The Monkees arrived fully formed on September 12, 1966. That's when the fledgling group's self-titled TV show debuted on the NBC network. A month later, on October 10, the band's debut album--also self-titled--hit record store shelves. Between the two, the Monkees quickly became a massive pop sensation all across the country.
The album quickly shot to the top of the Billboard 200, where it remained for 13 weeks straight. There was only one single released from The Monkees: "Last Train to Clarksville," which soared to the Number One spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1966.
While it was never a single in the US, "(Theme from) The Monkees" was big hit, fueled in large part by the track opening the band's increasingly popular TV show over the debut season.
The Monkees' debut album was such a success that it took the group's second full-length effort, More of the Monkees, to replace it at the Number One position upon release in January 1967.
