Issue 80 by The Purple Flower Gang

Monkee Shines

Micky Peter and Mike Touring!!! Issue 80 Summer 2012

Boyce & Hart The Guys Behind The Monkees Inside:

     

DJ Ola Interviews Peter Tork Monkees Quiz David News Mike News Peter News Micky News

     

A Monkee at Beatle Fest Monkeemobile Replica Auction Davy Jones at the Mohegan Sun Casino The Rest Of The Story Boyce & Hart Photo Creations & much much more!

Editor: Cindy Bryant With a little help from my friends, The PFG Road Crew, “the crazy lot!” An Official Monkees Fan Club Monkeeing Around Since 1987

Monkee Shines

In this issue Letter from the Editor ................. 3 Kimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quiz ................................ 4 Monkee Business: The Musical .. 5 Manchester Premiere .................. 7 Peter News................................. 8 Micky News............................. 10 Mike News .............................. 11 David News ............................. 14 We Love The Monkees............. 14 45 Things About The Monkees . 16 DJ Ola Interviews Peter ............ 20 A Monkee at Beatle Fest........... 26 Hollywood Made Monkee Out Of Davy Jones .............................. 27 Monkees GTO Replica Auction 30 Boyce & Hart ........................... 31 Boyce & Hart Photo Creations .. 35 Spot the Differences ................. 36 The Story Behind Boyce & Hart Photo Creations.............................. 37 Radio Backtrack ....................... 39 What a Cheeky Monkee............ 40 Nez Remembers Jones.............. 44 Micky Looks Back on 45 Year Partnership with Jones .................... 48 The Rest Of The Story.............. 51 Dolenz Still Monkeeing around 54 Surviving Monkees Touring ... 58 Tour Schedule .......................... 60

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and Canada) and $20 (overseas).. Ads are $30 for a full page and $15 for a quarter page. Money orders preferred, cash at own risk. Make all payments payable to Cindy Bryant NOT the PFG. Mail to Cindy Bryant, 903 East 2nd Street 1A, Muscatine, Iowa 52761.

If you find a stamp in this area your membership has expired with this issue. Please renew as soon as possible to assure your next issue. This is the only notice you will get.

My sincerest thanks to everyone who made this newsletter possible:

Visit us at: www.purpleflowergang.com And email us at: pfg@machlink.com & join the Purple Flower Gang Group on Facebook

The PFG Road Crew (Bonnie Borgh, Kimmi Wright. Jeff Smith, Colleen Johnson, Dawn Hoffman). Janet Litterio, DJ Ola, Lynda Wiles, Anne Pinna, Dr. Rock (Rick Schwinden) . Caroline Boyce, Noranne Gavin, Hazel Wilikinson, Peter Micky, Mike and David, and all of you who keep Monkeemania alive.

The Purple Flower Gang 903 E 2nd Street 1A Muscatine, Iowa 52761

Monkee Shines is printed by Mailboxes & Parcel Depot 2

Monkee Shines

Dear Gang, Thank you for your patience and I once again apologize for the lateness of this newsletter. Knee replacement surgery put me behind and I will apologize in advance for the next newsletter too as I will be having the other knee replaced in a couple of weeks. Congratulations to our latest contest winner, Tony Asselta, who name was drawn from the 30 people entered in the drawing for either joining the PFG or renewing or recommending us to someone who renewed. Tony won a scale model Monkeemobile, a copy of HEAD (VHS), a copy of Who’s Got The Button and several books on Monkees collectibles. A special thanks to our Monkee buddy and a member of the road crew on occasion, Jeff Smith who donated some of the prizes. You will find a flier from the BB King memorial to David with your newsletter. A very special thank you to Jennifer Huebl for sending them to me to send to all of you.. I am having a hard time keeping the newsletter down to 40-44 pages. There is just so much going on. The printer can’t staple much more than 60 pages into a booklet! LOL! But that is a good thing.

Next issue will have stories from the Happy Together Tour. If you went to one of the shows please share your stories with us. Also looking for someone who caught up with Peter along the way too. We need your stories. There will be much more on David’s horses and from Hazel too in the next issues. We are always looking for creative people to write and share their stories in Monkee Shines. So if you have an idea for a column or would like to report on your favorite Monkee for us please contact me and we’ll talk! In the meantime if you have already sent something that hasn’t made it in the newsletter...hold one. It may get there yet. So much has happened so fast this year it has been hard to keep up and there just hasn’t been enough room in the newsletter for everything I only know of one other fan club that publishes an actual paper newsletter so if you like having a paper copy of Monkee news in your hand check out; Band 6 PO Box 600704 Dallas, Texas 75360-0704 Cindy

We will make every effort to publish Monkee Shines on the last week of January, April, July, and October. If for some reason it is going to be delayed I will try to let you know by postcard. As always, if you are unsatisfied with your membership for any reason we will be happy to refund the remainder of your membership dues upon request.

Monkee Shines

How Well Do you Know Your Monkees? By Kim Boatman 20.______ is the color of the sun 21. And that ______ and ______ and shining glow 22. Where the Caribbean sea is ________ 23. Did you know the water`s turning _________?

Look at these titles of songs and see if it is a Monkees unreleased track or a made up title. 1. She’s So Far Out She’s In 2. Tears On My Pillow 3.Up In The Sky 4. Where Has It All Gone 5.Gotta Give It Time 6. Where Do I Begin 7.Sugar man 8. True Blues 9. Who will buy 10.Tears of Joy 11. Lovin’ the Wrong Person 12. Empire 13.Yours ‘Til Tomorrow 14.I Wanna Be Your Puppy Dog 15.Ending Are Just New Beginnings

BONUS: Can you name all the Monkees songs that have a color in the title?

Colorworld These Monkees song lyrics contain a color in them. Can you name the color? Can you name the song?

Shades Of Gray, Little Red Rider, Some Of Shelly’s Blues, Papa Gene’s Blues, Nine Times Blue, Michigan Blackhawk, Shorty Blackwell, Rosemarie and Early Morning Blues And Greens Colorworld White / Angel Band 2, red and yellow / Auntie’s Municipal Court Neon / Daily Nightly Tan / Never Tell A Woman Yes White / Daydream Believer Blue / Papa Gene’s Blues Gray / Penny Music Green / Pleasant Valley Sunday Green / No Tine and regional Girl Blue, White / Ladies Aid Society Red, Blue / Little red Rider Blue / Magnolia Simms Green / Midnight Gray / Pleasant Valley Sunday Red / Goldilocks Sometime Green / If I Ever Get To Saginaw Again Black, White / Shades of Gray Red / Shorty Blackwell Orange, Blue / Smile Blue / Crippled Lion Blue, Green / The Good Earth Blue / Whole Wide World Yellow / Writing Wrongs Answers: Monkees unreleased track Made up title Made up Title Monkees unreleased track Monkees unreleased track Made up title Monkees unreleased track Made up title Monkees unreleased track Monkees unreleased track Made up title Monkees unreleased track Monkees unreleased track Monkees unreleased track Made up title

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

1. Oh, bear me away on your snow ________ wings 2. _____ and _______cartoons saying we need two 3. Passioned pastel _____ lights light up the jeweled trav`ler 4. In a dusty caravan was a girl with a golden _____ 5. A ______ knight on a steed 6.Sunny bright that once before was _____ 7. In the early _____ of morning he`s sure to come around 8.Mr. ______, he`s so serene 9. The grass is always ______ 10.With their ______ and _______ pleated uniforms 11.That little Miss ______ is little Miss _____ 12. Love to me is ______-eyed and blonde 13. And an acre of ______ 14. Mrs. ______ she’s proud today 15. Yes Little _____ Riding Hood 16. It won`t be in Spring without meadows turning _____ 17. Today there is no ______ or _____ 18. A ______ balloon got in my way 19. I wake to the sun shining ________ and ______ skies

Monkee Shines Michael Rose Ltd and Ambassador Theatre Group present

Monkee Business The Musical World Premiere of a brand new musical prior to the West End Opera House, Manchester Thursday 29 March – Satur-

enjoy a brand new musical here before anywhere else in the world. With a cast of 20, a live band of eight, fabulous costumes and sets, a madcap ‘Austin Powers-style’ plot featuring all new characters and a score packed with iconic hits of the swinging sixties, Monkee Business, from the producers of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Spamalot, will premiere in Manchester March

day 14 April 2012 On sale 10am on Friday 4 November Following on from the phenomenal success of the world premiere of Ghost the Musical, the Opera House, Manchester is proud

2012.

to reveal the next major new musical to be launched at the theatre will be Monkee Business the Musical, a landmark new production for the whole family featuring the hit songs of the iconic band The Monkees. Monkee Business is premiering at the Opera House as part of Manchester Gets It First, Ambassador Theatre Group’s commitment to making Manchester the UK’s official city for launching theatre’s biggest and best new musicals, a scheme which has won the backing of the city council. Ghost the Musical was the first Manchester Gets it First show, with almost 100,000 tickets being sold during its seven-week run earlier this year. Now Manchester audi-

Manchester’s Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith, became one of most successful bands of their generation – at one time even outselling The Beatles and The Rolling Stones releasing 121 songs on nine albums and influencing many future artists. Monkee Business will pay homage to both the crazy chaos of the Emmy Award winning TV series and the brilliant music of The Monkees featuring hit after hit including I’m A Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, My Boy Lollipop, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, Hey, Hey We’re The Monkees and the smash hit Daydream Believer alongside many more iconic songs from the era.

ences will again get the chance to

Monkee Business follows

Made instant world-wide stars by the famous 1960s TV series, The Monkees, made up of

Monkee Shines four normal young lads who with the help of a few sexy Russian spies, nonsensical nuns and the odd tam-

that Michael Rose Ltd together with ATG are premiering a brand new musical at the Manchester Opera

bourine, unwittingly get caught up in a memorably madcap adventure! With a hilarious mix of groovy adventure, dreamy romance and zany comedy, Monkee Business is the ultimate feel-good family musical which will have audiences of all ages twisting and monkeeing in the aisles. Howard Panter, ATG’s Joint Chief Executive & Creative Director, said: “Following the incredible success of the world premiere of Ghost the Musical at the Opera House earlier in the year, we’re delighted to be premiering yet another landmark new musical, Monkee Business, as part of our Manchester Gets It First campaign. This major new stage musical will be packed

House as part of Manchester Gets It First. Monkee Business the Musical is a real feel-good night out for all the family and I am so pleased we are getting to share it with Manchester first, having seen what great audiences the city has when we brought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang there in 2006 and 2010. It is a real privilege that EMI have given the production musical access to some of the greatest songs of the 20th Century. I can’t wait to hear the Manchester response.” Welcoming the news about Monkee Business, Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council, said: “These are exciting times for Manchester, and this is

with iconic hit songs from the Sixties, Austin Powers-style zany humour, romance and adventure, which Manchester audiences will

yet another world first which has come to Manchester before going to London's West End or Broadway. Manchester has become an artistic

get to enjoy before anywhere else in the world. Manchester is the ideal place for the original creative process necessary for developing large -scale new musicals like Monkee Business, as it is a city with a great foundation in music with knowledgeable and sophisticated audiences

powerhouse, bringing thousands of people into the city who will also spend their money in our hotels, bars and restaurants. "This is added to the success of last summer's Manchester International Festival (MIF), a world-class event which was hosted in the city and drawing massive audiences. As well as their huge economic benefit, events such as MIF and major musicals like Monkee Business, also

who love and understand fantastic musical theatre.” Michael Rose said: "I am so excited

Monkee Shines boost the production capacity of Manchester, using our expert creative skills and creating further jobs in the industry.”

2012 Mon-Sat 7.30pm, Thurs & Sat mats 2.30pm Tickets from £18.50-£45 Booking line: 0844 871 3018* subject to booking fee Groups of 10+ Mon-Fri 10am-6pm: 0844 871 3038 www.atgtickets.com/manchester

Listing information: Monkee Business the Musical Opera House, Manchester, Thursday 29 – Saturday 14 April

Manchester Premiere for Monkee Business The Musical Monkee Business The Musical will make its world premiere at Manchester Opera House in 2012, running from the 29th March to 14th April.

rine, unwittingly get caught up in a memorably madcap adventure. For further information or to book, telephone: 0844-871 3038 or e-mail manchestergroups@theambassadors.com

Premiering at the Opera House as part of Manchester Gets It First Ambassador Theatre Group’s commitment to making Manchester the UK’s official city for launching new musicals - Monkee Business will then visit Kings Theatre Glasgow and the Sunderland Empire, before opening in the West End.

Monkee Business - The Musical (Touring) Tour Dates... Thu 29th Mar –Sat 14th April Opera House—Manchester

Paying homage to the 1960s TV series The Monkees, and the music of this iconic band made up of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith, the production features hit songs including I’m A Believer, My Boy Lollipop, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, Hey, Hey We’re The Monkees and Daydream Believer.

