Album of the Day

With their first two albums, The Monkees had become one of the most successful bands in the world, but that wasn't enough. Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork wanted to flex their creative muscles, not just sing someone else's songs with (admittedly expert) session musicians playing behind them. HEADQUARTERS was the first step in that direction, and from the writing to the performances, the increased autonomy paid off handsomely. Half of the 14 tracks are group originals, including such distinctive tracks as “You Just May Be the One,” “For Pete's Sake” and “Randy Scouse Git," and most of the instrumentation is the work of the quartet. Released on this day in 1967, HEADQUARTERS turned out to be a commercial success as well as a musical one, topping the U.S. album chart.