Category: Monkees

When he appeared on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ with the Beatles in 1964, Davy Jones had no idea he was staring at his future.

On the show, he performed a song from ‘Oliver!’ the Broadway show he was acting in at the time. But two years later, he’d be cast in ‘The Monkees,’ a TV show about a band similar to the Beatles and inspired by the Fab Four movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’

Despite its origins as a pretend band, the Monkees became a real one after insisting they play their own instruments and write their own songs. Meanwhile, tunes like ‘Daydream Believer,’ ‘Last Train to Clarksville’ and ‘I’m a Believer’ were smash hits, contributing to Monkeemania.

While the show only lasted two years, the Monkees — Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith — would occasionally reunite. Currently, they are celebrating their 45th year with a tour that doesn’t include Nesmith, who opted not to join the band.

Jones recently spoke to Spinner about the reunion and the band’s storied past.

Read The Monkees’ Davy Jones Recalls Beatles Friendship and Mike Nesmith’s Disloyalty via Monkees.net

Hey hey he’s a Monkee and nearly 50 years after his band first graced TV screens and the charts, Peter Tork is still monkeying around.

The 73-year-old pop star was full of humour when he chatted to Vibe about returning to London for a gig with bandmate Micky Dolenz on September 4.

Asked how excited he was about coming back to the captial, Peter opted for a numerical answer.

“About a nine…on a scale of 35,” he joked.

“I’m very pleased to be coming. I always enjoy the UK. Of course, I’m delighted, thrilled – totally chuffed as the Brits say.”

Phyllis Gibson, born Phyllis Ann Barbour, died at age 63 on February 13, 2010. She was born July 30, 1946 on Long Island, New York, to Paul and Elizabeth Barbour. Due to her father’s lifelong career as an educator and a soldier, Phyllis lived in a variety of countries as a young girl, including Germany, before settling in San Antonio, Texas, for the majority of her school years. Phyllis moved to Los Angeles at the age of 17 with her first husband Michael Nesmith of The Monkees, with whom she had three children.

Read the entire article – Phyllis (Nesmith) Gibson. Obituary. (2010, February 25). Los Angeles Times.