***** Tues 17th Apr—Sat 21st April Kings Theatre—Glassgow ***** Tue 24th Apr—sat 28th Apr

Promising a hilarious mix of fun, romance and zany comedy, Monkee Business The Musical follows four normal young lads who with the help of a few sexy Russian spies, nonsensical nuns and the odd tambou-

Sunderland Empire Theatre— Sunderland

Monkee Shines

Peter Tork promises dancing bears and great music at Bay City's State Theatre ten by friends, stuff Tork has written and stuff his brother has written, plus a version of “Last Train to Clarksville,” that Tork describes as the Monkee's meet “Black Velvet.” There will be other Monkee tunes as well, such as “I'm a Believer” and “She Hangs Out.” The description of Tork on various Web sites as a serious musician makes him laugh. After chatting with Tork, while he may not describe himself as serious, one thing is clear, he has a definite passion for music. “I don't know how serious a musician I am,” he said. “I think it actually gives me some grounds for self examination. Sometimes I think that I am an entertainer who uses music to entertain and that I'm not really a good musician. Sometimes I think I'm a really good musician who just uses music. I can never really settle this in my own mind.” He's had years to think about the equation. Before he and fellow Monkees, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and David Jones became pop stars both on TV and on stage, Tork was part of the Greenwich music scene. From a suggestion by fellow musician Stephen Stills, Tork tried out to play himself on the new sitcom about four musicians trying to make it big in the LA music scene. The show, The Monkees,

BAY CITY, MI — Former Monkees member Peter Tork is bringing elephants, a fly over by the Royal Canadian Air Force and dancing bears on bicycles to Bay City's State Theatre. At least, that's what he says. It's all part of the fun in Tork's Shoe Suede Blues act coming Sept. 8. While he might exaggerate a bit, the evening will be filled with performances of pop blues, blues pop, Chicago blues, rock 'n' roll and perhaps bluesy versions of songs from the past. Joining Tork on stage Arnold Jacks on bass, Joe Boyle on guitar and Sturgis Cunningham on drums. “What a band these guys are,” Tork said. “I always wanted to be the least of the band members. I should be the least talented and in this particular band I've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. These guys are good. Boyle is a mad genius on guitar. I'm going to be remembered in history as having been in a band with him.” That pretty much is Tork in a nutshell – a little whimsy, a little laughter and lots of music. “I love music,” he said. “The craft of it remains endlessly fascinating to me. There isn't much that I want to do other than music. I love a good joke. I love to laugh. Humor is an important part of music.” With a little humor and a lot of music, Tork and Shoe Suede Blues hit the stage with songs writ-

Monkee Shines shows in three weekends in November. Tour dates are on the Monkee's Web site. “The three of us will be on stage for part of the show, that will be fun,” he said. “ We've rehearsed and talked and it's been fun. It will be fun. We'll be playing at larger houses than I do with Shoe Suede Blues.” While all the Monkee tour comes with all the trimmings – including a lot of staff – Tork says he's just as happy on stage in the smaller venues with just the four members of Shoe Suede Blues. “It makes no different to me, large, small” he said.

ran for two years, and made household names of its stars. Once the Monkees decided to go their separate ways, Tork continued to make music. And that's exactly what he intends to do for as long as it lasts. “I don't want to relax from what I do,” he said. “Playing music is not work. Suppose someone made a living lying on the beach, and then someone comes up and says you're not going to make a living at this anymore. I would just stay there anyway.” In fact, in addition to touring with his band, Tork is also hooking up with Nesmith and Dolenz for a Monkee reunion tour doing 12

Calling All Peter Fans!

Peter has been out there since the Monkees Tour ended last year. He has done several appearances at Comic Cons and at least on fan party. Did anyone go? We would love to hear your story! 9

Monkee Shines

Micky Merchandise Looking for some Micky stuff? Then visit Micky's store at Micky Dolenz Direct where you can purchase personalized autographed items or send in their own items to be autographed. Keep up with the latest Micky news on his Facebook page! Micky is just finishing a very successful Happy Together Tour which we will feature in the next issue of Monkee Shines. If you saw the tour and would like to share your thoughts and photos, please send them along..

Aberdeen His Majesty's Theatre 29 Mar - 09 Apr Bristol Hippodrome 30 Apr

12 Apr -

****************

Micky Returns to Hairspray in the UK! Bradford Alhambra 11 Dec

30 Nov -

Edinburgh Playhouse 09 Jan

14 Dec -

Working New Victoria Theatre 18 Jan - 29 Jan Norwich Theatre Royal 12 Feb

01 Feb -

Congress Theatre 26 Feb

15 Feb -

New Micky Dolenz CD to be released at the end of September!

Nottingham Theatre Royal 01 Mar 12 Mar New Wimbledon Theatre 15 Mar 26 Mar

Monkee Shines

Down on the Ranch By Lynda Wiles For those of you who have never used Nezs’ Videoranch3D I’ll try to give a brief summary. VR3D is a virtual world you can download and enter as an avatar . Once inside you are able to walk around, dance, meet and chat to other ranchers from all over the world. There are many different venues within the site. There is the Rio drive-in where you can watch music videos and sometimes movies. Edds’ October Café where jazz is played at weekends. The Littlehorse outdoor stage is where Lynsey plays a variety of music. The Blue Horizon Amphitheatre is the venue for live concerts. Green screen technology means performers are seen in real time , playing and singing and they can see and interact with you the audience.It’s great fun and I have made a lot of good friends there. I have seen Nez play and sing on several occasions. Nez made a short video explaining how the site works; http://youtu.be/ecYfBJptgqU The weekends program of entertainment is posted by VR3D on Face book, Twitter and Tumblr so you can see what will be happening. You need windows and a fairly good computer to run the app. Download and install the program at http://www.videoranch3d.com/index.php Pick an avatar and join in the fun

Monkee Shines

Mike’s Eye Issues Michael posted this to his Facebook page on February 16, 2012:

peninsula. When I went to see him he said “Well, the bad news is that it is cataracts. The good news is that it is cataracts. I can fix those” He scheduled me for surgery late January and in a simple, painless, operation he replaced the cataracts with brilliant clear new intraocular lenses –inside the eye – and I can see clearly now, just like the song says. So, where I was blind, now I see. In fact, I see better now than I ever have in my life. To those who have inquired, that is where I have been my dear friends, wandering in darkness. But it is no longer dark. And though am returning only slowly to things, still digesting the lesson in all this, grateful for every step, I can see the light of intelligence has informed every hand, guided every move, and provided every direction. The light of Marfa shines; the Light of Life expressing itself in each unselfish, generous and beautiful act. It is an extraordinary, inspiring, and lovely thing we do: that we heal each other.

When we mapped the Marfa metaphor for the concert there with the Watkins Family, as those of you who were in on it will recall, we came up with ”Light”. The Light of Art that illumines and enriches society, civilization and humanity. That is why it was so ironic that when I arrived in Marfa to play the concert I was practically blind. I had been slowly losing my sight since 2007, and then in 2010 it took a dramatic turn for the worse and by the time of the Marfa concert in October of 2011 my world was a Monet painting with pretty colors but no distinct identities. Thanksgiving and Christmas were cold and lonely and came and went in a steady deterioration of the remaining sight, and by the time January 2012 was here I was legally blind. I needed assistance for most all activities, which was lovingly and unselfishly provided by my friends and companions Jessica, Robin, Katrina, and Jeffrey ---sometimes much to their own discomfort and cost. I could not drive or cook or get around on my own. It got worse, but I will spare you all that. Suffice to say things were bad, but my friends were good – even saintly. In this darkness I reached out to a lovely friend and fellow musician, Janni Littlepage, and asked if she knew someone who might help. She suggested Alexander Holmes, a surfing ophthalmologist here on the

Michael, The Purple Flower Gang sends their love and support and we’re so glad you are no longer in the dark!

Monkee Shines

Michael Nesmith at the Great American Music Hall Michael was asked by the band to open for Lambchop at the GAMH in San Fransico on 4th May. The set list was; Maries Theme, Propinquity, Silver Moon, Rio and Some of Shellys Blues. Afterwards he wrote this on Face Book about the show; I played a short five song set last Friday night at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco at the invitation of my friends in Lambchop. I was happy to do it. The songs went well â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just me and my guitar and Tony Crow on piano. Tony didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know the songs exactly but he has an uncanny knack for finding a place to ride and contribute. He wove his playing in and out of the songs in an almost perfect weft to my warp. I had started out thinking it would be too awkward for him play the entire set with me, having had no time to rehearse. But I was wrong. Not only was it not awkward, it was graceful. There appeared a strand of meaning in his gentle musical remarks on the flow of the songs that was inspiring to play before. He played for the entire set, much to my delight, lifting each song a little higher into that quiet rare air where Lambchop lives. His playing was one of the reasons the performance gave me more confidence to go forward with some live dates.

Monkee Shines

This card was sent to David’s family along with a list of everyone who contributed to this memorial. Thanks to all!

We Love the Monkees By Our Foreign Correspondent, Hazel Wilkinson Our family gather together in M/C to film footage for a documentary for ITV here. We had met up with a researcher, Gareth Williams, the month before to talk about David’s

life before “The Monkees.” I was picked up in style by car and transported to our church where we were to be interviewed. Reluctantly! Really un-accustomed to public speaking. Beverly and I

Monkee Shines were nervous. We met the minister and Linda( friend of my Goddaughter) who had opened the church room specially for the day. Wet set off only a few blocks away to see our old school, Varna St, a huge building with Nursery, Infants, and Senior Depts. It was sadly unoccupied and a new school built streets away. We were fitted with microphones and asked to walk up and down passed the place and talk about our school days, repeating the walk several times. Gerald, and Beverly were watching and laughing. Goodness knows what we sounded like.. “Am I walking like a duck?” I asked Gerald! After, we stood by the school gates and asking questions about school life, teachers, and memories. We attended from 4 years to 11 and David went into seniors until he left at 15, We, then went up to the new school a few streets away to the New Varna. The new school was built on our old street and adjoining street, a huge dome shaped blue building in landscaped grounds, playground furniture and grassed areas...so different to our old school yard—all concrete. Right on our door step was a tree planted with a little flower bed and right in front the grate/ grid in the road where David’s marbles fell into and other things. Beverly had been into the school the day it was opened and said David’s desk and carved name was in the entrance. This we have yet to see. We weren’t allowed in to film until the children had left ( it was end of school time). We were asked what did we do—games played— and asked to walk up the empty street. Walking back to the

church we were filmed going in and then they set up cameras inside.. Our friend made tea and biscuits, and there was a question time again about home life, school life, how did we get involved in, etc. They wanted to know what was involved in our church life and we told them about David’s performances in the Pantomimes, Nativity plays, clubs, etc. They, then, asked about how he got into the radio plays and TV work especially Coronation Street, and then, how he left home to be a jockey. Onto the show “Oliver” and then “The Monkees.” This was quite straining. So many questions. And I bet most its mostly edited out!!! They, then sat the four of us down in front of a huge scree, set up on the stage and we watched an old film from the archives of David in 1972 visiting home and meeting neighbors in the street and a film taken at Belle Vie Zoo not far from our area. He was putting his hands and feet in cement to be placed in a famous people walk (no longer here). We had to make comments and it was quite emotional to see Dad and Uncle Will there in the crowd. Beryl said she was there too. There were films I hadn’t seen before. It had been a long day and we had all gathered up memorabilia we had taken. They still had to film Beverly and Gerald but I was glad when the car arrived to take me home. This Monkee Business is hard work! (Hazel sent some photos of the are they visited but I have run out of room so I will share them in the next newsletter as well as Hazel’s story about a new Monkees exhibit on display at a local museum. Thank you so much for sharing your stories .)

Monkee Shines

45 things you may not have known about the Monkees By Tom roleta

Sza-

the Pistols once recorded a version of “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.”

The Monkees have been around for 45 years, which is an impressive accomplishment for a band that was never meant to last more than a few TV seasons. To honor their longevity (and their Monday night show at the Florida Theatre), here are 45 things you might not have known about the Prefab Four. 1.

Between October 1966 and November 1967, the Monkees put out four albums. All four went to No. 1.

Between November 1968 and June 1970, the Monkees put out four albums. None of them cracked the Top 30.

The band had six Top 5 singles, but its signature tune, “(Theme from) The Monkees,” wasn’t one of them. It made No. 8 in Australia but didn’t chart in the U.S. or England.

It’s hard to imagine two bands more different than the Monkees and the Sex Pistols, but

5. “Daydream Believer” has been recorded by a wide range of musicians, including Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, the Four Tops, Britpop act Robson & Jerome, dance pop singers Atomic Kitten, Canadian songstress Ann Murray and Japanese all-girl rockers Shonen Knife.

The band’s TV series ran on all three major American networks. It aired in primetime on NBC from 1966-‘68, as Saturday morning reruns on CBS from ’69 -’72 and on ABC from ’72-’73. All told, 58 episodes were made.

At a show in London earlier this month, the band played 40 songs in just over two hours. The headline from the review in the London Evening Standard: “The Monkees could have played half as long and been twice as good.”

Paul Williams, who wrote big hits for Three Dog Night, the Carpenters, Barbra Streisand and the Muppets, auditioned for

Monkee Shines the Monkees but, didn’t make the cut. 9.

15. Mike Nesmith (the one with the stocking cap) isn’t touring with the band any more. His mother invented Liquid Paper and he is credited with coming up with the concept for what became MTV.

