Monday, September 12, 2005

"Hey hey we're The Monkees..."

Inspired by the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night", "The Monkees" made its debut on this date in 1966 on the heels of the release of "Last Train To Clarksville", the group's first single...

The show was entertaining if nothing else with a comical look at a wacky, fun-loving rock group creating lots of mischief in every episode. And oh by the way, thanks to great songs and the capable singing of Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz, the Monkees would reel off one hit after another...

In the span of just a couple of years, The Monkees would tally 13 singles that charted Top 40, 7 Top 10's, including 3 chart toppers: "Last Train To Clarksville", "I'm A Believer" and "Daydream Believer". Not bad for a group created from scratch thanks to an ad in Variety magazine...

More interesting stuff on The Monkees in my commentary...

More September 12 Memories...

1947) "Meet The Press" (still on the air) debuted.

1948) Elvis Presley, age 13, moves with his parents from Tupelo, Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee...

1953) The Brooklyn Dodgers clinch the NL pennant earlier than any other team in baseball history...

1953) U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island...

1954) "Lassie" debuts on CBS-TV ("Lassie" will save lives for 17 years before ending in 1971)...

1959) "Bonanza" brings the Ponderosa to our TV screens for the first time...

1963) We say goodbye to "The Beave" as "Leave It To Beaver" ends its 6 year run...

1964) The Beatles pay their first visit to Boston, selling out the Garden (13,909)...

1964) The first football game is played at Shea Stadium with the Jets beating Denver 30-6...

1966) "Family Affair" debuts on CBS-TV...

1966) "The Monkees" debuts on NBC-TV (feature story)...

1966) The Beatles receive a gold record for "Yellow Submarine"...

1970) "Fire And Rain" is released by James Taylor...

1974) Violence erupts on the opening day of classes in Boston in opposition to court-ordered busing...

1979) Carl Yastrzemski singles against the Yankees to become the 1st AL player to get 3,000 career hits and 400 career home runs...

1980) "20/20" presents an in-depth report on the death of Elvis Presley, raising unanswered questions about his death. The official case is reopened...

1983) Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a U.S. citizen...

1984) Michael Jordan signs a 7-year contract with the Chicago Bulls...

1984) The Mets' Dwight Gooden sets a rookie and major league strike out record with his 251st strike out...

1992) Actor Anthony Perkins succumbs to AIDS...

2001) President Bush labels the 911 attacks, "acts of war"...

2002) Three former Tyco executives are charged with bilking hundreds of millions from employees and investors...

Happy Birthday to...

1925) "Our Gang's" Dickie Moore...

1931) George Jones...

1949) Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler...

1952) America's Gerry Beckley...

1957) Rachel Ward...

1963) Amy Yasbeck...

1978) "American Idol's" Ruben Studdard...

Commentary...

During the 2-year run of the Monkees TV series, the group would sell over $50 million singles and LPs world-wide, a remarkable run for a group that was assembled from a Variety ad...

Although the only Monkee hired as a result of the ad was Michael Nesmith, he did have some show business experience as a performer. Davy Jones was already under contract to Screen Gems which was looking for a vehicle for him, Dolenz heard about the audition from his agent and Peter Tork was referred by his friend Stephen Stills who auditioned for a part in the show but failed...

"The Monkees" last original episode would air in August of 1968. Reruns of the show would then run on CBS-TV on Saturday mornings from 1969 to 1973...

A day without sunshine is probably night...