The band last Saturday included Mickey's sister Coco, who sang
Here's Coco in 1967, as photographed in Fave:
I think Fave was a spin-off from Tiger Beat. First issue:
ADDED: I tried to find "Davy's Private Glads & Sads!" but Google has a better memory of the the mid-19th century:
"I picture my small self in the dimly-lighted rooms, sitting with my head upon my hand, listening to the doleful..."
Dolenzful.
"... performance of Mr. Mell, and conning to-morrow’s lessons. I picture myself with my books shut up, still listening to the doleful..."
Dolenzful.
"... performance of Mr. Mell, and listening through it to what used to be at home, and to the blowing of the wind on Yarmouth flats, and feeling very sad and solitary. I picture myself going up to bed, among the unused rooms... I picture myself coming down-stairs in the morning, and looking through a long ghastly gash of a staircase-window at the school-bell hanging on the top of an outhouse, with a weathercock above it...."
CORRECTIONS: I mixe up the 2 "believer" songs. The one written by Neil Diamond (and mentioned in the linked article) is "I'm a Believer." Mickey sang the lead on the original version. The other is "Daydream Believer," and Davy sang the lead. Both are great, and the difference between the 2 could be the basis for an essay on the Mickey/Davy distinction, but I can't write that for you now.
Posts
53 comments:
I loved Jimi Hendrix and his unconventional guitar playing and creative music. Monkees, not so much.
Foxy Tweenie!
OK, that's gross. Who's idea was it?
Fables from a storied, but distant, past. You know you’re getting old when your own childhood is recognizably part of a vanished society.
In a previous existence, Mickey Dolenz ( as Mickey Braddock ) starred in Circus Boy
on Saturday morning TV.
Imagine being Don Kirshner, your job is to get songs for The Monkees, and you've hired Carole King to write a song for them, and a box arrives in the mail, with a real to reel tape in it, and this exquisite gem of a demo is in there, and you are one of the first people ever to hear Pleassnt Valley Sunday, and you know for sure you have a smash hit on your hands ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lp1HWhnpfvs
We saw the repeats of their TV shows
The Monkees practically played on a loop on Channels 5 and 11 in New York in the 70s and early 80s. To this day I can't watch any movie or televison montage scene without thinking of Last Train to Clarksville.
When I saw the linked video with the caption: Micky Dolenz (Coco Dolenz) White Rabbit
I was expecting an article about Micky transitioning.
Didn’t know he had a sister.
That green coat dress is to die for.
Is Mickey the last Monkee?
Last week, my older sister said we watched Get Smart and Laugh In as it came out, so that may have been true about the Monkees' TV show, which I liked. I learned as an adult that everything we saw before that was a years-old rebroadcast.
Poor Monkees get the monkeys tag.
"Foxy Tweenie! OK, that's gross. Who's idea was it?"
It's just fashion.
Coco Dolenz is just 2 years older than I am, and I would have been 16 when those pictures came out. She was 18. I would have been very interested in wearing clothes like that. I love the checked dress with the windowpane tights. I think that's what they were called — windowpane. They're like fishnet stockings, but the open spaces are much larger, and in fishnet stockings the lines go diagonally, making diamonds. The windowpane lines go vertical and horizontal, perceived as an upright rectangles, like a window — a window to bare flesh, but the young women today just wear no stockings at all, and there's nothing but bare leg.
I think Coco looks great in those pictures, which remind me of how much fun it was dressing in those years, as mod was evolving into hippie. From my point of view, it was about fun, youth, pop culture, and zooming away from the dreary old past. I did get talked to by the vice principal, however, who babbled incoherently about how wearing miniskirts was unfair to the boys, because how were they supposed to behave and where would it all end because what if the girls came to school in bikinis? Oh, for social media back then! What a creepy vice principal!
Why is it that girls like to look at guys who look like girls?
Guys sure don't like girls who look like guys.
1) I trust this line of interest will have all passed by the time Bobby Sherman appears.
2) Our creepy assistant principal had a ruler he would use to measure sideburns on the boys.
3) The next school over had Leonard Skinner telling boys to get a haircut or go home, and we all know where that led. If you learn to play music, grow your hair long, get famous and challenge authority, you'll just die in a plane crash.
4) My current landline number (the one only used by telemarketers and people that know me) used to belong to Leonard's real estate company. I haven't gotten a call for Leonard in about 20 years I guess.
We all have memories.
Hendrix opened for the Monkees.