So did Stephen Stills, who went on to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — once with Buffalo Springfield, once with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

16. Among the Monkees items available on eBay: An autographed guitar ($14,999), a set of 1967 Monkees trading cards ($600), a Micky Dolenz Halloween costume, still in the box ($450), a Japanese version of “More of the Monkees” ($297) and an unused ticket from a 1967 show in Detroit ($285).

10. Other than Peter Tork, who played guitar on “Papa Gene’s Blues,” none of the Monkees played any of the instruments on their first two albums. 11. The four Monkees were paid $450 each per episode in the first year of their series. For the second year, it was increased to $750.

17. Peter Tork received radiation treatment in 2009 for adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare cancer of the lower part of the tongue. He wrote about the experience in a Washington Post blog.

12. The night the Beatles made their American debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” future Monkee Davy Jones was also on the show, performing a scene from “Oliver Twist.”

18. Tork plays 12 musical instruments and heads a band called Shoe Suede Blues.

13. The Monkees played the old Jacksonville Coliseum on July 8, 1967. Their opening act? Jimi Hendrix. It was his first night on the tour. He lasted just seven shows.

19. David Bowie’s real name is David Robert Jones. He changed it to Bowie in 1966 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones, who was a popular London stage actor at the time.

14. The Monkees 1968 movie, “Head,” is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. Cast members included Annette Funicello, boxer Sonny Liston, stripper Carol Doda, musician Frank Zappa, Teri Garr, Victor Mature, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.

20. In the late ‘80s, Columbia Pictures Television formed the New Monkees, copying the formula of the original series. It didn’t work and was canceled after 13 episodes. 21. Dolenz was in show business

Monkee Shines standing Directorial ment in Comedy.

long before he joined the Monkees. He starred in 49 episodes of “Circus Boy,” a TV series that ran in 1956-57,Dolenz still keeps busy as an actor. Credits include “As the World Turns,” “Pacific Blue,” “Boy Meets World” and “Linda Lovelace for President.”

Achieve-

28. The band had some of the hottest songwriters in the business writing for them, including Neil Diamond, Carole King, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and Harry Nilsson.

22. Jones also has acting credits on BBC, dating back to 1960. Creditsinclude “My Two Dads,” “Love, American Style” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

29. Seventeen issues of “The Monkees” comic book were published in the UK. 30. The Monkeemobile, the car used in the TV series, was a modified 1966 Pontiac GTO. Two were originally made. One sold at auction in 2008 for $360,000.

23. A generation of girls still remembers Dec. 10, 1971 — the day Jones appeared on “The Brady Bunch.”Jones, Tork and Dolenz appeared as themselves in 1995’s “The Brady Bunch Movie.” 24. The band has broken up four times, in ’71, ’89, ’97 and ’02. Since forming in ’66, they’ve spent more years apart than together.

31. MTV played a huge role in resurrecting the Monkees when it ran a day-long marathon of the old TV show in 1986. The band went out on tour and put out its first new single in 15 years, “That Was Then, This is Now.”

25. Producers of the TV show initially planned to cast the Lovin’ Spoonful, but couldn’t work out the details. The Spoonful were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

32. Search “monkees mashup” on Youtube and you’ll find all sorts of weird stuff, including a mix of “I’m a Believer” and Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” that works better than you’d expect.

26. . “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry reportedly patterned the Pavel Chekov character after Jones.

33. As long as you’re on Youtube, search for “literal monkees” for a hilarious spoof of the “Daydream Believer” video.

27. “The Monkees” won two Emmy Awards in 1967, for Outstanding Comedy Series and Out-

34. It’s no coincidence that the Jonas Brothers’ Disney Channel show bore more that a little

Monkee Shines resemblance to the Monkees. Kevin Jonas claimed in a2009 interview that the inspiration for his show came when he and his brothers were watched Monkees reruns for three days.

the first rock singles to use a synthesizer. 42. In 1967, the Monkees had the No. 1 album in the U.S. and the UK — twice. The Beatles repeated the feat in ’69, and it didn’t happen again until last year, when Susan Boyle pulled it off.

35. British electronic duo The KLF released a single, “Hey Hey We Are Not the Monkees,” 36. There are a number of Monkees tribute bands out there, including theMissing Links, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Monkee Dreams, the Cheeky Monkees and the Chimps.

43. The band’s first album, “The Monkees,” hit No. 92 on the Billboard album charts in 1986, just over 20 years after it had been released. The first time around, it spent 195 weeks — nearly four years — in Billboard’s Top 200.

37. “Here No Evil” was a 1994 tribute album, which included 21 Monkees songs done by Georgia musicians, including Those Big Belt Buckles, Big Fish Ensemble, Deacon Lunchbox and the Vulgar Boatmen.

44. Someone with way too much time on his hands has posted architectural drawings on the Internet of the house where the Monkees lived on their TV show. The address, by the way, was 1334 N. Beechwood Drive, Malibu, Calif. There is no Beechwood Drive in Malibu.

38. Massive Monkees is a Seattlebased breakdance troupe that has worked with Nas, Jay-Z, LL Cool J and Beyonce.

45. Charles Manson did not, in fact, audition for the Monkees. That’s been a longstanding rumor, but snopes.com debunked it, noting that Manson was in prison at the time of the auditions.

39. The Monkees have a Facebook page, with more than 5,000 followers. 40. You can sign an online petition seeking to get the Monkees inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More than 24,000 people have signed it. 41. “Daily Nightly,” from the Monkees’ “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones” album, is one of

Monkee Shines

DJ Ola Interviews Peter Tork of The Monkees! Peter Tork: An Underrated 60s Icon by DJ Ola ‘mock’ rock group combined with what some say were the first music videos. Incorporated into a weekly sit-com format, this formula was an instant success. However, they were not an uncomplicated manufactured band like today’s toy boy bands, dancing around in super sync like well trained circus animals with no interests besides being a celebrity. They were highly talented and creative individuals that gradually became a real band; they wrote their own tunes and played their own instruments. They fought to get their own music played over corporate interests and won. When they tired of the insipid plots, they also attempted to alter the show. The network wasn’t keen on an experimental psychedelic and adult orientated Monkees, so instead of continuing the charade and churning out repetitive dross, they quit.

This is a little column I’ve been asked to do documenting my musical journey of how I ended up DJing on the cool cult internet station Radio 23. I hope to enthrall you with my personal take on sex, drugs and Rock N Roll, the best materials for a great tale. Before The Beatles clocked my musical radar, my first introduction to pop, rock and psychedelia was The Monkees. I’m forever grateful that I wasn’t of the generation of children that grew up thinking The Spice Girls or N’SYNC were cutting edge tunesmiths. I could take up a whole book on The Monkees story itself, but I shall control myself and leave that for further installments! The Monkees were created to capture a children’s audience, it’s producers looking for the charm and success of The Beatles. The Beatles were beyond their simple syrupy pop stage, they were evolving their sound to a darker and more mature territory. The Monkees stepped in to fill the void with zany antics and banal plots set to some of the best pop songwriter’s music available. Four very cute and cuddly guys in a

They went on to do a cult classic film with Jack Nicholson, Head. The movie is a surreal romp through the artifice of their ‘manufactured’ experience. It’s absolutely brilliant and a fine example of alternative ‘drug out’ 60’s cinema with some of The

Monkee Shines Monkees best music. Unfortunately, the audience at the time did not share my enthusiasm and the film was a flop. The Monkees teeny audience didn’t get it and the ‘heads’ that would have, avoided it, slating them as a plastic act.

At that moment, I realized I would never fit in because I wasn’t a sheep. I stood my ground and lost the popularity contest. Now it’s many years later and I have a different set of female friends who like The Monkees. Again, I’m the odd one out because they all think that Mike is the talented hotty. While I don’t dispute Mike’s street cred, I’ll stand by my Monkee, Peter is the man!

The Monkees disappeared off the charts and the phenomena ended. Yet in the land of perpetual reruns, nothing dies. So like a phoenix from the flames, The Monkees came to life again in the 1970’s with constant syndication.

Peter Tork is an underrated 60’s icon and should be the thinking woman’s crumpet! Peter lived the rock story as a Greek myth. He came from total obscurity to overnight success in the 60’s, and lost it all in the 70’S. After more than two years of the show, six albums, a movie, a television special, and tours across America and abroad, Tork had had enough and quit the group, striking out on his own with a group called "Release". This new band did not make recordings (making its name quite ironic), and did not achieve success. Peter also discovered the pitfalls of being an ex-Monkee; Dick Clark rejected him for a multi-artist package tour on the grounds that he had no new material to perform, and the hip rock intelligentsia he had been a part of back in his Village days generally snubbed him now.. Outside of contributing banjo to George Harrison’s soundtrack to the film Wonderwalll, Tork worked only sporadically in music.

It’s 1976 and I’m in a playground and with a group of girls. The important topic on offer was who was your favourite Monkee? Almost everyone exclaimed Davy Jones and swooned at the mere thought of him. All those twinkling eye effects and excessively duff love songs worked on seducing their little minds. It had no effect on me; I was after a man of substance. When my turn came, I proudly declared Peter to be the one. They all turned on me with derision. “How could you? He cries like a baby!”

Generous to a fault, Peter gave money lavishly to friends, would-be friends, hangers-on, and sundry causes during his Monkees heyday, with the result being that by the early 1970s, he was virtually bankrupt. Then came a period outside of

Monkee Shines the limelight and a battle with drink and drugs, a journey through a metaphorical desert, the final outcome saw him master his addictions by the early 80’s.

we instantly knew who the other was. I said, “You’re the kid who looks like me,” and he said, “You’re the kid I’m supposed to look like.” And we shook hands and laughed. We were later in a group together with one John Hopkins, now deceased, for a few months.

Fame found him again with The Monkees revival tour in 86- two albums and several tours followed until The Monkees disbanded for good.

Ola: The story where Stephen Stills went for The Monkees audition and didn’t get it cause he was to ugly and he recommended you, who looked like him but had better teeth and hair is established Monkee lore. Later when you lost your house etc I read that either Stills or David Crosby used you and then just forgot about you when it went to crisis phase. Is this true? Crosby Stills and Nash went on to great acclaim and The Monkees were considered ‘Bubblegum’ at the time. Looks to me like Stephen Stills was going for the ‘Bubblegum’ thing, maybe he just didn’t have what it took?

As of 2006, Peter Tork is releasing albums and touring with his recently formed band Shoe Suede Blues. As an internet DJ, I had the opportunity to see for myself if this man was as great as his myth! Ola: Before you joined The Monkees it’s a well established fact you were a musician. Were you classically trained? Peter Tork: Yes, but for only about five years, and in a small town, so it wasn’t all that deep. I did take French horn for two years in high school and college as well, and took a year of classical music theory.

PT: Stephen was by no means ugly. He recommended me on account of he looked like me, only his hair and teeth were deemed non-telegenic. He was a pretty cute guy, and I think you’ll get a lot of agreement on the point. Stop with the dissing of Stephen (Stills) and David Crosby. Neither one of them ever used and discarded me. Quite the contrary, David loaned me his house for about a year, and Stephen never abused my generosity one bit! Stephen may well have taken The Monkees gig if it’d been offered him, but he was a fabulous musician, as everyone knows, and may not have been able to stand the Bubblegum... Neither one of those two ever spoke ill of The Monkees to my knowledge.

Ola: Is it true you were a musician doing the coffee house circuit in Greenwich Village, New York preMonkees, where many a respectable folkie and right on protest singer made their name? PT: Yeah, it was what was called a basket passing scene: we’d do a 15 minute set, pass the basket, and wait 45 minutes to go on again. The only anecdote that I can attest to personally was that one day a bunch of my friends came up to me and said, “There’s a new kid in town looks just like you.” Three days later Stephen (Stills) came up to me, and

Monkee Shines dogma contains the truth, at least in the literal sense. As to my fortune, well, it left because I wasn’t ready for it.

Ola: Was it true you paired up with Janis Joplin? If this is true was it during your fame or pre Monkees?

Ola: Headquarters was the last album that was done as a proper band with the four of you performing and producing it yourselves. Did that upset you at the time? What was your artistic vision for The Monkees?

PT: Janis and I were friends before The Monkees, when Big Brother and The Holding Company came through Huntington Beach where I was working at The Golden Bear. Later, after The Monkees became famous, we ran across each other at the Monterey Pop Festival, and then, by chance, at a movie. It was always good to see her whenever the occasion arose, though neither of us made too much of a thing about getting together. I was also friends with the other band members, particularly David Getz, the drummer, and to a lesser extent with the rest of them. As to “pairing up,” if you mean romantically, no.

PT: It was the last album until 1997, when Justus came out, which was even more only the four of us... After Headquarters we made two more albums together in one form or another. Mike and I played on Pleasant Valley Sunday and on Daydream Believer. Micky didn’t want to go back and try to repeat what had been for him a blast of inspiration. Davy had precious little to do on the rhythm instruments, and begged off, ‘cause his arm was sore and he was bored. Who could blame him? What difficulties I had were entirely in my own head, and I do not feel remotely like that today. My artistic idea for The Monkees, to the extent that it wasn’t accomplished, is only that we do more recording, more television, and maybe a few good movies.

