This song is about a guy who is being sent to Viet Nam and he's begging his girl to meet him before he goes because he doesn't know if he will be killed and never see her again. I really enjoy your channel - hang in there.
Took my son to see Mickey Dolenz last fall. He told of stories from their time. Like Peter's insane parties and Steven Stills being his roommate in college. Legendary writers Geffen & King, Boyce & Hart, and Neil Diamond. I was one of the org Monkey fans.
Mickey is singing this one. I was. A teenager and never knew it was a staging place for Viet Nam bound soldiers. My brother went to Viet Nam and made it home. We worried every day he was there. Died of alcoholism at 61, was an important man in his job. Made a difference after Viet Nam but it all killed him prematurely. RIP Ricky. Thanks Lee.
I LOVE THE MONKEES!!!!And I don't care who knows lol. Very underrated group with massive impact at the time. Their songs were catchy and memorable. The show had me in stitches when I was young. No violence, no swearing, no aggression, no politics, just fun and music! Only Micky left now, RIP to Peter Davy and Mike, they were the background sound of my happiest days as a teenager. Thank you Lee. 👍💙🇬🇧
@@billadkins5150 Neither did the Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, etc etc etc. What's the issue? Everyone knew they were hired to do a TV show....
@@thomastimlin1724 Most of the people you mention are not musicians in the first place. They're singers. And the beach boys is a poor example: "Yes, the Beach Boys did play instruments on their hit songs, with Brian Wilson primarily playing bass guitar, Carl Wilson playing lead guitar, Dennis Wilson playing drums, Al Jardine playing rhythm guitar, and Mike Love focusing mainly on vocals, sometimes adding saxophone; however, they occasionally utilized session musicians, particularly on more complex arrangements, known as the "Wrecking Crew."
This was kind of slipped by the censors. Clarksville, Tennessee was the home of the 101st Airborne that was serving in Vietnam. Hence the line "and I don't know if I'm ever coming home." They couldn't reference the war or make an outright protest song or a TV show, especially one like that. The music reminds me of "I Feel Fine," but was said to be inspired by "Paperback Writer" which I can totally hear.
They had the best writers and musicians of that time. Their own-written stuff is as good or better. They outsold the Beatles for a time for a reason. Still love them at 68.
Their 3rd album Headquarters went to #1 for 1 week and then it was pushed to #2 where it stayed for 11 weeks. The album that kept it from #1 was SGT Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. You should check out episodes of the show. Still funny today.
@@L33Reacts Fun facts Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkeys for a hot minute. Imagine that:) The Monkeys revolted against their handlers because they wanted to be a real band and do their songs for the upcoming season or else! They were promptly canceled and replaced by a cartoon about a band...The Archies. Check out their hit "Sugar Sugar" 🤣
The songs in the show had these silly montage videos with clips that weren’t actually from the show’s storyline. But related to the storyline. So it was a direct clip from the show. Essentially an early type of music video embedded in the show.
I was in the core demographic when their show aired, a 10 yr old boy. It exploded into something big, I don’t think you can grasp how huge they were. The show was so much fun to watch as a kid, mostly silly but sometimes serious, they always played a song or two every show and I think we enjoyed that as much as the show itself. These guys are probably my second favorite all time band behind the Beatles, hardly any “bad” songs. I’d love to see you go deeper into some of their other styles; there was funny (Gonna Buy Me A Dog, Peter Percival Pattersons Pet Pig Porky), funky (Goin’ Down), trippy (Daily Nightly, Can You Dig It, The Porpoise Song) - I could go on and on, lots of really good music!
I feel the same way, my second all time favorite band. The Who and Prog rock (Yes, ELP, Steely Dan) make up the rest. I still listen to the Monkees often. Music of my childhood.
And, the music on that one is written by the Monkees themselves, with lyrics by Diane Hildebrand. (Loosely based on Parchman farm by Mose Allison - more inspired, really).
It's hard to imagine now in 2024, just how Powerful, TV Networks were, there were only 3 in the whole Country, and they were only on until about 1am. Everyone watched the same shows (for the most part). Color TV had just started to be broadcast by '66 and most families had only 1 black and white TV, with an 18 inch TV being a large one. Shows like "The Monkees" were one of the few shows, made for kids and teens. Families all sat down together and watched most shows. Variety Shows were huge, like Ed Sullivan with musical and novelty acts on Sunday Nights. Jackie Gleason,with his orchestra, and the June Taylor Dancers opening the show with the climax of the dance being a shot from above with the dancers in a kaleidescope effect, comedy bits.A very different World...