But who opened for the Anxiety Clowns?*
(*No, The Who didn't open for the Anxiety Clowns)**
(**The Clash opened for The Who on The Who's 1982 Farewell Tour)***
(***which started the trend of bands doing an endless series of Farewell Tours that weren't actually their last tour; although for The Clash that was their final tour of the original line-up)****
(****The Who continued tours even after half of the original band died. So Moon and Entwistle played on Farewell Tours, they just didn't know at the time that it was THEIR Farewell Tour).*****
(*****Rolling Stone magazine announcement, August 2016: Michael Nesmith to Reunite With Monkees for One Last Concert ...
https://www.rollingstone.com/.../michael-nesmith-to-reunite"...Michael Nesmith has announced that he will reunite with the Monkees onstage for one last concert together. "Been talking to Micky [Dolenz] and Peter [Tork] about the Los Angeles Pantages Monkees concert and have agreed to come down to play that show with them...")******
(******Davey Jones was already dead, so his previous Farewell Tour was in 2011. Michael Nesmith wasn't there, so Nesmith's Farewell Tour wouldn't be until later)*******
(*******From the Monkees' Facebook page: "Here are the dates for The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show
6/1/18-- Chandler, AZ-- Chandler Center for the Arts..." So the Monkees have called off their Farewell Tours and are just touring. As one-half of the original members. The other half is only half-dead, so there is still a chance of a 3/4's Monkees Farewell Tour.)********
(********Michael Nesmith is 75 years old. Micky Dolenz is 73 years old. Peter Tork is 76 years old. Time is ticking).
The Germans have a word for this.
Dickens is a long study. The Monkees less so. Was there for Jimi in Jacksonville when he opened for the Monkees. He was awesome. Left after he finished but before the Monkees came on stage. We were too cool.
Dolenz recently told the story on XM Radio of how he got to meet the Beatles in London in the 60s.
He drops into Abbey Road studio stoned and dressed psychedelically thinking that was the in thing. They were dressed plainly in t-shirts and jeans, absolutely focused and dedicated to getting back to the work of cranking out new music. Lennon kept calling Dolenz "Monkey Man" in playful derision.
Dolenz described how he felt like a complete idiot and poseur.
That windowpane stocking photo is also gorgeous. I remember wearing windowpanes in high school. So much fun. Ninth grade was the last year in my high school where girls weren't allowed to wear pants. That year, teachers and school officials also were allowed to come up to girls in the hallway and do a skirt length check, which they did by having her kneel on the ground and measuring the gap between the ground and where her skirt started. It couldn't be more than two inches.
But back to that windowpane stocking photo. I love how formal the pose is. It's just like a formal pose that an old lady showing some old lady clothes might have been photographed in, and yet to my teenage eyes, the clothing itself appeared to be fresh, sexy and transgressive.
Hair rules for boys in 1967: two fingers above the eyebrows, ears and collar. Punishment - two swats and sent home for a trip to the barbershop.
Yeah, as a kid we watched the Monkees on tv. Kinda goofy, harmless fun. I liked Davy & Mickey, but not so much Peter Tork or Mike Nesmith.
Hey, it took our minds off Vietnam!
but not so much Peter Tork or Mike Nesmith.
Lookism never sleeps.
girls like to look at guys who look like girls
guys like to look at girls who look like girls
people like to look at people who look like girls?
I’m pretty sure John Stewart (of The Kingston Trio) wrote Daydream Believer. I’m a Believer was Diamond’s.
Daydream Believer is a fantastic song.
Goody is correct. ItJohn Stewart wrote "Daydream Believer".
"Hair rules for boys in 1967: two fingers above the eyebrows, ears and collar."
I had a crush on a boy who, confronted with the hair-must-not-touch-the-collar rule, cut his collar off.
If I remember correctly, it because a small trend in my high school for boys to wear their shirts with the collar cut off.
"That windowpane stocking photo is also gorgeous..."
I'm jealous. I did not have those. But I did have a couple pairs of patterned tights that my aunt who lived in London sent me, perhaps around 1965. I was, as I remember, the most mod girl in my school.
"Ninth grade was the last year in my high school where girls weren't allowed to wear pants."
I graduated from high school before pants were allowed. We had to wear skirts, and that's part of what fueled my disobedience to the rules. I thought it was unfair to require us to wear unfashionable clothing. I wanted to wear clothes like what I saw in magazines, not clothes from an earlier era. To me, the teachers' lectures about sex were obtuse. I wasn't dressing as a means to a sex end. I was dressing for the sake of dressing. How creepy those people were! I argued back at the time, and I never gave in. But they could have just let the girls wear pants and it would have solved the whole problem... if it really was a sex problem... which it wasn't.
Daydream Believer was written by John Stewart [of the Kingston Trio, not the clown on comedy central]. You should check out some of his music -- it focused on traditional values, patriotism, the dignity of work, etc.
Lexington Green,
Thanks for that link. I love what Carole King does with the song.
Next up was Carole King with the Porpoise Song. It sounds like she was singing underwater. With her head in a bucket. Or something. Couldn't stand it and I am normally a big CK fan.