Ola: What fascinates me so about your story is you had it all, fame success and money and within a few short years you had a ‘massive fall from grace.’ It’s been written that you truly believed in the ‘Hippie Ideal’. How far did that extend in practice and contribute to the loss of your fortune? PT: I don’t know about a massive fall from grace. The public acclaim is most certainly not grace, and the real grace that I did fall from was a function of my addictive behaviour, which for the moment at least is behind me, and I have been returned to grace, as far as I’m concerned. Whether I believe in the ‘Hippie ideal’ depends on your definition. I will tell you that I absolutely believe in community cooperation as opposed to top-down, autocratic rule, and I believe that no single

Ola: You left The Monkees shortly after Head and I read that you lost quite a bit of money getting out of the contract. It’s been stated that you were having a nervous breakdown at the time, is this true? What were the circumstances that led to this if so? PT: I did not lose any money getting out of a contract. I simply didn’t get renewed after I asked to be released. Simple as that. Nervous breakdown? The worst thing that

Monkee Shines ever happened to me like that happened about 10 years later when my addictive behaviours took me to my bottom.

the reunion tours in the 80’s. If you believe it took money to turn my life around, then you’re not paying attention.

Ola: After you left The Monkees and lost your house did you spiral into drug addiction? Were you involved in heroin? Was it also true you were arrested for drug possession?

Ola: Was it true that on the first big Monkees tour in the 80’s you took a wage instead of commission, cause you thought it wouldn’t do that well as a tour, and it turned out to be a massive success and you guys lost millions?

PT: Spiral... hmm... you do have a way with words. Nothing ever happened to me that wasn’t necessary for me at the time, including my addictions. I had $3 dollars worth of Hashish on me when I came back across the border from Mexico on a day trip from El Paso, Texas. The American Feds put me in a facility for medium-time offenders, though I wasn’t sentenced. I was released after 90 days, and after a period of probation my record was wiped, and I’m now legally able to say I was never convicted of any felony.

PT: ...everything you’re talking about seems to be about how awful or how fabulous life is depending on the money! Money can’t buy happiness. It’s true that poverty makes it a ton harder to be happy, but beyond sufficiency, no amount of money makes any difference whatsoever. I did take a salary instead of a commission, but it wasn’t because I didn’t think the tour would do well, it was because I didn’t know how to negotiate. That’s all. Ola: A lot of musicians from the 60’s tended to take a lot of drugs or do things to excess and then become born again Christians or Republicans. They get old and conservative. When you compare your radical youthful ideas with your present mindset how much have they altered? For example, are you pro the current war etc?

Ola: During this time, is it true you were having tough times, washing dishes etc? Somebody messaged me on MySpace from a punk band in LA and claimed that you were his Social Studies teacher in high school. Were you teaching as an occupation? PT: Washing dishes was not tough and yes, I taught secondary level school for three years in L.A, social studies, music, French and math. I was the baseball coach one year.

PT: ....Bush is the worst president in the oldest living memory on earth. You’d have to go back to the dreary days of Chester Arthur and Harrison...to get anybody nearly as bad. He has single handily destroyed the value of America in the world, and done it in a way that will make it very difficult to recoup. It may be the end of the American century, and the end of America’s use to the world as a beacon. We used to stand for fair

Ola: When did things turn around for you? Was it the first Monkees revival in the 80’s or before? PT: If you’re talking financially, I became much more comfortable after

Monkee Shines play, honouring our own standards and no offensive wars. Bush has done away with all of it. Ola: Your current band, Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues did a reworking of For Pete’s Sake, the closing theme tune to The Monkees second series, which I have featured on my show. It’s great! You completely change it from a pop track to an easy listening jazz lounger. What makes it particularly interesting is that you do the vocals in this halting falsetto. It’s slightly off, but it totally works because of it. Do you wish The Monkees had made better use of your vocal capabilities? They always made you sing in a lower register. PT: As a matter of fact, I feel that I sing best in the lower registers. In ‘For Pete’s Sake’ I sang high because the way I wrote the song, it doesn’t work except in a couple of keys because of how it fits on the guitar. So I kind of had to go for high. Ola: What are you or the band doing next? PT: We have tentative plans to come to the UK. In two formats, one a Monkees song book band (which I fully expect to enjoy immensely), and a pure blues band (which I fully expect to enjoy even more). Check with petertork.com, or the Peter Tork and Shoe Suede Blues page at http:// www.myspace.com/ petertorkandshoesuedeblues for locations. Ola: A lot of the other Monkees have biographies of their lives.

Do you have one? If not, is there one in the pipelines? Your story is by far the most intriguing and complex, it deserves to be published! PT: Thank you. I don’t have any plans to write my autobiography. Maybe someday. A hero is one who journeys through dark lands, suffers, fails or loses his or her way before reaching the promised Grail of enlightenment. Peter has lived a life filled with experimentation in substances, lifestyles and musical creation. If he did go to some extremes, it hasn’t frightened him into conservative thoughts or materialism. He has no regrets or bitterness and refuses to engage in negative thoughts towards anyone. It’s marvelous to see a 60’s icon retaining depth, and engaged in an artistic vision. I can wear my Peter Tork badge with pride! You can check out Ola’s Kool Kitchen on Radio 23 at http:// feeds.feedburner.com/koolkitchen

Monkee Shines

A Monkee, a couple of Wings and more at N.Y. Metro Fest for Beatle Fans other this time. McCullough and Seiwell will also perform music from an upcoming CD of Wings and Beatle songs they're making.

Steve Marinucci , Beatles Examiner January 15, 2012

Others on the guest list include photographer Rob Shanahan whose work is on the covers of Ringo Starr's "Y Not" and upcoming "Ringo 2012" albums, "Liddypool: Birthplace of the Beatles" author David Bedford, Larry Marion, author of ""The Lost Beatles Photographs: The Bob Bonis Archives, 19641966" and former Ringo Starr producer Mark Hudson.

An interesting mix of guests has just been announced for the New York Metro Fest for Beatles Fans March 23-25 at the N.J. Crowne Plaza Meadowlands Hotel in Secaucus, N.J. Ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz, who spent time with the Beatles and Harry Nilsson, will be one of the guests. Also in attendance will be Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon, who was guest in Chicago last year, and for whom Paul McCartney wrote "A World Without Love" and other songs.

Also on hand will be photographers Roger Farrington, who photographed some of the John Lennon/ Yoko Ono "Double Fantasy" recording sessions, Allan Tannenbaum, who also took photos of Lennon and Ono, authors Bruce Spizer ("Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records"), Judith Kristen ("A Date With a Beatle") and Bruce Pollock ("If You Like the Beatles ...").

Former Wings Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell will also appear. Seiwell's Wings drum demonstrations have attracted a lot of attention at past Fests and he'll do an-

What a thrill it is to welcome MICKY DOLENZ to his first FEST ever! Micky was one of the Monkees and was their lead singer on hits like Last Train to Clarksville, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m A Believer, and Pleasant Valley Sunday. The Monkees TV show began in 1966 as a loving parallel tribute to The Beatles. It turned out to be bigger than anyone expected and their albums sold millions. He wrote the Monkees song, Randy Scouse Git, which had a direct

MICKY DOLENZ Monkees Lead Singer and Drummer Hung out with John in the 1970s Great Storyteller

Monkee Shines Saturday and Sunday Evenings. He will happily sign any Monkees albums or photos you bring, but he has to charge for them because of contractual agreements. He will sign the FEST Program Book at no charge.

Beatles reference in it. Micky and the other Monkees met The Beatles and he hung out quite a bit with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson in the early 1970s. Micky is a great entertainer and storyteller and is excited about appearing in front of thousands of Beatles Fans. Of course, he will perform some of his Monkees hits with LIVERPOOL on

Hollywood may have made a Monkee out of Davy Jones, but when it comes to his career, that probably wasn’t such a bad thing. Published: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 10:20 AM

By Keith O'Connor More than 40 years after he starred in the TV series “The Monkees,” Jones is still entertaining crowds. He will perform a free concert on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Casino Wolf Den. “My love is what I am doing at the time,” said Jones in a telephone interview, “in fact, I’m very much looking forward to appearing in the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun where I have performed before, and I like it there,” said Jones. And, he was happy at the time while appearing in the television show, “The Monkees,” which was loosely based on the Beatles popular movie “A Hard Day’s Night” and ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. “Eventually Peter and Mike, especially, wanted to write, play and record ... or be behind the camera. But

I just wanted to be in the show, fall in love twice in each episode and kiss the girls. I had no ambition to be Steven Spielberg or Cecil B. DeMille,” Jones said. Born in Manchester, England, on Dec. 30, 1945, Jones began entertaining at 11 years old as Ena Sharples’ grandson on the stillrunning ITV British soap opera, “Coronation Street.” His performance was memorable enough for theatrical agents to seek him out after leaving television behind to work as an apprentice jockey in Newmarket. Their efforts brought him to London, where he portrayed Dickens’ mischievous Artful Dodger in the West End production of “Oliver!”. Later, at age 16, Jones found himself a hit in New York City, where he originated the Artful Dodger role on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award. Jones’ success in America led to his being offered a contract with Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television, and The Monkees were created shortly after.

Monkee Shines Formed in Los Angeles in 1966, the Monkees debuted on television along with a No. 1 single, “Last Train To Clarksville.” The show – featuring Jones along with Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Mike Nesmith – won two Emmy Awards and they scored a dozen Billboard Top 40 hits, outselling both the Beatles and Rolling Stones in 1967. The Monkees are the only artists ever to have four No. 1 albums in the same year. They have had Top 10 hits in more than 25 countries and had top-grossing tours in 1967 and their 1986 reunion tour.

pearance together in a decade. “When Peter and Micky are around, there’s nothing like it. There’s a rapport that we have together that is magical. But, I don’t think it was one of our best performances ... it was strained ... because of what was going on at the time,” said Jones. “Basically, we just slapped the tour together using the same backing band that I use when I’m on the road. And, for me, it really worked and I put all of my energy into it,” he added. But for some reason, once again, the tour didn’t work and ended early similar to several others because of discord among the three. Business reasons were cited by some as a reason for the latest abrupt cancellation of dates.

When the Monkees came to a formal end in 1970, things didn’t stop for Jones. He continued to appear on the theatrical stage, as well as writing, singing and recording solo albums. While the performer may be remembered for his lovable role as Davy in The Monkees, perhaps his most celebrated television appearance in his long career as a heartthrob was in an episode of the poplar ABC sitcom, “The Brady Bunch,” called “Getting Davy Jones.” Not only was he Marcia Brady’s dream prom date, but the episode is one of the most frequently aired reruns in television history. As a result, he reprised that role in the 1995 big screen “The Brady Bunch Movie.”

“For right now, I’m just enjoying getting on stage, singing Monkees’ songs, some original songs and some swing music, along with a little country, and improvising and telling stories,” said Jones about a string of solo concert dates. “It may sound strange to say, but I find acting to be so stupid today. It’s too much of the same people and you tend to get cynical about the whole thing. You see Spielberg’s name next to the movie “The Adventures of Tintin,” but it really belonged to someone else and was brought to the director. Then there’s Charlie Small, a dear friend of mine, who wrote very song in “The Wiz,” but what you see is Quincy Jones’ name attached to the project,” he added.

And, true to his first love, Jones has never stopped being an extremely able horseman. He continues to ride and train racehorses and, in 1966, Jones won his first race in England on his prized horse named Digpast. Jones most recently appeared again as a “Monkee” last summer when the band reunited – minus the usually absent Nesmith – for their 45th Anniversary Tour, their first live ap-

In addition to his onstage performances and his continued love of horses, the theater also remains in

Monkee Shines Jones’ blood. He has starred in productions of “The Boyfriend,” Harry Nilsson’s “The Point,” and appeared as Jesus in “Godspell,” which played in London’s West End.

At age 66, and happily married to his third wife, Jessica Pacheco, 34, Jones is more philosophical about life. “I’m just a bit disappointed with all the bad feelings there are in the world ... we tend to zero in on the negative. I try to be very positive today in my life ... there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way,” Jones said.

Now, Jones can add playwright to his list of accomplishments after having written “The Call.” “It’s a traditional musical with all songs related to the storyline much like a ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Mame’ or ‘Oliver’ with all those elements of romance which seem to have been lost over the last 30 years,” said Jones, noting the last really enjoyable Broadway show for him was “Miss Saigon.”

“I have a beautiful wife, four great daughters, and several grandchildren, and I’m close to them all,” he added.

“We’re talking about doing a cast album now, so that we can shop the play around to Broadway producers,” he added.

In this June 4, 1967 AP file photo, The Monkees, from left: Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz pose with their Emmy award at the 19th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Calif.

Monkee Shines

The Monkees’ 1966 Pontiac GTO Replica Up For Auction Hey, hey, it’s the Monkees’ 1966 Pontiac GTO. Ok, so it’s not the actual car the wacky band used to drive on their TV show, but this pristine replica will still draw a crowd wherever you drive it. A detailed replica of the famous TV car (which was named the Monkeemobile), this 1966 GTO is street legal and is powered by a Pontiac 400cid motor. Even though it’s not the real deal, this car has picked up several awards and has been signed by the Monkees. Sporting a bright red exterior, a Monkees gold guitar logo decal and a tan interior, this GTO looks so authentic, it will make you a believer. Interested in buying it? You’re in luck – the 1966 Pontiac GTO is up for auction through Barrett-Jackson. The

auction takes place during the Scottsdale, AZ event on January 15 to 22. You can find out more about the car and the auction on BarrettJackson’s website.

