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. Their second album, More of the Monkees, has now moved from 122nd to first place in its second week on the pop tree, establishing them as the bestselling group in pop music. The unkindest record cut of all may be their new single, I'm a Believer. It is currently No. 1 in England--where the Beatles started the whole business.

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