Rock 'n' Roll: Evolution

ROCK 'N' ROLL

In the climb-on-quick world of pop music, imitation is the sincerest form of ambition. Less than a year ago, a team of wily promoters ran the Beatles through a Xerox machine and came up with the Monkees (Time, Nov. 11). Musically, the Monkees were and are a dull mutation of the origin of the species. No matter. Mass TV exposure and dubbed-in accompaniment lifted their first recording—Last Train to Clarksville, an innocuous ditty dashed off by a team of songwriters during a 20-minute coffee break—to the top of the charts....

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