Me-TV Presents: "The Monkees"

[stevearino]

https://metv.com/shows/the_monkees

For those who haven't yet heard, in overwhelming response to its Peter Tork tribute airings on Sunday, February 24, Me-TV will add "The Monkees" PERMANENTLY to its lineup starting Sunday, March 3 and every Sunday at 5 P.M. ET / PT, all 58 TV episodes of the hit 1960s TV series "The Monkees."

In loving memory of Peter Tork (who died last Thursday at age 77, having been born on February 13, 1942 in Washington, D.C.--my apologies for believing wrongfully from "Entertainment Tonight" that he'd been born in 1944), yours truly, Steve Arino, is proud to present a complete Showography of "The Monkees," as done in the style of "The E! True Hollywood Story."

The year is 1965. Lyndon Baines Johnson is U.S. President; the Vietnam War is in full Effect; and the duo of aspiring filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider conceive and create a sitcom Pilot called "The Monkees."

The series was first pitched in early 1965 to Schneider's father, Abe, at the time the head of Columbia Pictures; on April 16, 1965, Columbia's TV division, Screen Gems Films, gave the go-ahead to film a "Monkees" TV Pilot.

On September 8, 1965, 437 young-adult men between ages 18 and 25 auditioned for "The Monkees." Among those who auditioned, but were all passed over, included Danny Hutton (futurely of "Three Dog Night"), Steve Stills (futurely of "Crosby, Stills and Nash"), Harry Nilsson (future singer/songwriter with such hits as "Put Da Lime in Da Coconut," "Everybody's Talkin'" and "**** You," NOT the same tune by the future Cee-Lo Green), and Paul Williams (actor/songwriter who, among other acting and music accomplishments, wrote "The Rainbow Connection" for Jim Henson).

Also auditioning were several "Real Bands," whom Raybert Productions (the pseudonym for Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider) felt were all too old--among them The Wellingtons (the original "Gilligan's Island" first-season Singers); likewise auditioning, but rejected, was future Composer Van Dyke Parks.

Of the 437 young men, the final 4 were Chosen by October 1965: Mike Nesmith (born on December 30, 1942 in Houston, Texas), a Songwriter under the Pseudonym Mike Blessing who'd earlier written for Buffy St. Marie "Until It's Time For You to Go" (later Covered by Neil Diamond); Peter Tork (real name: Peter Torkelson, born on February 13, 1942 in Washington, D.C.), a Folk Singer raised in Connecticut who, after Bob Dylan left for Greener Pastures, worked in Greenwich Village in New York City as a Folk Singer; Micky Dolenz (born on March 8, 1945 in Los Angeles, California), a former Child Actor who from ages 10-13 already had a hit series, "Circus Boy," under his belt; and Davy Jones (born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England), a British Jockey who had an off-season career in America as the original Artful Dodger in the Broadway musical "Oliver!" in New York City, New York when he wasn't spending 5 years, ages 14-19, as a British Jockey after his Mom died.

According to "E! True Hollywood Story," Davy Jones NEVER auditioned for "The Monkees," having been cast without EVER auditioning for the Series.

The Pilot Episode, "Here Come The Monkees," was filmed in November 1965 at Warner Bros. Studios (then known as Columbia Ranch) in Burbank, California; in August 1966, less than a month before the series' debut, "Last Train to Clarksville" was issued as the first single for "The Monkees."

The following month, September 12, 1966 at 7:30 P.M. ET / PT, "The Monkees" TV series debuted on NBC, airing Monday nights at 7:30 P.M.

By October 1966, "Last Train to Clarksville" became the first of 11 Top 40 Hits (including 3 #1's) over the next 2 years; despite officially making their debut as a band the night before the series' debut (according to "The E! True Hollywood Story" episode on "The Monkees"), it was later revealed that the stars of "The Monkees" NEVER played their own Instruments on records, providing only the vocals--a fact that made Mike Nesmith in January 1967 to say "Call Us Phonies, Because We Are!," a statement causing Music Supervisor Don Kirshner to be Ousted from Screen Gems' Music Department soon after.

In Don's place, Chip Douglas (a former bassist for The Turtles) became the Music Supervisor for the "Headquarters" album where the stars of "The Monkees" both played AND sang every note on the album except for occasional help from Chip on Bass Guitar.

The album was a great Chart-Topper in its first week, only to be thrown out by The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album; nevertheless, for the following album, "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd." the stars of "The Monkees" went back to the prior format of providing only the vocals, with instrumental tracks provided by a new group of Studio Musicians--among them Fast Eddie Ho on Drums, Michael McIlvoin on Piano (for 2 tracks, including "Daydream Believer," recorded for this album but not issued on an album til the following album, "The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees"), Chip Douglas on all Guitars, including Bass Guitar, and Jazz Musician Paul Beaver on 2 tracks (specifically "Daily Nightly" and "Love Is Only Sleeping," both written by Mike Nesmith).