@@nanlewis Thank You Nan! In reality, my Family only received 2 channels NBC ( WRGB Schenectady) and CBS ( WTEN Albany) and 10 was fuzzy!I probably listened to more radio than Television, because there was more Variety....
It wasn't until I learned to play this song on bass did I realize that the music sounds like a train. You can really hear it when you pay attention to the the rhythm section and him singing "woo". The flipside of the single, "Take a Giant Step" is another great song.
❤lol, my dad was an engineer on C&O and train songs always make me smile! 😢🥰 Loved watching Lee's face in this reaction! You are so well rounded young man 🎉!! 💕🎶💕
Pleasant Valley Sunday is another great song by The Monkees. Boyce and Hart had two memorable hits of their own: Alice Long and I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.
The Monkees are great. Horribly underrated. Should be in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. Actors originally cast for a TV show about a band who wanted to be like The Beatles, then the show became huge, the songs became huge, and unbelievably began topping the charts along with The Beatles. Their early songs written by some of the greatest songwriters in history, Neil Diamond, Carole King, Harry Neilson, Neil Sedaka, Boyce and Hart, etc etc., and their original backing band was The Wrecking Crew, who did hundreds of hits records, The Beach Boys, etc. Then they actually went on tour and played live, went into the studio on their third album, HEADQUARTERS, and demanded to make the album themselves, they played all the instruments and wrote most of the songs. The Beatles LOVED them, threw them a party in London, invited them to the SGT PEPPER album recording, etc. I just went to a Micky Dolenz concert in LA a couple days ago, and he was AWESOME. Do more Monkees.
Dude, the Monkees are great, keep them coming. The first two albums the Monkees mostly just sang, like a vocal group & faked playing on the TV show. But Peter Tork & Michael Nesmith were already musicians. And I believe Nesmith wrote a couple of songs for them from the very beginning. So yes definitely keep diving in. Here's a few suggestions. She I'm A Believer (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone You Just May Be The One Pleant Valley Sunday Valerie What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round Love Is Only Sleeping. Lee, I could go on & on. This is a great band that should be in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, even though it's turning into a joke, but great stuff Lee, I hope you continue with their stuff.
Okay, then, here's another little piece of trivia. In the 1950s, Mickey Dolenz was the star of a weekly series for Saturday mornings called, Circus Boy. I was admittedly a real fan of that show, and I sat on my butt in front of the television set every Saturday morning, along with the cartoons, and was enthralled by it. And while I was that young boy, I wanted to be in the circus so terribly bad because of thst show!!
I loved The Monkees obsessively when they were on TV. I still enjoy their music now. All the H8Rs can move along to other songs and let the MonkeeManiacs have this space. Keep up the good work, Lee.
I’m a new subscriber and huge Beatles fan for the last 25 years. But, I started out as a Monkees fan when I was in junior high. Love them so much. Listen to some deeper cuts - Sometime in the Morning, The Porpoise Song, Words, As We Go Along, Daily Nightly, and so many more. The Monkees were hired as actors for the tv show but became a band themselves in every sense of the word. Micky always said it was like Leonard Nemoy becoming a Vulcan. They’re great though. Watch their show too - it’s hilarious!
The music is the music -- and it still sounds fresh. It really doesn't matter if they didn't play most of the instruments, they worked their butts off for the show. Then had to deal with all the merchandising and rabid popularity too.. I loved them then and still do!
Gerry McGee was my wife's Great Uncle from Eunice, Louisiana, who just passed away recently. He played with Elvis, Kris Kristofferson, and was a long-standing member of The Ventures.
I agree with you L33, it’s your show, run with it. As I’ve commented on your Rascals reaction about the weekend AM radio morning playlist, this was one of many songs you heard with “Beautiful Morning” and “Groovin” I can still feel, see, and hear those mornings.
This is why I love you, Lee. You are hilarious and so spot on in this reaction. I don’t know why I never connected it to Day Triper but you’re right! That video was in the show. They had cheesy plots where at some point they get into trouble and then do what was known as a Monkees Romp where a song was played and they ran around like fools, very fun.They did all of the vocals, even in the early records. There is some great music in there, especially by Michael Nesmith.
