More wikipedia articles written just clearly by people with deep ties to the subject

Update:

And here is something Matt Grzecki recently found on The Sims Online’ wiki:

• “‘The press went into a full-scale war against us, talking about how ‘The Monkees are four guys who have no credits, no credibility whatsoever and have been trying to trick us into believing they are a rock band.’ Number one, not only was this not the case; the reverse was true. Number two, for the press to report with genuine alarm that the Monkees were not a real rock band was looney tunes!’”

• “On the television show, he was relegated to playing the ‘lovable dummy,’ even though he is actually a highly intelligent, literate person.”

• “Kirshner allowed Nesmith to produce sessions, provided he did not play on any tracks he produced.”

• “Nesmith and Tork were particularly upset when they were on tour in January 1967 and discovered that a second album, More of The Monkees, had been released without their knowledge. The Monkees were annoyed at not having even been told of the release in advance, at having their opinions on the track selection ignored, at Don Kirshner’s self-congratulatory liner notes, and also because of the amateurish-looking cover art, which was merely a composite of pictures of the four taken for a J.C. Penney clothing advertisement. Indeed, the Monkees had not even been given a copy of the album; they had to buy it from a record store.”

• “Kirshner was reported to have been incensed by the group’s unexpected rebellion, especially when he felt they lacked the musical talent, and were hired for their acting ability alone.”

• “Kirshner had presented the group with royalty checks and Nesmith had responded with an ultimatum, demanding a change in the way the Monkees’ music was chosen and recorded. The confrontation ended with Nesmith punching a hole in a wall and saying, ‘That could have been your face!’ However, each of the members, including Nesmith, accepted the $250,000 royalty checks.”

• “After the end of their relationship with Kirshner, the Monkees went into ‘Goldstar Studios’ in Hollywood determined to prove to the world that they were a bonafide group, and could play their own instruments… The high of Headquarters was short-lived, however…The album shot to number one, but was quickly eclipsed the following week by a milestone cultural event when The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

• “A sparse advertising campaign (with no mention of the Monkees) squelched any chances of the film doing well, and it played only briefly in nearly-empty cinemas… But they all proved later to have gotten it entirely wrong, for over the intervening years Head has developed a cult following.”

• “1969: Exit Tork”

• “In 1987, a new television series called The New Monkees appeared. Four young musicians were placed in a similar series based on the original show, but ‘updated’ for the 1980s. The show, its accompanying album and the New Monkees themselves all sank without a trace.”

• “In 1980, Dolenz produced and directed the sitcom Metal Mickey, featuring a small metallic robot with the catch-phrase ‘boogie boogie.’ Because the similarity of the character’s name to his own caused confusion on set, it was at this time that Micky Dolenz officially changed his name to Michael Dolenz.”

• “Nesmith called More of The Monkees ‘probably the worst record in the history of the world.’”