When I was in junior high school the local radio station ran a contest/petition drive to canvass their listeners on which was the better band, the Monkees or the Beatles. Seems kind of silly now . . .

There is a fair bit of truth in the Monkees being tagged as the original "Prefab Four", but keep in mind that not only did they have some high-powered talent in their corner (such as Neil Diamond and Boyce & Hart), they were musicians in their own right. Mike Nesmith had already established himself as a musician and songwriter, and Peter Torkelson (a/k/a Peter Tork) had been a fixture on the Greenwich Village folk music scene. That's where he came to know Stephen Stills, and when Stills was passed over for a role with the Monkees (they thought he would look too old to attract the intended demographic) he recommended Torkelson.

Like someone said above, growing older is tinged with sadness when one of the mainstays of our youth passes away. RIP Davy.