Hey, Hey We’re the Monkees…

and we like to monkey around…Today in rock history, Last Train to Clarksville and The Monkees albums were certified gold in 1966. Their first single and first album both reached number 1 in the U.S. and proved to be a very successful start for the manufactured band.  I know quite awhile ago I promised a Monkees blog, and I guess today’s the day.  We’ve all heard the rumors and legends of Don Kirschner’s “PreFab Four” but I, in my middle teens at the time, was only interested in how they looked and how they sounded.  Like many teenaged boys in the mid-sixties, I was honing my “look,” and these guys, with their long hair, mod clothes and zany humor were fantastic role models for a would-be hippie like me.  Their show made watching TV on Saturday mornings cool again (hey, it wasn’t like I was watching cartoons or anything like that).  It wasn’t until much later, when the show had a revival in the mid-80’s, when I realized that they were a cartoon too.  While their antics and humor was indeed cartoonish, they pioneered the rock video, with their musical “vignettes.” A lot of folks (myself included) didn’t realize that, at first, even though they were all talented musicians (except for “Circus Boy” Dolenz, who had to be taught to play the drums for the show), they weren’t allowed to play their own instruments, only winning that right later in their careers when they had the album and ticket sales to back up their demands.  Against the better judgment of Kirschner and his ilk, they band went on tour early in the show’s run, to raving audiences and screaming fans, and managed to pull it off, performing as an early “power trio.”  When the TV show folded in 1968, the group fizzled, leaving behind a legacy of six gold albums, numerous reunion shows (I saw Jones, Tork and Dolenz at the MN State Fair in ’86, sans Nesmith, who declined to participate), and a lasting contribution to American pop music.  And just to show that they were fairly hip, here's a clip of Mike Nesmith and Frank Zappa, changing places (and noses).  Thanks to www.garylessard.com and www.wikipedia.org for the info, and keep on rockin’!