OR “EVERYBODY’S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT FOR ME AND MY MONKEY” (MONKEES)
The connections that the Beatles had with the Monkees – there were many! (much too numerous to discuss all of them here) However, the night that Beatles took to the stage of the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb 9, 1964, there was also a future Monkee on stage. Davy Jones was starring in the Broadway production of Oliver and also performed on Sullivan’s show that legendary night. Little could Davy Jones have imagined that a short time later, the band he was to become a part of, the Monkees, would be compared to the headliners of that very evening!
The Monkees
The Monkees, a band that the California television network executives intended to create/ manufacture and use the success and the formula of the film A Hard Day’s Night as the model for engineering an American band aspiring to fame and fortune. The networks recruited many prominent songwriters like Harry Nilsson, Neil Diamond, Boyce and Hart, among many others to write hit material for the Monkees and for a time the Monkees actually surpassed the Beatles in both popularity and record sales. It must be noted that this occurred when the Beatles were making their stylistic transition away from the standard pop “I love you songs” to what could be termed as more sophisticated and adventuresome material!
The Beatles and The Monkees
Wanted to use this post to highlight some of the close associations that members of the Beatles and the Monkees were to develop over the years. The Beatles had helped to set the stage for the Monkees’ success in America and they probably realized that the Monkees record sales were rivaling their own so they needed to keep their record sales rivals close to the vest. Conversely, the Monkees were well aware of the enormous songwriting talents of the band across the pond and their worldwide appeal and they may have had some insecurities about depending on outside sources to write their own hit material! This was also to change as the Monkees began to insist at having more input into the creation of their own musical output as time went on.
I would like to alert you to this fantastic article written by Beatles and Monkees historian, Steve Bradley!!! I love this site and you will too!
the Four Kings of EMI – the Beatles and the Monkees (arrivewithouttravelling.com)
Randy Scouse Git
The Dolenz tribute to the Beatles in the song Randy Scouse Git where he refers to them as “the Four Kings of EMI”:
The MONKEES rare raw version RANDY SCOUSE GIT – YouTube
Mike Nesmith
The first book item I would like to highlight is this Mike Nesmith book: The late Mike Nesmith wrote this excellent book and one of the stories he tells within is his account of staying at John Lennon’s Kenwood estate in 1967. He was also present at some of the Sgt. Pepper sessions.
Loved the book but it was also very sad as it served as a reminder of all the people from that era who are no longer with us!
Mike Nesmith signed and personalized this copy of the book for me:
Mike was actually present when Tony Bramwell filmed the “A Day in the Life” video and you can see him in the Apple owned film on YouTube!
Found another link on the internet that shows Ringo and Mike sitting together at the Pepper sessions:
From Paul McCartney’s website, a photo of Micky Dolenz with Paul:
Years later after both bands had disbanded, 3 of the Monkees made a pizza commercial with Ringo Starr:
Pizza Hut Ringo and The Monkees – YouTube
In 1968, Monkee Peter Tork contributed a banjo solo to George Harrison’s Wonderwall LP:
Peter Tork – Banjo Solo (Rare – Wonderwall Soundtrack Recording) – YouTube
Peter Noone and Mickey Dolenz
A few years ago I picked up this wonderful 2 cd set featuring Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees discussing their past success and memories. There were many Beatle-related tales including Micky talking about hearing one of the first playbacks of “Good Morning, Good Morning” from Sgt. Pepper at Abbey Road and a story Micky told about jamming with John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys at Dolenz’s home studio. Micky says he still has the tapes and they are nothing to write home about, but the story he tells about John Lennon and Brian Wilson at his studio is priceless!
The famous 1973 photo by Richard Creamer which appeared in a multitude of newspapers and pop magazines helped to boost the fame and national exposure of singer Anne Murray as she was photographed with the legendary Hollywood Vampires featuring John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper and Micky Dolenz. This was the beginning of the so-called Lost Weekend of John Lennon!
Micky Dolenz’s signature on a Fest for Beatles Fans program. This page also features the signatures of Peter Asher from Peter and Gordon, Henry McCullough, the late lead guitarist of Wings, Denny Seiwell, a former drummer for Paul McCartney and Wings, Mark Hudson, formerly of the Hudson brothers and a former Ringo Starr producer!
In conclusion, despite being rivals, the Beatles and the Monkees mutually respected one another and their respective achievements and they both came to realize there were many pitfalls in rising to the top and trying to stay there!
Buzz
