About This Quiz
Although the Beatles formed slightly earlier than the Monkees — 1960 as opposed to 1966 — the early music from both bands was very much the pop-based standard that characterized popular music in the 1960s. And for that reason, much of the early hits from both bands are actually fairly simple in their lyrical makeup.The Beatles did cast their net further as their popularity grew. In particular, they moved away from their early pop sound, producing music from many different spectrums. And the lyrics produced by John Lennon and Paul McCartney certainly explored new themes. The Monkees were always held back by the fact that essentially, the band stemmed from a TV series. It was only later in their career that they actually were allowed to play their instruments on recordings, although they were all competent musicians. After the TV show was canceled in 1968, The Monkees had far more control over their output until they broke up in 1971.
Onto the task at hand then! If we gave you a sample of lyrics, would you be able to tell if it was penned by the Beatles or The Monkees? It's a far tougher task than you might think. Good luck!
These lyrics come from the Beatles' hit "Hey Jude," which was released in 1968 and is perhaps one of their most loved songs. This was also the first single the band released on its own record label, Apple Records.
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This lyric is taken from the Monkees hit "Daydream Believer." It was released in October 1967 and reached No. 1 in the United States on the Hot 100 Billboard chart. It peaked at No. 5 in the United Kingdom.
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"I'm a Believer" is probably The Monkees' most famous hit. A No. 1 for the group at the end of 1966, it performed well into 1967 and was the best-selling record of that year. Many groups have covered it, and it even appeared in the "Shrek" animated movies, this time sung by Smashmouth.
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"Yesterday" appeared on the Beatles' album "Help," which was released in 1965. It is one of the most famous ever released by the group and was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It has been covered more than 2,000 times by other artists.
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The b-side to "Daydream Believer," these lyrics come from the Monkees' song "Goin' Down," released in 1967. This b-side almost managed to break into the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and is the only song in which all members of the band contributed.
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These lyrics come from the Beatles classic "Here Comes the Sun," first released on the 1969 album, "Abbey Road." It was one of three songs written for the album by George Harrison and showed his prowess as a songwriter.
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Originally written by Gerry Goffin and Carol King, it was the Monkees' version of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" that proved to be the most popular out of all the different recordings of this song. It managed to chart at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1967.
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One of the Beatles' early hits, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was released in 1964. It quickly went to No. 1 in the United Kingdom and also became the group's first U.S. No. 1 single.
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The first single from the Monkees "Last Train to Clarksville," was released in 1966. By the end of the year, it had topped the U.S. Billboard charts.
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A No. 1 hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, "She Loves You" was released by the Beatles in 1963. As with most of their music, writing credits were given to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
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A true Beatles' classic, "Let it Be" was one of the last recordings produced by the band and was released in 1970, after the group had split. It was a huge hit, quickly going to No. 1 in both the U.S. and U.K., as well as many other countries.
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In 1962, the Beatles released their first single "Love Me Do." John Lennon and Paul McCartney had written the song in 1958. It has since been sung by many others, including Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Brady Bunch.
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Released in 1968, "Valleri" was written for the Monkees by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Although it peaked at No. 1 in Canada, it only reached No. 3 in the United States and No. 12 in the United Kingdom.
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These lyrics come from the Monkees' song "You Just May Be The One." It's featured on the album, "Headquarters." Released by the band in 1967, it was their third major recording.
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Who can forget the Beatles' classic "Yellow Submarine," which was first released on the 1966 album, "Revolver." It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and was sung by the band's drummer, Ringo Starr.
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These lyrics are taken from The Monkees' song "Your Auntie Grizelda," and appeared on the album, "More of the Monkees," as well as their TV series in the late 1960s. It became a popular addition to their live set despite never having been released as a single.
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"Pleasant Valley Sunday" was a single off the Monkees' album "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd," released in 1967. It featured in the second season of the Monkees' TV series.
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Written by Paul McCartney, "Can't Buy Me Love" was released in 1964. The song's writing credits are still attributed to Lennon/McCartney.
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Originally released in 1961 by the Top Notes, the Beatles covered "Twist and Shout" in 1963 for their album, "Please, Please Me." Although a cover, it sold more than 1 million copies! That's the power of the Beatles!
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Written by Michael Nesmith, "Listen to the Band" was released in 1969. Nesmith also featured on lead vocals, a first for him for a single from the Monkees. Nesmith revealed that the structure for the song was essentially the chords of another Monkees' song, "Nine Times Blue," backward.
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Written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, "Words" was the double-A side to another Monkees hit, "Pleasant Valley Sunday." It was found on the album, "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd."
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"Strawberry Fields Forever" was released in 1967 as a double-A side with "Penny Lane" and firmly put the Beatles into the psychedelic rock realm. It never made it to No. 1 on the U.K. charts, peaking at No. 2 and breaking a four-year streak for the band.
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These lyrics are taken from the Beatles' song "I Saw Her Standing There," which was off the 1963 album, "Please Please Me." Despite been released as a B-side in the United States, it still managed to reach No. 14 on the charts.
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"Randy Scouse Git" was released by the Monkees in 1967, although the title was later changed to "Alternate Title" as the record label found the original a little too risque. A piece of English slang, it means horny Liverpool jerk.
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A truly beautiful song, "In My Life" was one of the singles on the 1965 Beatles' album, "Rubber Soul." Although penned by John Lennon, it is credited to both Lennon and Paul McCartney. Rolling Stone ranked it at 23 on the Top 500 songs of all time.
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"We Can Work It Out" was originally meant to be released on 1965's "Rubber Soul." Instead, it was released as the first double-A side in England, together with "Day Tripper."
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Only released as a single in some countries, "I Wanna Be Free" first appeared on the Monkees' debut album in 1966. Its best charting success was in Australia, where it reached No. 17.
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These lyrics are taken from the Monkees' song "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)." It appeared on the album, "More of the Monkees," and was written by Neil Diamond.
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"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," released in 1967, is considered by many to be a reference to the psychedelic drug, LSD, although John Lennon always denied this. It sure is trippy, though, and has plenty of strange lyrics!
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"Come Together" is the opening track on the Beatles' 1969 album, "Abbey Road." It reached No. 1 in the United States but in the United Kingdom, it only peaked at No. 4.
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These lyrics are taken from the Monkees' song "Shades of Gray," which was found on "Headquarters," an album from 1967. This was the first Monkees song in which the band played their own instruments.
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"Help" was a single from a 1965 album with the same name by the Beatles. Oh, and it was the name of one of their movies as well.
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"Sometime in the Morning" was released by the Monkees in 1967. It formed part of their studio album, "More of the Monkees," and features Mickey Dolenz on lead vocals.
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A track off their second album, "With the Beatles" from 1963, "All My Loving" was penned by Paul McCartney but credited to the Lennon/McCartney partnership. Despite the fact it was not a U.S. or U.K. single, it received impressive radio play.
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"Hard Day's Night" was first featured in a Beatles movie with the same name, released in 1964. It was also released as a single and went to No. 1 in the United Kingdom and the United States.
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