This is an excellent example of one television show promoting another… and note that Dick Clark has no attitude in his voice when he lists The Monkees among that pretty hallowed hall of 60s hit makers. — Rosanne
Michael Lynch shared a link to the group: Zilch! A Monkees Podcast!May 25 at 8:06 AM
Monkee business on ‘American Bandstand.’ Dubbed audio, but still, a nice peek of people digging the Monkees when they were still a relatively new “thing.”
Airdate: October 8, 1966
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote “Last Train..” as a subtle protest of Vietnam as the man catching the train is going off to an army base in the fictitious town of Clarksville and he doesn’t know if he’s ”ever coming home”. This, the very first song by The Monkees (Mickey Dolenz with Boyce & Hart’s band The Candy Store Prophets), is at #6 today and will peak at #1 next month. “The Monkees” TV series premiered last month on Sept. 12 on NBC.
Depending on when this episode was actually taped, it’s just possible that this is the first time some of these kids had ever heard a Monkees song. Dancers today include Toni Kashinoff (1:15), Theodosia Dayton (wearing glasses at 1:20), Laura Bravo (1:30), Lauren Montgomery (2:00) Marcia Silverman (3:03), and Martha Sedaris (3:14).
Buy Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.
Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.
This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.
Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
Want to use “Why The Monkees Matter” in your classroom?
Order Examination Copies, Library and Campus Bookstore orders directly from McFarland