Grab a soda, this is a long one... The show used clips like that quite often, performance with stock footage and bits specifically shot during any given episode (my friends have always referred to these as "romps" and were an obvious influence on Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Scooby-Doo and Josie and the Pussycats when it came to the musical chase scenes). The Wrecking Crew and the Candy Store Prophets (Boyce and Hart's backing band) provided most of backing tracks for the first two albums, the third album and 1997's "Justus" were performed by the actual Monkees and the rest of their albums were usually a mix of them with studio musicians. Last Train only features Micky on vocals, the shooting schedule of the show didn't allow for a lot of studio time and having more than one Monkee in the studio at a time usually resulted in chaos in the very beginning. "Last Train" came from Boyce and Hart catching the tail-end of "Paperback Writer" for the first time and mistakenly thinking it was a song about a train, when they found out it wasn't they wrote the song which is why it does sound like "Paperback Writer". Mike Nesmith was a singer-songwriter when he auditioned for the group. The Butterfield Blues Band had recorded one of his songs, "Mary, Mary" and Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies took Nesmith's "Different Drum" to number one during the run of the Monkees' series. Peter Tork was making a living as a folk singer, he was classically trained on piano and guitar and recommended for the group by Steven Stills after he'd be rejected. Micky knew how to play guitar and had been in local Los Angeles bands (both of his parents were professional singers), he learned to play drums for the show (being a drummer you can probably spot that he's playing a left-handed set-up even though he's right handed). Davy came from London and Broadway's musical theaters (he got his start playing the Artful Dodger in "Oliver" and he'd done some British soap operas as a child), he learned to play bass for the group's live appearances and concerts and had a special 2/3 scale bass made for him. The group was initially hired just based on their acting and improv abilities, the producers just really got lucky that all of them had some amount of musical talent. When reading about the band you will often see a mention that the group "out sold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined!" which is a fact that no one ever bothered to check. During an interview circa 1967 Mike got tired about answering the same questions over and over about the group not playing their own instruments while they were on tour and he just made up that "fact" on the spot to shut up the reporter and it's been repeated and repeated over the years with Mike confessing to the fib a couple of years before his death. The Beatles were fans (John Lennon told them that they were the "greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers"), both Don Henley and Phil Collins have credited Micky for them realizing that they could be the drummer and lead singer of a band at the same time and their TV show and music had a big influence on the punk movement a decade later. There was a biopic made by VH1 called "Daydream Believers", its a condensed and fictionalized retelling of the TV years, it is on RUclips and I recommend giving it a watch if you've enjoyed "Daydream Believers" and "Last Train to Clarksville" there is also a documentary with a lot of interviews by the people involved call "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees!" that is very good, as well.
The riff is so good. Mickey vocals as well. And of course the best songwriter's money can buy . And Paper back writer is definitely an inspiration to this song
The TV show was fun when I was a kid. They had some good songs. They became friends with the Beatles. They also made a movie. Frank Zappa appeared in the movie.
When this was on the TV show September 12, 1966, I was 10 years old. We got one chance to see the tv show, rarely reruns. I gave up basketball because, I would not miss The Monkees TV Show. Of Course I had all their albums, and their 45's.
I got to see the last tour with Mickey Dolenz and Michael Nesmith in Atlanta a couple of years ago just a few months before Michael's passing. Great musicianship and emotionality. I didn't know Mike wrote "Beat of a Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies until he played it that night. "Papa Jean's Blues" is a great deep cut from "The Monkees" album with Mike on lead vocal. The Monkees forever! -:)
He wasn't represented in the studio lineup of this song, but Mike Nesmith was a GREAT songwriter, singer, and a very good guitarist. His song with the Monkees, "Listen to The Band" is just one example!
The Monkees were a made-for-TV group, for their TV show. I was in the eighth grade when this song was released. We weren't supposed to take their music seriously and tried to dismiss it as "Bubble Gum" music but their songs were written by good songwriters, and they have endured.
Loved your reaction, Lee. And what you were viewing was actually lifted from the program itself. They always spliced in performance clips with fun stuff they would do to accompany their tracks. A lot of critics were dismissive of them at the time, but they developed a rabid fan base because of the TV show airing alongside the release of their albums.
