Stephen Stills Wasn’t Allowed to Join The Monkees But He Forever Changed the Band
The Monkees‘ Micky Dolenz was asked if Stephen Stills ever tried to join his group. Dolenz said people joked that Stills wasn’t allowed to join the band because one part of his body was unattractive. On the other hand, the co-writer of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville” discussed Stills’ connection to the group in more concrete terms.
Micky Dolenz said Stephen Stills helped another musician join The Monkees
During a 2020 interview with Forbes, Dolenz was asked about the rumor that Stills auditioned for The Monkees. “I heard that, too,” Dolenz responded. “I probably had a conversation with him about it at some point. It does appear to be true, and it’s pretty well documented. He auditioned, and the joke is he didn’t get it because he had bad teeth.”
Regardless, Dolenz noted Stills got Peter Tork to audition for The Monkees. “He is also the one who told Peter Tork about the audition, because they had been in New York together in the Greenwich Village-era scene,” Dolenz said. “He and Peter had similarities in a lot of ways, especially the way they looked. People would confuse the two. But Stephen did OK. He’s not hurting.”
The co-writer of ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ revealed more about the singer’s connection to the band
Bobby Hart was one of the Prefab Four’s regular songwriters, co-writing hits such as “Last Train to Clarksville.” In his 2015 book Psychedelic Bubble Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees, and Turning Mayhem Into Miracles, Hart discussed meeting Tork for the first time.
Hart confirmed Stills tried out for the group. “Peter finished his story of becoming a Monkee by revealing that his friend from the Village scene, Stephen Stills, had suggested Peter for the show after Steven himself had not been a match for the project,” Hart added.
How The Monkees’ songs and Stephen Stills’ songs performed on the charts in the United States
The Monkees became a huge force on the American pop chart. Ten of the Prefab Four’s songs reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. The songs in question are “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” “Daydream Believer,” “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” “Valleri,” “D.W. Washburn,” “That Was Then, This Is Now,” “Words,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.”
On the other hand, Stills’ solo music was far less successful on the chart. His biggest hit was “Love the One You’re With,” which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. None of the singer’s other solo songs reached the top 20.
Stills became a rock legend even though he missed out on joining The Monkees.