Glove compartment has been autographed by Mick, David, and Peter!

Monkee Shines

By Dr. Rock (Rick Schwinden) Convention. I remember Tommy saying "That's quite a girlfriend you have there, mind if I give her a kiss?" I said without thinking "If I can kiss your wife" Tommy said "Fine with me" Many years later a girlfriend of mine would inform me that she used to wait on Tommy at "Barbara's Bar" in Nashville "He used to sit on the end of the bar and order Jack & Coke" Through Bobby I met Drummer Billy R. Lewis in 1993 and I became friends with both Bobby & Billy and eventually Tommy's 2nd wife Caroline, after Tommy's death. In 1995 I put together a rough draft presentation of a "Behind the Music: Boyce & Hart: Two for the Price of One" unfortunately we could not find a producer to pick up (fund) the project. I was such a huge fan of B&H, I had Bobby record an answering machine message for me in 1995 I used for many years, I used to get some ribbing from my friends about that, but it sure kept the telemarketers at bay.

Greetings Fans, It’s good to be back in the new year of 2012. I decided I would cover my favorite musical duo: Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart in “Two For the Price of One” *How it all started: I first heard of "Boyce & Hart" when I was playing my Uncle John's Monkees 1st LP from 1966. I saw they wrote some of my favorite songs on the record like "Last to Clarksville" "Tomorrow's Gonna be Another Day" "This Just Doesn't Seem to be My Day" Then one day after school I was watching "I Dream of Jeannie" and it was the episode "Hip, Hippy" from 17 Oct 1967 with Boyce & Hart performing the songs "Out and About" & "Love Everyday". I thought those are the guys that wrote songs for the Monkees?!?!?!? Cool, they have their own songs out too ... ! One time on a trip with my parents to Jerome, Az. my Dad said to me "You know that Monkees song you like "Last Train to Clarksville" well it was written about this town here, Clarksdale, AZ. in an interview I did with Bobby Hart in 1993 I asked Bobby about this and Bobby confirmed what my Dad had said was true.

*The Cast of Characters: Tommy Boyce (Sidney Thomas Boyce, 29 Sep 1939 Charlottesville, Virginia- RIP: 23 Nov 1994 Nashville, TN) Bobby Hart (Robert Luke Harshman, 18 Feb 1939, Phoenix, Arizona) The Candy Store Prophets: 1965-1967 Billy Reid Lewis (14 Aug 1940 Santa Monica, CA- RIP: 7 May 2005), Louie Shelton (6 Apr 1941 Little Rock, AR) & Larry "The Mole" Taylor (Samuel Taylor 26 Jun 1942, NYC) Gerry McGee (1937 Eunice, Louisiana)

*Meeting the Guys: I first met Tommy Boyce in Jun 1986 at a Monkees concert in Des Moines, Iowa. I later met up with Tommy, and then also met Bobby Hart (& Tommy's 1st wife Bobbi) in Chicago Aug 1990 at a Monkees

Monkee Shines * Solo 45 Single Records Tommy Boyce released 18 singles from 1960 to 1973 on various labels such as: Dot, RCA, Colpix, MGM, A&M, R-Dell, WOW, Capitol & Chelsea. Some of his best songs: "Come Here Joann" "I'll Remember Carol" "Let's Go Where the Action Is" "Pretty Thing" & "Eve Laurain" Tommy's 1st solo LP was "A Twofold Talent" in 1968 on RCA- Camden (his 1961-63 RCA recordings) and also released a solo LP under the name "Christopher Cloud" in 1973 on Chelsea records.

B&H were hired by "The Man With The Golden Ear" Donnie Kirshner in 1965 to write hit pop songs for the new 1966 TV Show "The Monkees" Kirshner liked their song "Come A Little Bit Closer" #3 hit for Jay & the Americans on 21Nov1964. So the duo went to work and penned 3 songs for the pilot episode "Theme from the Monkees" "I Wanna Be Free" & "Let's Dance On" in fact B&H wrote more songs for The Monkees, than any other outside writers26 in total, with the exception being Michael Nesmith. B&H have at least 1 song if not up to 7 songs on 8 of the 9 original 60s Monkees LPs including songs on their 1986- 87 reunion LPs.

Bobby Hart released 14 Singles from 1959 to 1980 on various labels as: Guyden, Radio, Reel, Bamboo, Era, Infinity, DCP, Chelsea, Warner Bros. & Ariola. Some of his best songs: "Love Whatcha Doin To Me" "Hard Core Man" (from "Freebie & The Bean" 1974 WB) & "Lovers For The Night" Bobby released a solo LP in 1979 titled "The First Bobby Hart Solo Record"

One of my all-time favorite songs "Words" recorded in 1966 & again 67 I asked Tommy "where did the inspiration come from" Tommy replied "Bobby & I used to fly from New York to LA all the time and the was a stewardess we used to see on most of our flights, one time she gave us a card and inside it said in big letters "WORDS, are not enough to express what you two mean to me" so we used that as the title and it went from there". Also in 1965 the duo were hired to write the theme music for a new daytime soap opera "Day's Of Our Lives" Bobby recalled "Originally each character had their own theme music when they entered the room or scene"

Tommy and Bobby met in 1959 in LA at a recording studio Bobby worked at, the 1st meeting was to help a mutual friend Curtis Lee break into the music biz. B&H began writing together in 1960 at first writing what they called answer songs for example Jim reeves had a song titled "He'll Have To Go" so B&H wrote a song called "She'll Have To Stay" in their writing style it was generally one finishing up a song the other had brought to the table. B&H were brought into the famous Brill Building a song writers office in NYC where they started churning out the hits starting with "Lazy Elsie Molly" a #40 hit on 11Jul1964 for Chubby Checker.

Boyce & Hart also wrote songs for such varied artists as: Fats Domino, The Ikettes, Freddy Cannon, Herman's Hermits, Del Shannon, Paul Revere & Raiders, Little Anthony & Imperials, The Astronauts, Austin Roberts, Helen Reddy, Partridge Family, Josie & Pussycats, Keith Alison, Boston Tea Party, Pineapple Heard, Ray Peterson, Dino, Desi & Billy, Iggy Pop, ShowWaddyWaddy,

*Hey hey the Man with the Golden Ear

Monkee Shines Connie Cato, Kathy Garver, Sunday Sharpe, Willie Burgundy Five, Robbie Nevil, New Edition, Latoya Jackson, Scooby Doo and so many more.... *At the Record Shops Boyce & Hart released 3 LPs the 1st is "Test Patterns" in 1967 stand out tracks to me are: "Shadows" "For Baby" & "Life" their 2nd LP "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight?" in early 1968 stand out tracks for me are: "Two For The Price Of One" (Larry Wiliams & Johnny 'Guitar' Watson) "Teardrop City" & "Population" their 3rd and final LP was "It's All Happening On The Inside" in late 1968 with stand out tracks to me being: "Strawberry Girl" "Jumpin Jack Flash" & "My Baby Loves Sad Songs" and in an unusual move B&H with their band recorded an entire LP with Trini Lopez "The Whole Enchilada" in 1969 on Warner Bros. with 3 B&H songs including "Sunshine Park". Billy Lewis told my about this LP in 1993 and I finally found one 12 years later. *Billboard Pop Hits: Boyce & Hart released 9 Singles from 1967 to 1969 which 8 of them were on A&M "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite" #8 on the charts 24Feb1968, b/w "The Ambushers" from the 1967 Dean Martin film of the same name. "Alice Long" #27 on the charts 2Aug1968, "Out And About" #39 on the charts 5Aug1967, "Goodbye Baby" # 53 on the charts 27Apr1968, b/w "Where Angles Go" from the 1968 Stella Stevens film of the same name.

enough "Smilin" was re-written as a "Coca Cola" jingle in 1969. B&H also appeared on the TV show 'Flying Nun' 20 Mar 1970 in "When Generations Gap" the performed the songs "Let's All Take A Trip To Nashville" & "I Thank You" *Stories from the Road: In 1968 B&H got involved with the Robert Kennedy Presidential Election Campaign, as well as the campaign to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 and to promote this message their 8th single was titled "L.U.V." (let us vote). My long time friend Larry saw B&H perform at the Robert Kennedy Memorial Concert at the Minneapolis Met Center with Sonny & Cher as the headliner except Cher was pregnant with Chastity and Sonny went on by himself and a girl they found locally to fill in for Cher. Bobby remembered "Yea, once we heard what was going to happen we went on first and got the heck outta there" Billy Lewis recalled "The Moody Blues" were on the bill too, however their equipment was held up in customs so they couldn't perform that night" My friend Larry remembered "I saw the Boyce & Hart Logo stenciled on the side of the band's equipment cases and thought Oh, man that must be the life, to be a musician" The band also did a concert on top of a bank building in downtown Des Moines, Iowa when asked Bobby remembered "Oh, yea that was a freebie, I'm sure..." In Dec 1969 when B&H were the opening act for Zsa Zsa Gabor in Las Vegas when some producers approached to do their own TV Show set for fall 1970, B&H & band filmed a live concert in Phoenix for use in the upcoming TV Show.

The last one on their own 'B&H Aquarian' "I'll Blow You A Kiss in The Wind" & "Smilin" from the TV show 'Bewitched' on 19 Feb 1970 in "Serena Stops the Show" oddly

Monkee Shines The end of B&H came when their Manager Chuck Ashman took off with a large sum of money during the Las Vegas stint with Zsa Zsa, Tommy was devastated as he looked at Ashman as a mentor, not just a manager. Tommy was so distraught he left the music & show biz for a couple years.

Book and his own websites such as www.bobbyhart.net . *In Closing... I will admit a lot of people have not heard of Boyce & Hart, but almost everyone has heard at least one of their songs and that was the point of this particular article. I have to give acknowledgement to my long time friend Lew Claussen, for whom without his vast knowledge I would not have obtained the massive B&H Collection I have today.....

Many years later in 1994 Tommy was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and informed it was inoperable and could eventually erupt and leave him in a coma state. Tommy did not want to end up this way so he took matters into his own hands and chose to end his own life with a .22 pistol on 23 Nov 1994.

Until, the next one............ Cheers Mr. Zero here in St. Paul (www.mrzeros.com) "Mr. Zero's"

Bobby is currently working on his

Monkee Shines

From the creative mind of Noranne Gavin from her Facebook page, Boyce and Hart Photo Creations. The photos are mine from the 1989 Chicago Monkees Convention. Check Boyce and Hart Photo Creations out for more of Noranneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful creations.

Monkee Shines

Can You Spot The Differences in the two pictures below in this DJB&H puzzle by Noranne Gavin?

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The Story Behind Boyce & Hart Picture Creations Then about three years ago, I found that I had a knack for making picture creations using PhotoShop and I made a few featuring Boyce and Hart just for fun. I also discovered FaceBook and Tommy’s widow Caroline’s fan page dedicated to them. On a whim, I decided to join FB and post one of my creations on The Official Boyce and Hart FaceBook page and see what happened. To my surprise, Caroline loved it. To my even bigger surprise, she sent it off to Bobby Hart and he loved it too! Caroline invited me to post more creations and I regularly added them over the next year. There was even a following of Boyce and Hart fans that liked these pictures!

I was 12 years old in the fall of 1966 when “The Monkees” premiered and like every other “teenybopper” of the era, I was entranced by the weekly adventures of this zany group of guys. Like all of you, I loved the music, bought all the records and plastered my bedroom walls with their photos. About a year later however, while I was reading one of the endless supply of teen mags I purchased with my allowance, I stumbled across a photo of the two handsome guys who wrote many of the early Monkees songs and produced the first L.P.s and found myself instantly smitten with them (Ah, the fickle ways of teenaged girls!). Suddenly, it was all about Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.

In November of last year, I contacted Caroline and asked her if she and Bobby would endorse a Facebook tribute fan page dedicated to these pictures. They both enthusiastically agreed and on November 17th, 2011 “The Boyce and Hart Picture Creations” fan page was born. Since then, I have made a hobby of creating these pictures and am constantly searching for new ideas. I post a brand new photo to one of the albums every Saturday and holidays and even occasionally run a contest for fans to win a personal creation. New visitors are finding the page all the time and I encourage anyone who has an idea for their own creation or just a comment or suggestion to feel free to post it. If you have not yet discovered us, please drop by soon at: https://www.facebook.com/ boyceandhartpicturecreations

For the next few years, I bought every record and searched out every article and photo of these talented guys. I watched every television appearance and memorized the reruns of the sitcoms on which they guest-starred. When they disbanded in 1970, I was heartbroken; especially since they basically disappeared off the face of the earth for a while after that. A few years later, they re-surfaced performing with Micky and Davy of the Monkees as Dolenz, Jones, Boyce and Hart and I happily followed this short-lived revival as well. Fast forward to the 21st century: Although I was now an adult and had put my childhood interests behind me, I never forgot Tommy and Bobby and the joy they brought me. The computer age enabled me to find lots more info and photos about their post-partnership careers and I was able to add their rare solo records to my collection.