The guitar riff is definitely inspired by Day Tripper. The Monkees first hit released a week or so before their TV series premiered in 1966. And with that, as if by accident, Bubble Gum rock was born!
Thank you for displaying the album cover., I stared at Davy Jones for days on end lol. Talented singers, great songwriters and producers. It was magic.
Yes me too re Davy … I was actually in children’s hospital by lake Windermere …paralysed age 14 ..when I first saw the Monkees TV show and one look at Davy and I was gone lol
The Monkees were a fun band and they definitely had an interesting fun sing a long style. Anytime I hear them these days I get an earworm of the song that stays w me for a while. Of course I loved the oddball Peter the best
I got to see the Monkee's in concert back in 89. We wound up going to Great Adventure for the day and had NO idea they were doing a concert there. It was just Davey, Mickey and Peter during that time. They were in their 40's I think. Davey had like really long wavey hair lol. He was still a chick magnet back then. He said his daughter's friends all had a crush on him lol. Mickey was sporting his long white trench coat using like synth drums. They came on stage wheeling the bed in like they do in the opening of the show. It's was pretty cool man.
This was their first hit! But I really became more aware of them with "Pleasant Valley Sunday". It is my fave Monkees song. Of course, it was written by the iconic Gerry Goffin and Carole King. But The Monkees version was fire! I still get a huge nostalgic rush today when I hear the song! The memories of that Summer are still crisp for me! "Sgt. Pepper's" had just come out right before The Monkees came out. "All You Need is Love" had come out in early July. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" then hit the airwaves (along with so much other stunning music at the time). Needless to say, It was one hell of a (now famous) Summer, even for me as a "mere" 14-yr-old Beatles fan!! I LOVED THIS VIDEO!❣💯 I'm sorry somebody attacked you.😔 WTH???
" ( I'm not your )Steppin' Stone" is another great tune.
Absolutely, my band loved playing it heavy n loud. Always brought the house down!!
lol it's my ringtone
Agreed. I think of it is as one of the first punk songs
My Fav!
I also love "The Porpoise Song."
Clarksville was the staging center for people who were being sent to Viet Nam
Plesant Valley Sunday is a good song.
Plays in my head every time I mow my yard... lol
Not good. Great!
A great place to live! :)
Carole King wrote that one, she wrote it about a place I once lived - Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, NJ.
This song is about a guy who is being sent to Viet Nam and he's begging his girl to meet him before he goes because he doesn't know if he will be killed and never see her again. I really enjoy your channel - hang in there.
Thank you I appreciate that… I’m glad you are here! Thank you for explaining it, I actually didn’t put that together.
@@L33Reacts Very few Monkee's fans in 1966 realized what it was about. I know I didn't. Viet Nam really wasn't a 'thing' yet.
@@mr.macbeevee498 The handwriting was on the wall, and I joined the USN a week before the Marines landed at Da Nang...
Took my son to see Mickey Dolenz last fall. He told of stories from their time. Like Peter's insane parties and Steven Stills being his roommate in college. Legendary writers Geffen & King, Boyce & Hart, and Neil Diamond. I was one of the org Monkey fans.
I got to see him in Ojai CA last year. It was a great time and I loved those stories.
Mickey is singing this one. I was. A teenager and never knew it was a staging place for Viet Nam bound soldiers. My brother went to Viet Nam and made it home. We worried every day he was there. Died of alcoholism at 61, was an important man in his job. Made a difference after Viet Nam but it all killed him prematurely. RIP Ricky. Thanks Lee.
Thanks for sharing - people need to know this stuff!
Now do “ I’m a Believer” 👍🏻👏🏻
That one's got my vote
@@gregbacon9808 second that pick ❤
I LOVE THE MONKEES!!!!And I don't care who knows lol. Very underrated group with massive impact at the time. Their songs were catchy and memorable. The show had me in stitches when I was young. No violence, no swearing, no aggression, no politics, just fun and music! Only Micky left now, RIP to Peter Davy and Mike, they were the background sound of my happiest days as a teenager. Thank you Lee. 👍💙🇬🇧
Randy scouse git and Going Down have some mild violence references. I love them too. Saw them 4x in 1986 and 87 and met Micky
The Monkees were GOOD. They had the best songwriters available and producers. At the time there was so much talent around they were overlooked.
They didn’t play on any of their hits. It was all the wrecking crew.