John Henry
I was 13 in 67, I think it was the sweet spot age to be a Monkee's fan. I don't think it lasted that long. I saw this Dolenz show in the fall in Massachusetts and he told some of these stories. I was at their concert in the Boston Garden in 1967 and the two woman next to us at Mickey's show were also at that Garden show. And here we were 50 years later. And I still have the program! Remember Yardley brand cosmetics? I dug those black suede boots but my mother wouldn't buy me a pair. There were some good pop songs on those first few albums. A couple years ago Mickey did a CD of Carole King covers which i thought was good. Mickey must be about 72 and he looks great. Mike and Peter are still around. Peter was touring with a blues band a few years ago(and a couple of young ladies according to my sister who went to see them at a local performing arts place.)
The Monkees got kind of a bad deal when they were trying to transition into a real band from the whole "They don't play their instruments!" scandal. They certainly played them on stage. In the studio they didn't, but then neither did The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Association ore many others. Using the Wrecking Crew while the principals toured and made money was kind of a West Coast thing.
I second the motion to thank Lexington Green for that Carole King post. I've always been a huge fan, starting back in the day, and recently learned Will You Love Me Tomorrow a la' the version she does with James Taylor on the Troubadors thing, to perform with my partner.
A friend recently saw the Carole King biopic Broadway show, loved it, and was astonished to learn of her pre-"Carole King" days when she was merely (heh) cranking out hits behind the scene.
Your post is beautifully put.
The next song I clicked on over there was her demo with Goffin of Up On The Roof. Goffin had a nice voice and the still accompanying the song is precious.
Oh yeah, Love The Monkees too!
I vaguely remember Pleasant Valley Sunday, but I hadn't realized that it was a typical 60's indictment of suburban life until I saw Carole King's version. I thought the intention was celebratory. Penny Lane, not Little Boxes.
PVS is kind of a contradictory song. The song's "take" is that you should somehow despise all this, but my reaction to the recitation of images was always, "sounds like a pretty nice place".
On the other hand, I can barely listen to Peter, Paul & Mary's "I Dig Rock & Roll Music" any more. When I was a kid I thought it was a celebration, but now I realize it's just a 3 minute long sneer.
As a kid and the target audience, I thought the Monkees were a harmless pretend band for a TV show that was a take off on Help and A Hard Days Night. I did like their music and later on appreciated their talent that was real. Coco's clothes in the photo shoot were cool! Never heard of her before .
Not in the face!
"I'd like to hear Coco Dolenz sing more!"-No one, ever.
Coco has some chops herself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBfIcs1Yc-w
"I had a crush on a boy who, confronted with the hair-must-not-touch-the-collar rule, cut his collar off."
When I first read about the terrible dangers of drinking alcohol, I gave up reading -- Henny Youngman
I could listen to her sing all night.... I hesitantly saw Rickie Lee Jones two years ago. I was afraid she was going to get mad if someone made noise or something and maybe scold us or walk out. I'm not sure why I thought that. Also, I was afraid she just wouldn't be able to sing that well anymore. Boy, was I wrong. She was excellent. She can still hit the notes. Small venue with a small but very appreciative crowd.
Meself and Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynrds pianist) wore short hair wigs in conjunction with Dippity Do and bobby pins at our severely strict Catholic High school in the late 60's. Till we got busted by the nuns. He left and went to public scholl and I got a hair cut - sigh. That was a minus on the sex appeal to.all the happening and groovy chicks.
"I’m pretty sure John Stewart (of The Kingston Trio) wrote Daydream Believer. I’m a Believer was Diamond’s."
Sorry. The article got it right. I conflated to 2 songs. Corrected in the post now.
It's funny that they had 2 "believer" songs. Both were great!
"I love what Carole King does with the song." To be clear: She wrote it!
It's funny that they had 2 "believer" songs. Both were great!
The Beach Boys:
All I Wanna Do
All I Want To Do
More songs that I guess, intellectually, are supposedly below Althouse's actual, official taste level.
Coco shouldn't be messin' with Grace Slick's legacy.
"I had a crush on a boy who, confronted with the hair-must-not-touch-the-collar rule, cut his collar off."
--
You would have impressed him by employing the same strategy regarding your miniskirt...
“More songs that I guess, intellectually, are supposedly below Althouse's actual, official taste level.”
No, I’ve always been pro-Monkee. Great pop music.
The years have not been kind to Coco.
Damn. I missed seeing this post earlier. Oh well.
Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you can collect 8-10 versions of a song on a playlist to determine which one fits with the dishwashing. Drives the little one crazy (for added points) to hear the same song in different takes for 30min.
Different Drum has had many efforts over the years. Yes to LR, obviously, but I am very partial to PP Arnold & Susanna Hoffs. PP could sing proposed occupational health regulatory revisions and make it work, of course.
Pairing the Monkees with Hendrix was unreal. Like when the opening act for Herman's Hermits was the Who.. What kind of mind comes up with this kind of thing?
1969 was a great year for miniskirts. I was in high school, surrounded by great looking girls with great legs. Then in 1970 the midiskirts and maxiskirts came out. That sucked. I went to my daughter's induction into the language honor society a few weeks ago. MINISKIRTS ARE BACK! Crap, it took almost 50 years.
Post a Comment