Noranne Gavin Creator/Administrator Boyce and Hart Picture Creations

Monkee Shines

We invite Boyce and Hart's Official page and Boyce and Hart Picture Creations to send us anything they would like us to printâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;ANY TIME. http://www.officialboyceandhart.com http://www.youtube.com/boyceandhart http://www.myspace.com/officialboyceandhart http://www.reverbnation.com/boycehart https://www.facebook.com/boyceandhartpicturecreations

Monkee Shines

Radio Backtrack: The Monkees with DJ Jill Ashmore I'm a bit different to most Monkees fans on the internet and in the various Monkees fan clubs etc. .Most clubs have fans had the Monkees as part of their lives all their lives but for me, well, I guess I knew the hits that got played but that's about it. Until a friend who you'll often hear me mention on my shows got me listening to them a couple of years back . I liked what I heard and got a great discography download from one of the torrent sites, which not only had all their albums on it but a huge list of alternate takes and rarities. Eventually I had it all saved on my PC and could really begin to appreciate them and then wanted something to replace the mud show I was doing on the our internet radio station, I decided i liked the music of the Monkees and, as well as having that brilliant download to use, there's lots of clips from the TV shows and interviews and clips from Head I could get from youtube to include and, of course, I had my friend who has been a huge Monkees fan all his life to guide me if I needed ...so how about doing a Monkees show ? So, since January I've been doing a Monkees show on Radio Backtrack every other Sunday. To let the fans know about it I joined as many Monkees pages and groups on Facebook as I could and started making friends with people who came to listen to the shows. I was looking on the pages when people posted on them and maybe making the odd comment here and there as well as posting about all my radio shows. Then I read the sad news about Davy and knew that Sun-

day's show had to be a very special one. I decided to visit youtube and get all the Davy interviews I could and all the clips from his solo gigs from on there that I could find to dedicate the entire show to his memory, to make it a place where all the fans could come together and remember him, support each other in their grief and share the wonderful legacy he left behind. My Davy tribute show was born. As well as being played that Sunday it was also repeated so fans who couldn't be at the events could get together on the days of the Beavertown Memorial and the New York Memorial and also because so many had missed it but heard how good it is I repeated it the following Saturday. Groups that opened in Davy's memory etc. were added to my groups on Facebook as well as those for other individual Monkees and I have made lots of great Monkees friends since doing the radio shows and I'm absolutely blown away by the great support my shows get and all the wonderful comments from those who have had the Monkees as such a big part of their lives for so long. I really really am no expert and it means a lot that I can put on a show long time fans and Monkee fanatics love. Thank you to everyone for that .I hope you'll all come join me every other Sunday for the Monkees shows on Radio Back track. Maybe whilst your there check out the presenters pages and join us at other shows we do on there . Here's the links you need to listen: http://www.radiobacktrack.co.uk/ radiobacktrack/HOME.html www.radiobacktrack.co.uk

Monkee Shines

What a cheeky Monkee! In one of his last interviews, Davy Jones revealed he was besotted by a wife half his age and still feuding with his former bandmates Friday, Mar 02 2012

cut more sedate figures, Davy’s conversation was a carousel of self -analysis, anecdotes and selfmocking.

By Lina Das The death of Davy Jones earlier this week from a heart attack was as unexpected as it was tragic.

‘I’m so old,’ joked the 66year-old three-times-married father of four grown-up daughters. ‘This woman came up to me after a performance and said: “I want to give you super sex.” And I said: “In that case, I’ll take the soup.” ’

Tributes poured in for the lead singer of Sixties’ pop group The Monkees and fans reminisced about the impact the band had on their childhoods.

In truth, though, he looked far younger and seemed delighted to be singing once more with the band. As it turned out, the tour ended prematurely amid rumours of squabbling, but that was always the way.

The ebullience and youthfulness that characterised his performances in the band were just as present in real life. I had the pleasure of interviewing Davy last year during rehearsals for the band’s UK reunion tour.

The Monkees’ UK tour of 1997 was the last to feature all four members — Davy, Micky, Pete and the elusive Mike Nesmith. A subsequent tour in 2002 (minus Nesmith) dissolved abruptly. Davy announced in 2004 that he would never work with Micky and Pete again.

Daydream Believer: Davy Jones and third wife Jessie Pacheco.

The first thing that struck me was his seemingly inexhaustible energy. An actor from the age of 11, Davy was the consummate showman. While his fellow Monkees Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork

Final outing: The Monkees' UK tour of 1997 was the last to feature all four members.

Monkee Shines records worldwide and toured as Jimi Hendrix’s support act. But critics sniffed that they were a knockoff version of The Beatles (they were labeled the Prefab Four). They had plenty of laughs, as well as a few tiffs (‘Mike was a sophisticated person and learned a new word every day,’ said Davy. ‘So we’d look it up in the dictionary and start using it on him just to p*** him off’), and encountered all the attendant pleasures of fame.

‘But that’s all water under the bridge,’ said Davy last year. ‘What happened in 2002 was that we were all tired and when we’re tired, we start arguing. As for Mike, I don’t blame him for not touring. When I started out in The Monkees, I was like: “Let’s have fun and then I can go home, smoke a joint and drink a beer.” ‘Mike was busy writing the B-sides to the singles. Of course, the B-side makes as much money as the A-side and so while my first cheque for record royalties in 1967 was $240,000, his must have been about $5 million. No wonder he doesn’t show up for these reunions. I wouldn’t either!’

‘There were groupies, but not that many,’ said Davy, the band’s heart-throb. ‘Our fans were mostly aged between nine and 14. And even if there were women, we were so guarded by security that we couldn’t do anything about it. The pop star David Cassidy was picked up so many times he started to grow handles. But I wasn’t promiscuous . . . not that my wife believes me.’

When Manchester-born Davy signed up for The Monkees in 1966, he had little idea of the fame it would bring. Answering an ad in the Hollywood Reporter for ‘Four Insane Boys: 17-21’, Davy was one of 400 hopefuls at the auditions. According to legend, serial killer Charles Manson was there, too.

He was referring to Jessica Pacheco, his third wife. During our interview, he raved about the 34year-old Cuban American actress and dancer he met during a show in Florida in 2006.

Once the quartet was found, producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider set about creating a TV series about an upcoming rock ’n’ roll band who lived together in a beach house in Malibu and got up to all kinds of madcap antics.

‘When I saw her, I thought: “Wow, she’s hot!” But she was 28,’ said Davy. ‘Then she looked me up on the computer and went: “Oh my God, he’s 60!” I liked her, but nothing happened. So I bought her a dress and when she put it on, it fitted perfectly.

The zaniness of the show — they would don capes and lay prostrate on rail tracks for no discernible reason — combined with the band’s instantly recognisable hits (Daydream Believer, Last Train To Clarksville and the Neil Diamond penned I’m A Believer) turned the twenty-somethings into world stars.

‘Her family came to the show and she invited me to have dinner with them afterwards. They were probably thinking: “What’s this old guy doing here?” I’m older than her parents, for goodness sake! But after six weeks, we finally got together. We’ve been together ever

The band sold 100 million

Monkee Shines since.’ Davy’s first marriage to Linda Haines ended in 1975 after producing two daughters, Talia, 43, and Sarah, 40, while his second to backing singer Anita Pollinger ended in 1996 — they also had two daughters, Jessica, 30, and Annabel, 23. With his third wife being younger than two of his daughters, Davy admitted the age difference did cause problems.

left to right Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz

However, Davy did admit the couple had a challenging relationship, but was quick to refute reports that had circulated in the U.S. tabloids that his wife had been physically abusive towards him.

‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘The arguments are all verbal, but we do know how to niggle each other. I get niggled by the fact she doesn’t pick up the paper in the morning or watch the six o’clock news, but then she gets annoyed when I stir my tea and leave the spoon on the counter. Not that I’m comparing my wives, but Jessica’s hugely talented — an amazing actress and dancer — and she’s got a psychology degree, which she probably needs with me.’

‘It’s like: “What’s Dad going to get next — a Ferrari?” ’ he said. ‘But when two people are attracted to each other there’s nothing you can do. My eldest daughter said: “Dad, whatever makes you happy is what we want for you and everything else is by the by.” ’

Growing up in a two-up, two-down house in Manchester, the youngest of four children, Davy didn’t have the most settled of upbringings. Close to his mother — ‘she was instrumental in giving me the softer side to my character’ — he promised that one day he would ‘take her away from all this’. Age-gap: Davy and Jessica's wedding took place on August 30th, 2009, in Miami

He looked to be on his way when, aged 11, he got his start in show business with a role in Coronation Street as Ena Sharples’s grandson. When his mother died of emphysema when he was 14, Davy was devastated.

‘Mum was ill for many years and she had four children in ten years when she wasn’t physically fit. I’ve got three older sisters and my dad wanted a son, but it wasn’t in her best interests to have another baby. I felt guilty and I’ve had it said

The Monkees pictured in 1967 from

Monkee Shines to me many a time by a wife or sister “You’ve never got over the death of your mother,” which I haven’t.

Davy. ‘I was always saying I wasn’t going to stay at home and be a plumber and that I was going to live in America.’

‘I was always that feisty little guy going “Are you talking to me?” and picking fights. I suppose I felt an insecurity. It’s been difficult for me to sleep on my own — I need to feel an arm, that comfort, next to me.’

Davy got his wish when he played the Artful Dodger on Broadway and soon after was picked to join The Monkees. The band lasted just over four years, taking in highs (John Lennon compared their humour to the Marx Brothers and claimed he never missed an episode) and lows. Their feature film Head, co-written by Rafelson, Schneider and a then unknown Jack Nicholson — who all went on to make the movie Easy Rider — was so poorly received at the box office that Davy was convinced it was ‘a self-destructing thing. Rafelson and Schneider made The Monkees and they were going to blow them up’.

Shortly after his mother’s death, Davy left home to train as an apprentice with jockey Basil Foster, but returned to acting when Foster recommended him for the part of the Artful Dodger in the West End production of Oliver! His father, a railway fitter, also encouraged his showbiz ambitions.

The band started to dissolve in 1969 when Tork quit. Then Nesmith paid £100,000 to be released from his contract a year later. Shortly afterwards, Davy’s marriage to Linda ended — a victim of the pressures of showbiz. ‘It wasn’t that my marriage had ended; it was that I had failed,’ said Davy.

‘I’d never imagined not being married for ever. That was the plan and the plan didn’t work out. I was never promiscuous and I didn’t have a bevy of girlfriends, but after the divorce I went a bit crazy and had a couple of affairs. It was anger about the divorce and feeling a failure, a sense of abandonment.’ He was wed to second wife Anita for 15 years. Davy always felt regret over the failure of his two marriages.

Heartthrob: Sixties star Davy had many admirers

‘He’d say to me: “Son, I don’t want you in overalls,” ’ said 43

Monkee Shines ‘They didn’t work because I was looking for something and wanting to go somewhere,’ he said. ‘I just didn’t know where it was I wanted to go. When you’re an entertainer and become successful, you suddenly become better looking, more articulate, even taller in some cases,’ he laughed, referring to his diminutive height. ‘But it’s just not true and it takes a while to understand that.’

and depth of his heart. He was about as heartfelt a man as anyone I have ever met.’ Indeed, only last month it emerged that Davy was paying the care home fees of his former mentor, 85-year-old Basil Foster.

‘He was like a second father to me and I owed him,’ said Davy. ‘Without him, I might not be doing what I’m doing today.’

Davy continued to tour, with or without the other Monkees, and appeared on stage and screen — as Fagin in Oliver! plus cameo roles in The Brady Bunch Movie and SpongeBob SquarePants. He had also written a musical of which he was extremely proud. ‘It’s set just before the war and I know it’ll be a huge hit,’ he said.

By the end of our interview, Davy was still fizzing with energy, breaking into song and apologizing for his jokes — ‘but the audiences love them, even though they’re lousy.

‘I love making people laugh and making them happy and the most comforting place for me to be is on stage. It’s what I wanted to do when I was a little boy and I still get to do it. I’m on all the time. I just love to entertain.’

Though there were many tributes in the aftermath of his death, one of the most moving came from fellow band member Peter Tork, who said: ‘What is the saddest thing in the world is that not everyone was able to see the range

He certainly did entertain us.

Michael Nesmith Remembers Davy Jones 'For me David was The Monkees. They were his band. We were his side men.' released a series of acclaimed country-rock albums in the early 1970s and helped lay the groundwork for MTV in the early 1980s. His mother invented Liquid Paper, and left him the bulk of her massive fortune – giving him little incentive to join the Monkees on their many reunion

By Andy Greene March 8, 2012 11:40 AM ET. Michael Nesmith (best known as the Monkee in the green wool hat) has largely stayed out of the limelight since the group split over forty years ago, though he 44

Monkee Shines tours. In 1996, however, he shocked fans by reuniting with the band for the album Justus and a brief European tour the next year. That was the last time he spent any real time with Davy Jones, but the singer's death brought back a flood of memories and he agreed to speak with Rolling Stone through e-mail.

where a train station, or some public transport hub, was letting out thousands of fans for the concert we were on the way to give. They spotted David and the chase was on. We were like the rabbit – fleeing in blind panic. We saw a police car and jumped in the back seat, blip, blip, blip, blip, – squashed together shoulder to shoulder in our concert duds, and slammed the door just as the tsunami of pink arms closed over the car's windows. We were relieved. The cops were freaked out. They drove us to the station and our guys picked us up and we did the show. But it was like that when the four of us were together, Davy in front – pandemonium. One missed step and we were running.

