more than five million copies in America alone, and finished 1967 as the best-selling album of the year—during a period often regarded as one of the most competitive eras in music history.
Looking back, Dolenz emphasized that the achievement means more to him now than it did at the height of the frenzy. “I’m incredibly proud these songs are still finding new ears all these years later,” he wrote. “That’s the real gift.”
The Monkees’ Cultural Impact
Dolenz also reshared a recent segment from Spectrum News 1 spotlighting legendary rock photographer Henry Diltz, whose images helped define the visual legacy of the late ’60s music scene. The piece revisits Diltz’s early days photographing The Monkees, beginning with a 1967 assignment for Tiger Beat magazine.
“In 1967, Tiger Beat hired me to go down and photograph this group called The Monkees,” Diltz recalled in the segment.
The broadcast notes that during that same year, The Monkees’ album sales surpassed those of the Beatles and Rolling Stones combined — even as the band wrestled with skepticism and industry pushback.
Dolenz offered a candid explanation for why Diltz became such a trusted presence. “They were having trouble finding photographers that we would get along with,” he said. “And all of a sudden, this guy shows up, this other long-haired weirdo, just like us.”
Dolenz described how Diltz blended seamlessly into their world, following them casually around studio lots and lunch spots, snapping photos organically. Eventually, the band made a firm decision. “At one point, we said, ‘That’s it, Henry Diltz is the only photographer that’s allowed to shoot us.’”
The Enduring Legacy
The segment also shows Dolenz and Diltz revisiting The Troubadour, paging through decades-old photographs and reflecting on a time when pop culture, youth identity, and music were colliding at full speed.
“He made history with a TV show that captured America’s hearts and airways in 1966,” the narrator says of Dolenz—a statement that still resonates nearly 60 years later.
For Dolenz, the enduring takeaway isn’t the chart dominance or the rivalry narratives. It’s the longevity. The fact that songs born out of a fast-moving, chaotic moment in 1967 continue to matter—and continue to be discovered—remains, as he put it, “the real gift.”
For the fastest, most authoritative analysis of breaking entertainment news, stay tuned to onlytrustedinfo.com. We bring you the stories that matter, with the depth and insight you deserve.
