Join me for a reading from my latest book, “Why The Monkees Matter” at Book Soup on the beautiful Sunset Strip in Hollywood.
Date:
Monday, September 19, 2016 – 7pm
Location:
Book Soup
818 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Category: Television
Quotes from “Why The Monkees Matter” by Dr. Rosanne Welch – 26 in a series
** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
How did such blatant (counter-culture) references make it on air? Most of the writers felt that the studio and network executives had no idea what they meant. According to writer Treva Silverman the executives didn’t get the jokes, even though, “They were all wearing love beads. While they could accessorize the accessories they never got the point.”
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
The Monkee’s 50th Anniversary – Selected Stories from Around the World
Leave it to the English (the BBC World Service to be precise) to host an interview with one of The Monkees (Micky) that takes things seriously and asks interesting questions – beginning with “What was the music played in your childhood home?” I’m particularly pleased that Cerys Matthews mentions the show right up front as a ‘true cultural phenomenon’ – because it was!
Cerys Matthews with Micky Dolenz (BBC World Service)
Born in Los Angeles in 1945, George Michael Dolenz, Jr. became famous at the age of 10 with his own TV show. He has since established himself as an actor on television, film, and musical theatre, and directed a number of movies and music videos. He will always be best known, though, as the drummer and lead singer of the pop-rock band The Monkees.
Dolenz described the Monkees as initially being “a TV show about an imaginary band…that wanted to be the Beatles, that was never successful”. The four actor-musicians, however, soon became a real band, going on to sell more than 75 million records worldwide. At their peak in 1967 they outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.
Dolenz reflects in his outrageously successful career with Cerys, and spins some of the tunes that have defined his life.
Ann Moses played a huge part in establishing the public persona of each of the actors on The Monkees – I discuss the difference between their many personas in the chapter on Identity Construction (named whimsically for the song A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You). The Monkees was a rare show in which the characters used the names of the actual actors – which begged the question “Where did the actors end and the characters begin in the audience’s mind?”
50 years less one day ago, I met the Monkees for the first time. I was on the “Last Train to Clarksville” – a promotional trip the day before their show aired in 1966. I met all four boys – and while I knew they would be a huge hit, I had no idea of the rousing years ahead, going on tour with them, trips every week to their indoor and outdoor sets as they filmed their magical show. It’s been a great experience and I can’t wait for my reunion with Peter and Micky this Thursday. 50 years later I’ll be doing video interviews with them – no tape recorders, no transcribing, no waiting 1-2 months before the story is in print. It’s definitely has been a wild ride!
In today’s radio interview on Mornings with Nicole Dyer from Brisbane, Australia we can hear the wonderful happiness in her voice as she introduces her interview with Micky. It was great to hear that their radio station has been playing several tracks from Good Times – unlike American radio stations which seem so stuck in pre-planned song lists that we’re lucky to hear “Last Train to Clarksville”. Granted, she speaks more about the new album than the show (my focus in the book) but I appreciated that she clearly knew – and loved – the Monkees.
Micky Dolenz on 50 years of ‘The Monkees’
On September 8, 1965, an ad appeared in the entertainment trade magazine ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ seeking ‘Folk & Rock musicians, singers, for acting roles in new TV series, running parts for 4 insane boys, Age 17-21″. Over 400 young men applied – but for the four who were chosen, it would change their life.This week marks 50 years since we first heard the Monkees theme song, and this year, the Monkees released an album of new material. And 2 of the Monkees, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz, are heading to Australia as a part of their 50th anniversary tour, and they’re playing on the Gold Coast in December. Nicole Dyer spoke to Micky Dolenz…
From the Index… The D’s – “Why The Monkees Matter”
Wonder what and who I mentioned in “Why The Monkees Matter”? Check out these index entries!