@@billadkins5150 Neither did the Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, Sonny and Cher, etc etc etc. What's the issue? Everyone knew they were hired to do a TV show....
@@thomastimlin1724 Most of the people you mention are not musicians in the first place. They're singers.
And the beach boys is a poor example: "Yes, the Beach Boys did play instruments on their hit songs, with Brian Wilson primarily playing bass guitar, Carl Wilson playing lead guitar, Dennis Wilson playing drums, Al Jardine playing rhythm guitar, and Mike Love focusing mainly on vocals, sometimes adding saxophone; however, they occasionally utilized session musicians, particularly on more complex arrangements, known as the "Wrecking Crew."
This was kind of slipped by the censors. Clarksville, Tennessee was the home of the 101st Airborne that was serving in Vietnam. Hence the line "and I don't know if I'm ever coming home." They couldn't reference the war or make an outright protest song or a TV show, especially one like that. The music reminds me of "I Feel Fine," but was said to be inspired by "Paperback Writer" which I can totally hear.
You would be shocked by the number of great songs they have.
They had the best writers and musicians of that time. Their own-written stuff is as good or better. They outsold the Beatles for a time for a reason. Still love them at 68.
I hope to discover more. This was awesome!
Their 3rd album Headquarters went to #1 for 1 week and then it was pushed to #2 where it stayed for 11 weeks. The album that kept it from #1 was SGT Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. You should check out episodes of the show. Still funny today.
@@L33Reacts Fun facts Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkeys for a hot minute. Imagine that:) The Monkeys revolted against their handlers because they wanted to be a real band and do their songs for the upcoming season or else! They were promptly canceled and replaced by a cartoon about a band...The Archies. Check out their hit "Sugar Sugar" 🤣
The songs in the show had these silly montage videos with clips that weren’t actually from the show’s storyline. But related to the storyline. So it was a direct clip from the show. Essentially an early type of music video embedded in the show.
This song actually got some pushback. Imagine, a bubblegum pop antiwar song
Only it's not bubble gum
The Wrecking Crew cranking out another hit.
not the Wrecking Crew. The Wrecking Crew didn't play on of the Monkees' hits
I was in the core demographic when their show aired, a 10 yr old boy. It exploded into something big, I don’t think you can grasp how huge they were. The show was so much fun to watch as a kid, mostly silly but sometimes serious, they always played a song or two every show and I think we enjoyed that as much as the show itself.
These guys are probably my second favorite all time band behind the Beatles, hardly any “bad” songs.
I’d love to see you go deeper into some of their other styles; there was funny (Gonna Buy Me A Dog, Peter Percival Pattersons Pet Pig Porky), funky (Goin’ Down), trippy (Daily Nightly, Can You Dig It, The Porpoise Song) - I could go on and on, lots of really good music!
I feel the same way, my second all time favorite band. The Who and Prog rock (Yes, ELP, Steely Dan) make up the rest. I still listen to the Monkees often. Music of my childhood.
Love the Monkees❤ My personal fave is Valerie I had that on 45 lol 🎶💯🔥
I used to play that over and over!
I was obsessed with the Monkees in the 60s. They were huge here in the UK. They morphed from Beatles rip off into a great band and we loved them.
63 years old now, they were such heart throbs. I loved their TV show
On this album is a song called Gonna Buy Me A Dog. It's hilarious
Here is a miniscule piece of trivia. Neil Diamond wrote the Monkees big hit, I'm A Believer.
And another...David Jones was the reason David Bowie changed his name which is actually David Jones.
@@andrewmackinnon3378
Very cool.
Zero autotune! 👏🏼
You gotta hear , "Going Down" by The Monkees, with Mickey Dolenz on vocals, it's amazing!
I’ll add it to the list! Thank you for the suggestion
And, the music on that one is written by the Monkees themselves, with lyrics by Diane Hildebrand. (Loosely based on Parchman farm by Mose Allison - more inspired, really).
You enjoying the Monkees has influenced me to subscribe to your channel. I’m 70 yrs old. I hope that doesn’t embarrass you.