What's your first memory of meeting Davy? I think, not certainly, that I met him on the stage where we were doing the screen tests. He seemed confident and part of the proceedings, charming, outgoing. It's clear the producers cast each of you for different reasons. Why do you think they selected Davy? What did he bring to the group that was unique?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the story tends to go that you (and to a slightly lesser extent Peter) got frustrated pretty early on with your lack of control over the Monkees music. Davy had a Broadway background and was pretty used to following orders. Did he share your frustrations at first? If not, explain how his views evolved to the point that he was eager to join your battle against Kirshner and the label.

I think David was the first one selected and they built the show around him. English (all the rage), attractive, and a very accomplished singer and dancer, right off the Broadway stage from a hit musical. None of the other three of us had any of those chops. Is there one anecdote that stands out in your mind that personifies Monkee-mania at its peak?

You are not completely wrong, but "frustrated" is the wrong word. We were confused, especially me. But all of us shared the desire to play the songs we were singing. Everyone was accomplished – the notion I was the only musician is one of those rumors that got started and wont stop – but it was not true. Peter was a more accomplished player

It was nonstop from the moment the show aired, so there was a constant hyper-interest in the group of us – the meter was maxxed and stayed that way for a couple of years. Once in Cleveland we strayed from our bodyguards into the plaza 45

Monkee Shines than I by an order of magnitude, Micky and Davy played and sang and danced and understood music. Micky had learned to play drums, and we were quite capable of playing the type of songs that were selected for the show. We were also kids with our own taste in music and were happier performing songs we liked – and/or wrote – than songs that were handed to us. It made for a better performance. It was more fun. That this became a bone of contention seemed strange to me, and I think to some extent to each of us – sort of "what's the big deal – why wont you let us play the songs we are singing?" This confusion of course betrayed an ignorance of the powers that were and the struggle that was going on for control between the show's producers in Hollywood and the New York-based publishing company owned by Screen Gems. The producers backed us and David went along. None of us could have fought the battles we did without the explicit support of the show's producers.

ceptance to rejection – the cause for this is another discussion not for here – and it was basically over. Head was a swan song. We wrote it with Jack and Bob – another story not for here – and we liked it. It was an authentic representation of a phenomenon we were a part of that was winding down. It was very far from suicide – even though it may have looked like that. There were some people in power, and not a few critics, who thought there was another decision that could have been made. But I believe the movie was an inevitability – there was no other movie to be made that would not have been ghastly under the circumstances. In your estimation, why did the Monkees burn out so quickly? The whole thing ended after little more than two years. That is a long discussion – and I can only offer one perspective of a complex pattern of events. The most I care to generalize at this point is to say there was a type of sibling suppression that was taking place unseen. The older sibling followed the Beatles and Stones and the sophistication of a burgeoning new world order – the younger siblings were still playing on the floor watching television. The older siblings sang and danced and shouted and pointed to a direction they assumed the Monkees were not part of and pushed the younger sibling into silence. The Monkees went into that closet. This is all retrospect, of course – important to focus on the premise that "no one thought the

Some have described the movie Head as "career suicide." How did you feel about it at the time? Did you have concerns that it would alienate and confuse a huge segment of your audience? Looking back, was it a mistake? Looking back it was inevitable. Don't forget that by the time Head came out the Monkees were a pariah. There was no confusion about this. We were on the cosine of the line of approbation, from ac46

Monkee Shines Monkees up." The Monkees happened – the effect of a cause still unseen, and dare I say it, still at work and still overlooked as it applies to present day.

personal affront. The stories that circulate are as you say – apocryphal. Do you have a favorite Davy Jones -sung Monkees song? If so, what makes it your favorite?

Do you think Davy enjoyed the experience of being a Monkee more than you did? If so, why?

"Daydream Believer." The sensibility of the song is [composer] John Stewart at his best, IMHO – it has a beautiful undercurrent of melancholy with a delightful frosting, no taste of bitterness. David's cheery vocal leads us all in a great refrain of living on love alone.

I can only speculate. For me David was The Monkees. They were his band. We were his side men. He was the focal point of the romance, the lovely boy, innocent and approachable. Micky was his Bob Hope. In those two – like Hope and Crosby – was the heartbeat of the show.

What's your fondest memory of your time with Davy?

The incident in which you punched a hole in a wall during a fight with Kirshner has been told so many times over the years it almost feels apocryphal. At the very least, the notion you were fighting about "Sugar Sugar" seems to have been debunked. What's your memory of that incident? Did Davy ever convey a feeling to you were rocking the boat too much after scenes like that?

He told great jokes. Very nicely developed sense of the absurd – Pythonesque – actually, Beyond the Fringe – but you get my point. We would rush to each other anytime we heard a new joke and tell it to each other and laugh like crazy. David had a wonderful laugh, infectious. He would double up, crouching over his knees, and laugh till he ran out of breath. Whether he told the joke or not. We both did.

David continually admonished me to calm down and do what I was told. From day one. His advice to me was to approach the show like a job, do my best, and shut up, take the money, and go home. Micky the same. I had no idea what they were talking about at the time, or why. The hole in the wall had nothing to do with "Sugar Sugar." It was the release of an angry reaction to a

Mike Nesmith performing at Marfa last fall.

Monkee Shines Micky Dolenz looks back on a magical 45-year partnership with Davy Jones By Jan Tuckwood | Music | June 01, 2012 Micky Dolenz is a “science geek,” the kind of guy who subscribes to Scientific American, reads books about nature vs. nurture and once pursued a college degree in physics. “I’m into quantum physics,” the singer says. You know, all that geek stuff about energy and light speed and the law of attraction.

It’s been three months now since Davy Jones died of a heart attack in Indiantown at 66.

That’s no surprise, perhaps, given that Dolenz’s career is a stellar example of what happens when highly charged particles vibrate on the same frequency.

Dolenz says he still hasn’t recovered: “It’s like getting hit by a bus.” He did several TV interviews on Feb. 29, the day Davy died. He talked about Davy’s “heart of gold” and sense of humor, and how they lived together in the early days of The Monkees. Micky called him “David,” as most of Jones’ old friends did.

In 1966, while casting for The Monkees – a TV show about a band, much like Glee is a TV show about a school glee club – producers put Dolenz on stage with Davy Jones, a fellow child star who happened to be as adorably British as Dolenz was adorably Hollywood-ish.

But Dolenz says he can’t remember what he said. He was in a daze then, and his emotions still ricochet up and down.

From the first moment, their pairing was “amazing,” Dolenz says. “Davy and I worked together like magic.” That they stayed aligned at all over the course of the next 45 years remains a marvel – sometimes even to Dolenz himself.

He’s sharing memories of Jones and their 45-year pop partnership while eating fish and chips at the English pub inside Epcot at Disney World – a fitting spot, since Jones enjoyed hoisting a Guinness or two, and a poignant place for Dolenz to be on this late May afternoon.

‘Closest thing to a brother I ever had’

Later that day, Dolenz would begin three nights of shows, filling in for

On stage, the stars aligned.

Monkee Shines Jones at Epcot’s Flower Power concert series. Jones looked forward to the gig each spring for 10plus years because he could mingle with three generations of Monkees fans and cap off each night watching Epcot’s fireworks from backstage.

While Nesmith and Tork would butt heads about music, Dolenz and Jones never fought about art. “We just had a different way of doing business,” Dolenz says. On money matters, their frequency was off: Jones burned with a higher volatility, bruised by disappointing deals when the Monkees were so hot and so young.

After Davy’s death, those diehard fans launched a campaign to persuade Disney to hire Micky, to help them grieve their childhood idol with one man they knew was hurting, too.

As the son of stars, Dolenz had a show-biz pedigree and portfolio – thanks to his investment-savvy mother.

“He was the closest thing to a brother I ever had,” Dolenz says. “If you have any siblings, you know what it’s like, not only the closeness, but the relationship – you have good days, you have bad days, you love ‘em and you hate ‘em.”

After their fake TV band became a real band, no single manager looked out for The Monkees and their brand as a unit. The Beatles had their Apple corporation, Dolenz points out. “We didn’t have a mechanism to keep us together.”

Maybe you don’t see your siblings for years. Maybe you get mad at them over misunderstandings. Maybe other members of your extended family get involved and complicate the relationship.

So the sibling rivalry would come and go, as band members went on to solo careers and then occasionally came back together.

But siblings are the only people who share your youthful memories – and, oh, what incredible memories Dolenz and Jones and fellow Monkees Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork had.

“People don’t understand how the business thing affects the art thing,” says Johnny J. Blair, a 20-year friend and collaborator of Jones’ who played guitar in The Monkees band last summer. “Externally, Davy and Micky were way different. But internally, they had a spiritual bonding. They bonded with their craft. That’s what kept them together.

The Monkees marked the first time TV and pop music had merged with such great success – producing No. 1 hit songs and a No. 1 hit show every week for two years, and eventually becoming a TV reruns staple with timeless slapstick and enduring tunes.

“Once they were up on that stage, it was all about the show.” And on this day in May, Dolenz’s 49

Monkee Shines show will be dedicated to Davy, who was such a born entertainer “he used to joke that when the door to the refrigerator opens up and the light goes on, he does 20 minutes.”

driving home from a celebrity tennis tournament and had four hours to kill in the car. With no guitar and no accompaniment except those amazing voices, they wrote an uptempo melody about a longtime relationship: You and I.

On this day, Dolenz will perform Daydream Believer for the first time since he broke down while singing that song at a memorial for Jones in New York.

When you listen to the lyrics, you assume it’s a love song between a man and a woman.

He was holding up OK, Dolenz remembers, until he turned his head in the middle of the song and caught a glimpse of the video being played, a clip fans have adored for 46 years: Davy Jones, so young and so cute, blithely dancing, singing, swaying, a rainbow of psychedelic colors behind him.

But “it’s about us,” Dolenz says. It’s a love song about two brothers and the magic they made when their stars aligned: After all the music and the madness, After all the late-night fantasies, We knew that we would make it through.

Dolenz’s voice broke. “I lost it.” ‘After all the music and the madness…’

There was little in our way,

Micky Dolenz heads out this month for the summer-long “Happy Together” tour, alongside the Turtles, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, The Grass Roots and The Buckinghams.

Nothing they could do.

It will be hard to top last summer’s Monkees 45th anniversary tour, which was such a hit, even Rolling Stone called it “an excellent show from a legendary pop band giving out much, much, much more than they had to.”

After all was said and done, they never understood,

‘Cause it was you and I and promises not broken, You and I and magic memories.

How we always made it. We knew we always would. ‘Cause it was you and I, You and I…

For more than two hours, The Monkees played – the big hits and the Bside tunes, too, including a couple from the 1996 album they wrote themselves, Justus. That album featured a tune Micky and Davy crafted while they were 50

Monkee Shines Me.

THE REST OF THE STORY

After reading about my story, I received an e-mail from Jeff Smith, one of our members. He shared with me he was the man on the scene (behind-the-scenes) for the booksigning.

By: Bonnie Borgh In the Spring 2012 newsletter, I alluded to “The Rest of the Story”. What I have realized is there are a lot of stories of how David Jones has touched [in the nicest possible way (THIS IS still A FAMILY SHOW!)] so many people on so many different levels and how our commonality (courtesy of The Monkees) has afforded us to Gang together.

Jeff has agreed to share with us “The Rest of His Story”, and as they say, “The Rest is History”. If you have a story about the magic of David Jones and how he affected, impressed, influenced, enriched, touched, bum di bum your life that you would like to write and share with The Gang, please forward it to me at: monkeesfan4ever@gmail.com. Together, we will keep our love for David alive in our ’hearts and souls’.

I mentioned that I had driven five hours across Iowa on July 10, 1987 to see David at the Westroads Shopping Mall in Omaha, Nebraska. David was there to autograph copies of his (then recent) autobiography, They Made A Monkee Out of

PS: If I don’t hear from you, then you’re going to be inundated with stories from Yours Truly.