“Daily Nightly” 36
Daily Show, The 113
Dana, Bill 75
“Dance, Monkees, Dance” 44, 74-75, 87, 136
Danny Kaye Show, The 27, 84
Danny Thomas Show, The 15, 21
David Letterman Show, The 135
Davis, Elias 88
Davy, the Monkee; see also Jones, Davy
Dawson’s Creek 22
“Daydream Believer” 3, 132, 142, 145, 149-150
Daydream Believers: The Monkee’s Story 122, 141-142
DeMieri, Dominick 130
De Ville, Paul Rinaldo 72
Dean, James 13
Dean Martin Show, The 100-101
Dee, Sandra 13
Deluise, Dom 51
Dennis the Menace 8, 105
Densmore, John 2
Denver, Bob 17
Desperate Housewives 104
Despicable Me 145
“The Devil and Peter Tork” 29-30, 34, 70, 80, 88, 93, 109, 136, 138,
Devil Wears Prada, The 66
Diamond, I.A.L. 111
Diamond, Neil 53, 150
Dick, Robert 130
Dick Van Dyke Show, The 64
Different Drum 89, 139
Dilz, Henry 124
Disney 12
Disneyland 34-35
Dixon, Ivan 68
Dolenz, George 22, 74, 121
Dolenz, Micky 2, 6-8, 15-17, 21-22, 24-27, 29, 31-42, 44-49, 52, 54-56, 59-62, 65, 68-69, 71-74, 76, 79, 81, 86-94, 96-104, 107-109, 111-112, 114-115, 117, 120-121, 123-129, 131-133, 135, 136-146, 149-156
Domino Theory 23, 39
Donahue, Troy 15
“Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth” 48, 115, 125
Dortort, David 16
Douglas, Chip 71
Douglass, Charles 103
Dream On 95
Dreesen, Tom 69
Duke, Patty 18
Dylan, Bob 41, 50
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
New Book: OUTSIDE IN BOLDLY GOES: 117 New Perspectives on 117 Classic Star Trek Stories by 117 Writers with essay by Dr. Rosanne Welch
So excited to see the publication of my latest essay in this fun collection on the original Star Trek series – the Outside In book series invited 117 writers to contribute essays to the book.
They assigned each of us an original episode of the show on which to write a 1500 word essay. My episode is This Side of Paradise where the crew lands on a planet and Spock falls in love with a woman who spouts Walden and Thoreau – written by the brilliant D.C. Fontana, who I note inspired many more women to write television.
OUTSIDE IN BOLDLY GOES will be 352 pages, paperback, $19.95, available in late October 2016.
Pre-Order Directly from the Publisher Today
See the sidebar for more books and essays from Dr. Rosanne Welch
Quotes from “Why The Monkees Matter” by Dr. Rosanne Welch – 25 in a series
** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
“Among all the counter-culture references in the program, it is clearly the anti-authority/anti-war theme that appears most frequently in Monkees episodes. A storyline as simple as “The Chaperone” makes an anti-war statement when it makes fun of the militaristic father playing with toy soldiers on his desk while in full uniform even though he is long retired.”
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
From the Index… The C’s – “Why The Monkees Matter”
Wonder what and who I mentioned in “Why The Monkees Matter”? Check out these index entries!
Cactus Flower 148
Cagney, Jimmy 73-74, 115
Cambridge, Godfrey 70-71
Cantrell, Laura 149
“Captain Crocodile” 75, 89-90, 116
Captain Kangaroo 89-90
Captain Nice 51
“The Card Carrying Red Shoes” 39, 79, 91, 115, 132
Carlin, George 38
Caruso, Dee 20, 29, 46-47, 60-61, 70, 72-73, 75, 77-79, 89, 90, 98, 108, 112-114, 117, 126
“The Case of the Missing Monkee” 75, 89, 115
Cassidy, David 128, 130-131, 151
Cavell, Stanley 44
CBS 32, 34, 90-91, 130
CBS Sunday Morning 130-131, 144
“Ceiling In My Room” 129
Chadwick, Bill and John 34
Chan, Charlie 75
“The Chaperone” 38, 87, 110-112, 126
Charlie’s Angels 104
Charley’s Aunt 87, 111-112
Charon, Irwin 80
Chavez, Cesar 71
Cherry, Stanley Z. 111
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 75
Circus Boy 17, 88, 104-105, 121, 127
Civil Rights Act of 1964 36, 69
Civil Rights Movement 67, 69-71, 81, 146
Clark, Dick 19
Cobain, Kurt 152
Comedy Is Hard! 128
Conried, Hans 21, 35, 39, 100
Cosby, Bill 68, 71
Count of Monte Cristo, The 121
counterculture 26, 29, 32, 38, 40, 46, 49
Crawford, Stanley 99
“Cuddly Toy” 92
Cyrano de Bergerac 113
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
Quotes from “Why The Monkees Matter” by Dr. Rosanne Welch – 24 in a series
** Buy “Why The Monkees Matter” Today **
The long-haired weirdo references lead to a connection with the emerging drug scene when long-hair became the visual clue to a joke involving guest star Frank Zappa in the Teaser of “Monkees Blow Their Minds” (written by Meyerson). Zappa appeared costumed as Mike and Mike appeared costumed as Zappa and they interviewed each other after Zappa called The Monkees “this wonderful television program that has done so much for you young people out there.”