An interesting tidbit: though written by Mike Nesmith, "Mary Mary" was originally recorded by Paul Butterfield's Blues Band before later recorded by "The Monkees," who had the hit with "Mary Mary"; likewise, another Nez-penned song, "Love Is Only Sleeping," the publishing rights were sold to Barry Mann and his wife Cynthia Weil.

Despite "The Monkees" success on TV and the record charts, in both cases, the success was short-lived, as NBC, in February 1968, officially cancelled "The Monkees" during the filming of the movie spin-off "Head" due to Mike Nesmith's adamant refusal to do a 3rd "Monkees" TV season as a sitcom.

The Series Finale, "Mijacogeo" (written and directed by Micky Dolenz), was telecast on Monday, March 25, 1968 at 7:30 P.M. ET / PT on NBC.

The "Monkees" movie, "Head," was released on November 20, 1968 by Columbia Pictures--and BOMBED at the Box Office; after 2 years, 58 TV episodes, 6 albums (including the "Head" soundtrack), and 1 movie, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones faded into oblivion.

Flash forward to 1986: on February 23, MTV aired a "Pleasant Valley Sunday" 45-episode marathon of "The Monkees," after which Nickelodeon, on September 1, 1986, added the series to its regular afternoon schedule, with occasional marathons thereafter on MTV.

The success of Nickelodeon's "Monkees" reruns lead to a series of Reunion Concerts plus 2 reunion albums--1987's "Pool It" and 1996's "JustUs."

The "JustUs" album was the last one for "The Monkees" as a Quartet, and also the first since "Headquarters" where the stars played and sang every note as well as wrote all of their own Music for the album.

On February 29, 2012, Davy Jones, age 66, was riding horses in his Indiantown, Florida ranch when he began that morning complaining of Breathing Problems; after an Ambulance was called, Davy was transported to the local Hospital an Hour Away in Stuart, Florida, where he was D.O.A.

Despite being a Vegetarian, Avid Exerciser, Marathon Runner AND Trained Athlete, Davy Jones died of a Massive Heart Attack in Florida at age 66.

A private funeral for Davy was subsequently held in March 2012 in Florida, after which Davy was Cremated with his Ashes placed near his late Parents Harry and Doris's respective graves, survived by his 3rd wife, Jessica Pacheco, of Miami, and 4 grown daughters (2 each) from 2 failed marriages.

In January 1966, Davy Jones, shortly after filming the "Monkees" pilot, married his first of 2 ex-wives, Linda Haines, a marriage kept secret the whole time the series was in production--so much so that Screen Gems placed Davy on Publicity Dates with Sally Field and fellow British singer Lulu among them in order to keep Davy's real-life marriage a Secret; the "Secret" was eventually revealed in October 1968, shortly after his eldest of 4 daughters was born.

On a personal note, what surprised me about Davy's loss was the fact that he had been, to the end, in Great Physical Shape, no Health Problems at all; as Micky Dolenz once joked to ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, Davy was a Vegetarian, Avid Exerciser, etc. as duly noted above.

Meanwhile, in March 2009, at age 67, Peter Tork, shortly after his Birthday that year, announced his Cancer diagnosis Himself before anyone else; in Peter's case, his Cancer was a rare Tongue Cancer known as Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma--a Cancer that returned after a Long Remission last year in 2018.

On February 13, 2019, Peter Tork celebrated his 77th and Last Birthday at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut with his 4th wife, Pam Grapes, and immediate family; 8 days later, on February 21, 2019, Peter Tork died.

Shortly after his Cancer diagnosis, Peter also revealed another late-in-life Diagnosis: Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of Autism, a Brain Disease affecting 1 in 50 children and adults in America alike.

I should clarify that just because someone reveals an Asperger's diagnosis later in life doesn't mean they never had it before, it just went undiagnosed in Peter's case before 10 years ago.

Funeral plans for Peter Tork are pending as of this writing; whether the 2 remaining stars of "The Monkees," Mike and Micky, will be attending is unknown, but they will, however, be touring in March and June.

[TMC]

The Monkees TV series to join MeTV's lineup following an "overwhelming response" to its Peter Tork tribute

The TV network saw a massive viewership surge with its tribute to the late Monkees star on Sunday. In response, MeTV will air all The Monkees episodes, starting on Sunday.

[AMackII]

Yes, The Monkees are in fact to be a great addition to MeTV's Sunday schedule

[MA]

Sad to see The Jeffersons gone from the weekend lineup, but this show is a great addition nonetheless.

[Svenfan1234]

Originally Posted by MA

Sad to see The Jeffersons gone from the weekend lineup, but this show is a great addition nonetheless.

It'll still be on Weeknights.

[MA]

Originally Posted by Svenfan1234

It'll still be on Weeknights.

Thank you for that information.

[1960'sTVfan]

It seems that The Monkees DVD sets from Eagle Rock have gone out of print, because the 1st season is now difficult to find, and sellers are marking up the price. I'm not spending that kind of money so I'll try to record the 1st season shows from MeTV since they've started airing them. The 2nd season DVD is easier to find at this time and the price is reasonable, so I did order that one.