Kirshner called on Snuff Garrett, composer of several hits by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, to produce the initial musical cuts for the show. Garrett, upon meeting the four Monkees in June 1966, decided that Jones would sing lead, a choice that was unpopular with the group. This cool reception led Kirshner to drop Garrett and buy out his contract.[1] Kirshner next allowed Nesmith to produce sessions, provided he did not play on any tracks he produced.[24] Nesmith did, however, start using the other Monkees on his sessions, particularly Tork as a guitarist.[26] Kirshner came back to the enthusiastic Boyce and Hart to be the regular producers, but he brought in one of his top East Coast associates, Jack Keller, to lend some production experience to the sessions.[24] Boyce and Hart observed quickly that when brought into the studio together, the four actors would fool around and try to crack each other up.