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition
From The Research Vault: Micky and Peter on Nightwatch, 1986 [Video]
Considering the current tour is being mounted by Micky and Peter it’s interesting to watch this 1986 interview the two of them had with Charlie Rose when he was hosting Nightwatch. They attempt to analyze the success of the 20th reunion tour – it’s obvious that even they were still in shock at how much they are loved. Micky continues to credit the quality of the writing – as Charlie Rose says, in the way a television producer would speak.
Rose also asks how it feels ‘at their ages’ (in their mid 40s for gosh sakes) to be on stage in front of so many adoring fans. 🙂
It’s charming to hear them discuss “What happens next?” when no one knew Good Times was in the future. It’s also great to hear an interviewer who actually researched them before forming his questions. When he asks Peter why he quit, Peter admits he was too tied to the idea of an organic rock band – which is very reminiscent of Peter’s recent comments in the “The Monkees: Our Life in 15 Songs” when he said one of the reasons the Good Times album works is that it “also comes down to the ethos that a pop-rock group needs to write all its own material has faded enormously.”
Get “Good Times” directly from Amazon.com
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
Previously in Out of Research Vault:
- Comedy Writer Treva Silverman Interview from the Emmy Foundation
- Micky Dolenz on Muppets Tonight
- Pre-Monkees Davy Jones sings “I’m Going to Buy Me A Dog” on Farmer’s Daughter TV Show
- Previously on CBS Sunday Morning: Davy Jones in 1993
- What is it? It’s the Monkeemobile! – August Chronicle, November 7, 2014
- Micky Dolenz & Peter Tork on Nightwatch – 1986
- The Monkees In Melbourne, Australia 1968 [Video]
From the Index… The B’s – “Why The Monkees Matter”
Wonder what and who I mentioned in “Why The Monkees Matter”? Check out these index entries!
Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, The 13
Bacon, Kevin 130, 151
Ballantine, Carl 21
Balmuth, Bernard 98
Barnes, Ken 69
Batman 7, 90, 116
Baywatch 22
Beach Blanket Bingo 15, 21
Beach Boys, The 14, 146
Beatles, The 3, 7, 23, 32, 34, 46, 83-84, 101, 121, 123, 125, 135, 146, 149, 151, 154
Beatty, Warren 17
Bechdel, Alison 65
Bechdel Test 65-66
Beck, Vincent 78-79
Bellah, Ross 105
Ben Casey 97, 131
Ben Stiller Show, The 153-154
Benet, Stephen Vincent 29-30
Bennett, Phillip 105
Bennett, Tony 156
Benny, Jack 121
Bergman, Andrew 91
Bergman, Ingrid 148
Beverly Hillbillies, The 116
Beverly Hills, 90210 13, 22
Bewitched 7-8, 45, 104, 148
Big 38, 53
Big Bang Theory, The 54, 69, 109-110
Big Time Rush 142
Bikini Beach 94
Birds, The Bees and the Monkees, The 130, 132
Blackboard Jungle 13
Blauner, Steve 96, 146
Blazing Saddles 91
Blue Bloods 119
Blue Moo 133
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice 27
Bob Newhart Show, The 96
Bogart, Humphrey 105
Bonnie and Clyde 17, 74
Bodroghkozy, Aniko 14
Bonanza 8, 16, 59, 107, 114, 116
Bond, Jame 46, 113, 115
Bowery Boys, The 124, 135
Bowie, David 149
Boy Meets World 120, 144-145, 155
Boyce, Tommy 27, 80, 88, 156
Boynton, Sandra 133
Brady Bunch, The 108, 131, 144, 155
Brady Bunch Movie, The 131
Brady, Marsha 108, 131
Bramley, William 21
Breaking Bad 144, 145
Brooks, Mel 91
Brothers, Dr. Joyce 61
Brown, James 69
Buckley, Tim 20, 148
Buddha 25, 33, 45, 75
Buffalo Springfield 36, 148
Bullwinkle 47
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 22
Burns, Edd “Kookie” 15-16
Burns, George 9, 11, 93, 97, 121, 123
Burns, Ronnie 11
Burnett, Carol 51
Burstyn, Neil 117
Buzzi, Ruth 37, 80
Byrds, The 14, 34, 139, 146, 148
from Why The Monkees Mattered by Dr. Rosanne Welch — Buy your Copy today!
Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
McFarland (Direct from Publisher) | Amazon | Kindle Edition | Nook Edition