The Monkees on NBC

Hey, hey, they're the Prefab Four, a rock band trying to make it big. People say they monkey around, but that was the point in this surreal, slapstick and altogether silly sitcom, which also had plenty of pop tunes. Several numbers became chart-toppers thanks to crack songwriters and studio musicians, though the cast would later record successfully as a self-contained combo. Both the group and the show were enormously popular, and some of the members continue to tour to this day as the Monkees.