MICKY DOLENZ & MORE MONKEES MUSIC!
Micky Dolenz was born into show business in 1945. His father was The Count of Monte Cristo on TV. By 10 years old, Micky got a lead role in Circus Boy on TV. In 1965, at 20, he auditioned for another TV show based on the comedic aspects of The Beatles in the 1964 movie A Hard Day's Night. The Monkees debuted on TV in 1966. (He won the part by rocking out in front of the show’s producers to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”) Out of over 400 applicants, singer Davy Jones (1945-2012), guitarist/composer Mike Nesmith and bassist/keyboardist Peter Tork (1942-2019) won the coveted roles as his bandmates. The show was a smash hit but only ran for two seasons. Across the pond, an upcoming British singer-songwriter named Davy Jones had to change his name because of The Monkees' fame, so he changed it to David Bowie.
The Monkees' first single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, recorded with the help of the finest studio cats in Hollywood at the time, went straight to No. 1. The show won two Emmy Awards. Dolenz wound up directing the last few episodes of the show. The four actors turned into real musicians and toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience as their opening act. A feature film, co-written by actor Jack Nicholson, called Head, was rather psychedelic.
In 1977, Dolenz flew to London to appear in Harry Nilsson’s West End production of The Point. Contracted for three months, he stayed for 12 years producing, writing and directing for the British Broadcasting Company.
In 1986, MTV started broadcasting reruns of The Monkees and a whole new generation got turned on to their music and comedy.
In 1987, the Billboard “Top 200” contained no less than seven Monkees albums catapulting four of them — The Monkees (1966), More Of The Monkees (1967), (1967) and (1967) — to No. 1.
