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The year was 1966, and The Monkees were taking the country by storm. Beginning with “Last Train to Clarksville” in November and ending with “I’m a Believer” the last week in December, the made-for-television quartet posted two number one songs on Billboard that year.
It is hard to believe that it has been 45 years since Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and Michael Nesmith captured the imagination of millions of teens and pre-teens – especially girls. But I was one of the young boys of that time who looked on
The Monkees as examples of what was possible for budding guitar players like me.
1966 was also the year that the campy Batman became one of the most popular shows on television. With two episodes each week, Burt Ward and Adam West brought the DC Comics hero to live for millions of viewers. Never mind that the television show was more comic than the print version, it was required television for my entire junior high class.
What triggered all of this nostalgia was the appearance of The Monkees on the Friday, July 22nd, episode of The View. Let’s just pretend my wife told me about the show. OK?
Minus Michael Nesmith, who opted not to join the nostalgia tour with the other three original members, the group talked about what they had been up to since their show ended in the 1960′s. Probably the most poignant response came from Davy Jones, who had acted on Broadway before being cast in the group, when he said that The Monkees binary options currency signals had destroyed his acting career.
Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz have both enjoyed great careers, both inside and outside of the music industry. Tork has produced stage productions in both the United Kingdom and in the United States, on Broadway in New York City. Peter Tork has performed with several groups he has put together over the years, but never found the popularity he enjoyed with The Monkees.
Watching the trio on The View stirred a lot of memories of years gone by. I thought about how much both music and television have changed over the years, and I can’t help but wonder if The Monkees ever would have been successful if they had formed in 2011 instead of 1966. I tend to doubt it.
As chaotic as those days were, in the early years of the War in Vietnam, and the heyday of the Hippy Era, there was an innocence and simplicity in those days. It was easy to buy into the slapstick of The Monkees and the campiness of Batman. The stories on those television shows had nothing to do with every day life. They were truly an “escape” that took us away from the mundane aspects of life.
Today, a television show must be some form of “reality” or filled with risqué humor, it seems, to find acceptance by the viewing public. I’m not sure about you, but I think I’m ready for a return to simpler times.
Related articles
- Monkees’ trip through time a fun night for fans (pbpulse.com)
- Gregory Weinkauf: The Monkees at 45: Time Travel at the Greek (huffingtonpost.com)
- The Monkees’ Davy Jones Recalls Beatles Friendship and Mike Nesmith’s Disloyalty (spinner.com)
- Monkees swing back into town (telegraph.co.uk)
