The Monkees was a TV comedy show (late 60's I think) about a band, but in almost every episode somehow one of the members always ended up kidnapped, or they happened upon a Russian spy ring or some such. At the end of every show, they sang a song. The band was put together for the show, and Neil Diamond wrote some of the songs. The show was in syndication for decades. ETA: The humor was really over the top...shades of the Three Stooges, Marx Brothers, etc. Came back to add: Also, people either tend to love them or hate them. Because the show really was wonderfully stupid.
I used to watch it on Much Music after school during the 90's. Many of the episodes, and even their full movie, Head, can be found on Youtube right now.
Yeah, I used to see it after school on...MTV I think? Also, @Cave Troll part of the appeal of the show was that it was made either at the height of or just after music's British Invasion and the lead singer, Davy Jones, was from England. The rest of the band were Americans, so they sort of capitalized on both sides of the Pond. They were a made for TV band, but they did tour and had some hits.
Read the obituary. From band members 'Although it has been many years since Mark was in our orbit, nonetheless...' And the interview in the Graun from 'back in the day' when they are cutting edge radical/won't look into the camera lens. Suddenly man turns the corner and he is 64. 'What happened?' I was trying to recall the song - seen now - but all yesterday I kept on firing blank and humming 'It's my life, my life, my life, my life...' No!
Am I unusual? I never saw the TV show (I didn't have TV back then), but I did buy a couple of their singles. Last Train to Clarksville being one of them. I didn't love The Monkees, but I liked them well enough, for that time.
The Beatles were the Fab Four, so when the Monkees series was launched, they were somewhat derisively labeled the Prefab Four. The entire series was a nod to, or a ripoff of, "A Hard Day's Night." As you can tell, I wasn't a fan.
Missed this last week. Talk radio legend Bruce Williams dead at 86. Loved to listen to the guy dispense business and life advice back in the day. "Born February 18, 1932, Williams grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. Blessed with an innate sense of business, at age 11, he devised a way to address one of the many shortages common at the end of World War II by melting down lead pipes and casting them into toy soldiers. Eyes wide open, he was off and running, pursuing every avenue where he believed a profit could be made. After serving in the Air Force during the Korean conflict and graduating from Newark State College (now Kean University), he opened a pre-school named after his children. He spent time driving an ice cream truck in New York City. He was also a taxi driver and drove a beer truck. For seventy years of his life, he spent the holiday season selling Christmas trees in New Jersey. On the white-collar side, Williams sold insurance, owned a flower shop, a car rental agency, a barber shop and he owned and operated several nightclubs. There was even a whirlwind tour into the world of politics where the Honorable Bruce H. Williams was elected to the Franklin, New Jersey Township Council, as well as serving terms as Deputy Mayor and Mayor between 1967 and 1975."
I think that's cool! You were responding to them organically, as opposed to getting caught up in oh, I dunno...how cute Davy was, or how silly they were, or how "far out" their clothes were, or whatever. They were entertaining and made people happy. Sometimes that's enough.
And so Peter's gone, too. He can't possibly have been that old. None of us were going to get that old.
They had a bit of a revival when I was in high school (late 80's), so I like them too. Also, as unconnected as they may seem to the 60's folk music scene of Laurel Canyon, read up on Joni Mitchell or any of the more well-known folk artists of that era and that group, and you'll read that Peter Tork's house was a favorite party pad for the patchouli and acoustic guitar set.
