Why the Monkees -- and Davy Jones -- should get respect

The Monkees, with Davy Jones second from left, in a promotional photo from 1970.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDavid Browne: Davy Jones' death has stirred new round of dissing of the Monkees as fakeHe says they were underrated band; that they get little respect raises issues relevant todayHe says Monkees rebelled against TV handlers, demanded control, made better songsBrowne: Lady Gaga is modern example of pop music mistakenly not taken seriously; Editor's note: David Browne is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and author of "Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970." (Da Capo)

(CNN) -- The death of Davy Jones on Wednesday from a massive heart attack at age 66 elicited all the standard commentary about the Monkees, the band that made him a star: The Monkees were a made-for-TV boy band. They recorded tunes written not by them, but by reputable songwriters like Neil Diamond ("I'm a Believer"), Harry Nilsson ("Cuddly Toy"), and the team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin ("Pleasant Valley Sunday"). They were Beatles knockoffs and teen idols.

Those points are all valid, but they miss two essential aspects of the Monkees' story. The first is fairly simple: Despite their undoubtedly contrived origins, they turned out to be one of pop's finest bands, arguably the most underrated in rock history. The second is deeper: Their ongoing lack of critical respect speaks to struggles within the music world

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