Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK, so riddle me this? How is it that a bunch of slapstick comedians who couldn't play their instruments translates into at least a half-dozen hits in the top ten.

Their last train certainly wasn't derailed.

A smoke and mirrors phenomenon or real talent?

Monkees? If the answer is 'yes', one of 'em had talent and could play..... and write!

Remember 'Joanne'?

Howard: Yes a Mike Nesmith tune from 1970. It had a bit of an Ifield vibe didn't it?

Joanne was a great song.
Davy Jones also had a hit prior to The Monkees, "What are we going to do" (when the word gets out?) Remember that one? Not sure of the title.

I think over time the Monkees put out quite a few very good songs, some they played a little on, others not. But, I absolutely love the writing and singing done by Mike. Please check out his unreleased work on some of those recent Monkees alternate track CDs, especially Volume 2 for lots of great Mike tunes. One of my favorite released tracks has got to be Tapioca Tundra - wonderful melody and chord changes. I love playing that tune.

Mike Nesmith wrote Linda Ronstadt's big hit, "Different Drum".

Peter Tork was also a somewhat accomplished guitarist and songwriter.

Mike Nesmith also wrote "Different Drum" which was a hit by Linda Ronstadt either with or shortly after The Stone Poneys.

I always liked "Listen To The Band", as well. I don't remember if that one was done by Mike solo or if it was done with The Monkees. There was more talent there than they usually get credit for having.

How would we be viewing Stephen Stills if he had passed the audition and gotten in the show?

"Listen to the Band" was a great tune.
"Different Drum" was her first real hit, wasn't it?
Peter Tork still tours and came around here a few years ago, playing acoustic and singing.

Different Drum was Linda in the Stone Poneys (not separately credited at the time). I believe it was released in the latter part of 1967. It is a well written Mike song.

Listen To The Band is great but there are so many more Mike songs from that period that either never got released or never got noticed. About 1.5 years ago I went looking for all this great hidden Mike stuff as was astounded. It was all I played in my CD player for several weeks.

The stuff the Monkees put out was WAY better than anyone had a right to expect from a damn TV show. It's kind of an amazing story, actually. Some of the songs are quite dated and throwaway by now but others are real keepers. They found good writers (and wrote a few good ones themselves), hired great studio musicians, sang very well for the most part, and appeared to try to put out a first class product.

The Music Bizness, like the rest of Hollywood, is about smoke-and-mirrors combined with real talent...the Monkees are just one of the most blatant examples of this, but look at any Billboard magazine since day one and you'll find this to be the norm rather than the exception.

Somebody's always supplyin' the "MAGIC"...

My lovely 8-year old daughter, is named after one of Mike's ballads, "Juliana", from his "Tropical Campfires" album.

Let's not forget his "Elephant Parts" (reissued in 2002) from 1980, the winner of the first Grammy for music video ever issued. He opens it with a poke at his old "Joanne" song, with "Rodan" (Japanese cheezwhiz monster) substituted. Video shows him strumming his Gretsch, mad glint in eyes, low-angle shot, wearing Rodan's feet/claws, stomping a village...

The sketches on EP are priceless: "Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority" (attaches to your garden hose, keeps those neighbors in line), "The Marines Need a Few Good Men" (recruiting video with femme marine in dress whites), etc., and lots of GREAT songs. My favorites are "Cruisin'" (aka Lucy and Ramona) and "Travel to Rio".

Production values on thei 25-year-old video are superb. Highly recommended.

Mike came to the Monkees not needing the gig, being a very wealthy kid at the time--it seems that his mom was the inventor of Liquid Paper correction fluid. Mike also produced a dirt bike science fiction movie (?) called "Timerider". He flies his own DC-9, but unlike Travolta, did not get brainlaundered by Scientology. And unlike Cruise, he does not jump on sofas and deny jumping other male singers.

Speakin' of "a bunch of slapstick comedians who couldn't play their instruments"...I used to do a parody in bands on the Ice called "The Last Plane To Christchurch"...

Christchurch, N. Z., that is...well, you had to be there, I guess...all I remember is the line "and I won't be in McMurdo anymore..." used to bring the house down...

Got to talk with Peter a while back(my wife's best friend is his tour manager), he does NOT like to talk Monkees!

For G*d's Sake, Ronn! Don't tell him about this site...

We have a member here from Christchurch New Zealand, I believe it's young Nate.