Monkee Shines

Dolenz still Monkee-ing around at 67 ’60s pop star to play Sunday at Corn Palace. By: Tom Lawrence, The Daily Republic Monkee business has been very good for Micky Dolenz for more than 40 years. Dolenz, the lead singer and drummer of The Monkees, is among the 1960s pop and rock stars who will perform as part of the Happy Together Tour, which will wrap up the Corn Palace Festival concert series at 5 p.m. Sunday. The concert includes The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, The Buckinghams, The Grass Roots, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap and Dolenz. All the musicians will perform a string of hits before yielding the stage. They reunite at the end for a rousing finish, and Dolenz, 67, said he is enjoying the tour. “It’s a great bunch of guys and we enjoy hanging out together,” he said during a telephone interview with The Daily Republic. But he’s also focused on 12 shows that The Monkees will play this fall. Although singer/percussionist Davy Jones died Feb. 29, guitarist/singer Mike Nesmith shocked the music world when he announced he would perform with the other two surviving Monkees, guitarist/bassist/singer Peter Tork and Dolenz, for the first time since 1997. “We were very surprised,” Dolenz said. “Pleasantly surprised.” He said the catalyst was Jones’ death, since the three remaining Monkees discussed performing a tribute concert for him. Soon, they realized a short tour was perhaps in order. When dates were announced, all the East Coast shows sold out in a few hours. More shows, perhaps overseas, also are possible, Dolenz

said. “The Monkees” was a TV series on NBC from 1966 to 1968, while The Monkees was the band that included the four performers. At times, the two were intertwined, while at other times, they were two separate beings. While the TV series lasted but two seasons, the singles and albums released from 1966 to 1970 have endured and are still played and sold. The band reformed, recorded and toured from time to time, often with Dolenz and Jones, sometimes also with Tork and, rarely, with Nesmith. “We’ve never done this configuration before,” Dolenz said during a telephone interview with The Daily Republic. “Mike hasn’t been on the road with anybody, or as a solo artist.” He said recording new songs is possible. “You never know,” Dolenz said. “Certainly nothing in the works right now.” Performing without Jones, his bandmate and friend, will be difficult, he said. “We were quite close,” Dolenz said. “We had a lot in common, being in the business since we were kids. We did have a lot in common. “The whole experience is pretty bitter in terms of losing him. That was a shock.” The Monkees will pay tribute to Jones, whom they all call “David,” with videos and stills of his performances during their concerts. “We decided aesthetically, and it’s one of the things Mike brought to

Monkee Shines the table, that in this particular incarnation we wanted to play somewhere that was theatrical,” he said. “You can’t do that in the middle of the day at a fair.” These “more intimate shows” will still include the hits the band produced in the 1960s, such as “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Daydream Believer,” all of which hit No. 1. Three other songs landed in the top 10 and four more in the top 20. Dolenz said he’s proud of The Monkees’ output. “Absolutely,” he said. “They were great songs, written by incredible artists. There was a huge, wonderful stable of songwriters. The songs stand up, and the production was pretty good. I still love singing them.” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” written by Carole King, remains a favorite for Dolenz. King, Neil Diamond and Harry Nilsson, all of whom went on to stardom on their own, were among the songwriters who produced early songs for The Monkees. The rock veteran said becoming a huge star had a lot of benefits, including becoming friends with The Beatles, who allowed them to sit in on recording sessions in England and hosted a party for Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork. “They got it,” Dolenz said. “It was John Lennon who was the first to say, ‘I like The Monkees, I like the Marx Brothers.’ ” He said while he considers himself a music-comedy performer, reports that he and Jones were actors and Nesmith and Tork the musicians are too simplified. All four could play, sing and act. “My career actually included bands before The Monkees, like Micky and the One-Nighters and The Missing

Links,” he said. “I certainly paid my dues playing the clubs and being a cover band.” A lifetime in show business He is the son of an actor and grew up in Southern California. Under the stage name Mickey Braddock, he starred in the TV series “Circus Boy” from 1956 to 1958. In the 1960s, he got his second shot at stardom. “The Monkees” show was created in the wake of The Beatles’ huge success, although the show had been first pitched in 1960. By 1965, young producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider were given the green light. In a year, the band was cast, songs were recorded and the show was ready for air. The Monkees’ first song, “Last Train to Clarksville,” was released in August 1966, almost a month before the series premiered. It was a hit, and so was the series. For the first year, all was terrific. Four albums topped the charts and the show was hailed for its bright humor and cheery pop songs. It won two Emmy awards and tons of merchandise was sold. Dolenz said the foursome was trained in impromptu acting and assisted in learning how play and sing. They were young men learning on the job. “Which was great, but it would get kind of crazy sometimes,” he said. “We were literally, I’m not kidding, bouncing off the walls.” They taped the shows, recorded songs for their albums and toured. It was a hectic time, but he said it was also a lot of fun. But when it was revealed that The Monkees used studio musicians to help on their songs, some labeled the group “The Pre-Fab Four,” a takeoff on The Beatles’ nickname. “Again, I don’t want to sound smug,

Monkee Shines when you’re as successful as I was, you frankly don’t give a s—- what other people say,” he said. Dolenz said the group was “so successful,” with a hit, Emmy-winning TV series, eventually selling more than 65 million albums and singles and playing packed concerts, that critical taunts bounced off them. “It never bothered me at all,” he said. Dolenz said people needed to realize then, and still do now, to an extent, that they were four actors and musicians cast in a TV series. The Monkees were “playing” a rock band — they weren’t actually a band, at least not originally. But as they gained confidence and control, the band eventually toured while playing their own instruments. They produced their own albums and set the course of their career. Two of the albums that The Monkees produced at that time, “Headquarters” and “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones,” are still highly regarded by fans, including some modern rock and pop stars. But the hits slowed. When the series left the air after two seasons, Monkee Mania had vanished. Hendrix and Nicholson During their brief peak, The Monkees sold millions of records and toured the country. During some concerts, psychedelic guitarist/singer Jimi Hendrix opened for them. “Wonderful guy,” Dolenz recalled. “Very nice guy to be around. Very young and quite naïve.” Hendrix’s wild, highly sexual and creative guitar playing and his bluesrock songs didn’t mesh well with the pop rock of The Monkees. Many of their fans didn’t understand or appreciate Hendrix and often chanted for their favorite band to take the stage.

After “six or eight shows,” according to Dolenz, Hendrix departed from the tour. His career was headed to the top, at least until his drug-related death in 1971. The Monkees, however, were about to see a major reversal in their fortune. After two seasons and 58 episodes, the TV show was canceled in 1968. Dolenz co-wrote and directed the final episode. “We got tired of doing the same thing,” Dolenz said. “It was very intense.” A movie, “Head,” was released to scathing reviews and limited ticket sales. It was widely considered a flop, although it still is shown on latenight TV from time to time and is now considered a bit of a cult classic. The movie was co-written by a struggling actor/writer/director who went on to far greater fame: Jack Nicholson. He also appears in the movie, as do other actors and musicians. “We loved him. We just fell in love with this guy,” Dolenz said. “Charismatic. A great guy to be around.” He said they hung out together for months at each other’s homes and on tours. When they decided to make the movie, they spent a loopy weekend at a resort spa with a tape recorder running. “We were just rambling,” Dolenz recalled. “Jack and Bob (Rafelson) went away and did a marvelous job of putting together this movie. “We did not want it to be a 90minute, or two-hour, episode of a typical ‘Monkees’ show.” The group wanted to “stretch our wings out a little bit,” Dolenz said. The movie was poorly reviewed and quickly pulled from theaters, but he said that didn’t bother them. “Not really. By then we had all moved on,” Dolenz said.

Monkee Shines He admits it’s a strange, surreal film, but said he is still glad it was made. “I am. I’m very proud of the work I did on it,” Dolenz said. “Some of it I don’t even get.” Rafelson and Schneider soon made “Easy Rider” with Nicholson, and his star-making turn in “Five Easy Pieces” followed. Both were both major hits and propelled Nicholson to superstardom. They used some of the profits made from “The Monkees” TV series to launch the movies, which is a point of pride for Dolenz. The group did a TV special in 1969 and made appearances on some TV shows, but The Monkees were slipping from the scene. Tork left the group, and then Nesmith walked as well. By 1971, The Monkees were still selling records and reruns of their TV show were a staple on Saturday morning TV. More than a Monkee But the band members had moved on, choosing to act, play music or pursue other endeavors. In the mid-1970s, Dolenz and Jones toured and played shows with the writers of many of their songs, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Dolenz appeared on TV shows, tried out for the part of Fonzie on “Happy Days” and did some directing. He also was in some movies and did voiceovers for TV commercials and cartoons while working as a radio personality from time to time. He also returned to his roots in musical theater, something he still does. Dolenz has performed in the Elton John/Tim Rice musical “Aida” on Broadway and on a national tour. “I have worked longer on ‘Aida’ than I worked on The Monkees,” he said with a laugh. He has also performed in the play “Hairspray” and said at heart, he’s a variety performer. “I love doing musical comedy. I love

doing ‘Hairspray,’ ” he said. “In a funny way, that’s what The Monkees were. A half-hour musical comedy.” He said “Glee” is the closest thing he has seen to The Monkees. It is also a TV show about imaginary musicians, and the actors have been able to branch out and perform live shows. He said being a Monkee once again is a joy, not a problem, thanks to the other avenues he has been able to explore. “To me, it hasn’t been day-in, dayout constant,” Dolenz said. In 1986, The Monkees became big stars again when MTV re-aired the series. Suddenly, Dolenz, Jones and Tork were playing stadiums instead of clubs, and then even lured Nesmith back for a show. The old songs and albums raced up the charts again. But it was another decade before they made another significant move. In 1996, the reunited Monkees released another album titled “Justus.” They also did a TV special and a 1997 tour before The Monkees as a foursome appeared for the last time. Nesmith’s departure caused some hard feelings for the other three Monkees. Dolenz, Jones and Tork continued to do shows, while Nesmith, made wealthy from his mother’s invention of Liquid Paper, went his own way artistically. He was also a film producer, an early proponent of music and comedy video shorts with the show “Pop Clips,” and has been called a pioneer in countryrock music, likely because of his Texas roots. The four men rarely saw or spoke to each other, Dolenz admits, but he said they are like siblings, sharing a deep connection. In 2011, Dolenz, Jones and Tork

Monkee Shines toured and were well-received, playing before appreciative crowds and earning critical praise before the tour was cut short for murky reasons. They had made plans for more shows in the future, but Jones’ surprising death of a heart attack ended that. Now, this latest incarnation of The Monkees are preparing to play. Nesmith announced the startling news on his Facebook page on Aug. 7. “I never really left,” he said of his return to The Monkees. “It is a part of my youth that is always active in

my thought and part of my overall work as an artist. It stays in a special place.” Dolenz performed on the Happy Together Tour in 2010 and is enjoying this second go-round. “I love to sing,” he said. “They pay me to travel. I would sing for free.” Dolenz and his musical director and guitarist Wayne Avers “rent a big massive Lincoln Town Car” and drive to shows. He said he is weary of the hassle that now surrounds air travel. “We’re going to spend that five or six hours, we might as well be masters of our own destiny,” he said. Dolenz said they have decided to search out the best barbecue places they can find during their travels. He has a new solo CD, titled “Remember,” that will be out in September. Dolenz said it’s filled with “wonderful, new and original takes” on songs. He said he hopes his fans pick up a copy and listen to what else he is doing in his career. Dolenz said he is glad to have had a shot at rock stardom, but he’s also happy to remind people that he’s more than a Monkee.

Surviving Monkees set for U.S. tour LOS ANGELES —

bers are moving forward and will reunite for a U.S. tour. The band — Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and historically reclusive member Mike Nesmith — have announced that they will hit the road for an Evening with the Monkees, a 12-date trek

The Monkees were dealt a blow earlier this year when the band's lead singer, Davy Jones, died of a heart attack in February. Now the surviving mem-

Monkee Shines

this fall. It will be the first shows the three have performed together in 15 years.

"But the really big news — astounding — is that I suddenly understand that it is the red bell pepper that makes the gazpacho red — not the tomato — which is what I always thought. Amazing.

The tour kicks off Nov. 8 in Escondido, Calif., and wraps Dec. 2 in New York.

"Another jaw dropper was that the only cracker I had left — a very nice garlic and chive flat bread cracker — fell out of the bag it was in because I was inadvertently holding it upside down and it fell on the floor and broke into dozens of pieces.

The Monkees soared to fame as America's original boy band after successfully launching their own NBC television show in 1966. The made-for-TV band looked to capitalize on the infectious wave of Beatlemania following the Fab Four's A Hard Day's Night film, and it worked. Despite the Monkees' origins, Monkeemania soon swept listeners, and at the group's height, they were able to outsell the Beatles.

"So just as I was about to eat the miracle gazpacho the only cracker I had was useless in pieces on the floor. Talk about drama — man it's just so hard sometimes. But that's all the news from here. Nothing else much to report. I see they put a car on Mars — that was kind of amusing of course.

These performances will mark their first concerts together since 1997 and the first U.S. Monkees tour to feature Nesmith since 1969.

"And Micky and Peter and I are going to do twelve concerts in November here in the States. That's really all I've got. Going to bed now.

Pegged as the "Missing Monkee" (a sly nod to a 1967 episode of their series), Nesmith has largely been absent from the group since that ‘69 tour. The other members have toured without him, though Nesmith has reunited with the group for one-off appearances over the years; his last stateside concert with the band was a private show in support of 1996's "Justus," the band's 11th and final album.

"I'll post pictures of the cracker and the gazpacho tomorrow, maybe. Maybe not."

Nesmith announced the news in a statement that truly deserves a full read: "So the big news from here is that I made the most amazing gazpacho tonight — miracle gazpacho. A miracle because I have no idea how I did it and could never do it again.

Monkee Shines

Many dates sold out within hours or in some cases minutes. Scalping is rampant with prices going for $85 on Ticketmaster to $700 and above on less trustworthy sites. If you were lucky enough to score tickets to one of the shows please let us know all about it. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to Minneapolis and Chicago. Hope to see you there.