It's hard to imagine now in 2024, just how Powerful, TV Networks were, there were only 3 in the whole Country, and they were only on until about 1am. Everyone watched the same shows (for the most part). Color TV had just started to be broadcast by '66 and most families had only 1 black and white TV, with an 18 inch TV being a large one. Shows like "The Monkees" were one of the few shows, made for kids and teens. Families all sat down together and watched most shows. Variety Shows were huge, like Ed Sullivan with musical and novelty acts on Sunday Nights. Jackie Gleason,with his orchestra, and the June Taylor Dancers opening the show with the climax of the dance being a shot from above with the dancers in a kaleidescope effect, comedy bits.A very different World...
Yes! You captured how it was perfectly!
@@nanlewis Thank You Nan! In reality, my Family only received 2 channels NBC ( WRGB Schenectady) and CBS ( WTEN Albany) and 10 was fuzzy!I probably listened to more radio than Television, because there was more Variety....
Great commitment and enthusiasm. Stay unscripted! Enjoy The Monkees. I'm having a happy Sunday in my valley.
I’m glad to hear you are having a good day. Thank you for watching!
Micky's vocals are great, so much feeling. Micky def sung this. Very distinctive voice.
It wasn't until I learned to play this song on bass did I realize that the music sounds like a train. You can really hear it when you pay attention to the the rhythm section and him singing "woo". The flipside of the single, "Take a Giant Step" is another great song.
❤lol, my dad was an engineer on C&O and train songs always make me smile! 😢🥰
Loved watching Lee's face in this reaction! You are so well rounded young man 🎉!! 💕🎶💕
Pleasant Valley Sunday is another great song by The Monkees. Boyce and Hart had two memorable hits of their own: Alice Long and I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.
Easily, their most ambitious song.
I think it's a cover. I think the Raiders did it first
@@MrKeychange It appears that the song was written by Goffin and King, and recorded first by The Monkees.
Mickey's voice is so perfect 👌
All train songs are great songs
Train songs make good album tracks.
@@davidcopson5800 train tracks lol. Good one
The streak continues
@@Hartlor_Tayley I never sleep on a pun.
@@davidcopson5800 good policy, besides they’re lumpy.
The Monkees are fun. It's not bad music by any means. They're fine. Not everything is a symphony!! ❤
Glad to hear you like it!
Hey Hey We're the Monlees is worth a listen.
Great guitar intro by Louis Shelton of the Wrecking Crew
He did the amazing guitar for "Valerie" too. I used to think it was Mike playing it.
@@Tarkus7 I did also!
"Goin' Down" is one of their best .
The "Porpoise Song" is also worth hearing. It's a psychedelic masterpiece composed by Carole King (lyrics by her husband, Gerry Goffin).
The Monkees are great. Horribly underrated. Should be in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame. Actors originally cast for a TV show about a band who wanted to be like The Beatles, then the show became huge, the songs became huge, and unbelievably began topping the charts along with The Beatles. Their early songs written by some of the greatest songwriters in history, Neil Diamond, Carole King, Harry Neilson, Neil Sedaka, Boyce and Hart, etc etc., and their original backing band was The Wrecking Crew, who did hundreds of hits records, The Beach Boys, etc. Then they actually went on tour and played live, went into the studio on their third album, HEADQUARTERS, and demanded to make the album themselves, they played all the instruments and wrote most of the songs. The Beatles LOVED them, threw them a party in London, invited them to the SGT PEPPER album recording, etc. I just went to a Micky Dolenz concert in LA a couple days ago, and he was AWESOME. Do more Monkees.
I was 7 when this was on TV they were they coolest man, but they sure have stood the test of time.
Highly underrated. Only consider pop, but I like it my niece and her friends like them.
Dude, the Monkees are great, keep them coming.
The first two albums the Monkees mostly just sang, like a vocal group & faked playing on the TV show. But Peter Tork & Michael Nesmith were already musicians. And I believe Nesmith wrote a couple of songs for them from the very beginning. So yes definitely keep diving in. Here's a few suggestions.
She
I'm A Believer
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
You Just May Be The One
Pleant Valley Sunday
Valerie
What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round
Love Is Only Sleeping.
Lee, I could go on & on. This is a great band that should be in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, even though it's turning into a joke, but great stuff Lee, I hope you continue with their stuff.
'As We Go Along', 'The Porpoise Song', '(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone' are musts!
Any mention of the Porpoise Song is a great post!
Great song no matter how it got made .
Okay, then, here's another little piece of trivia. In the 1950s, Mickey Dolenz was the star of a weekly series for Saturday mornings called, Circus Boy.
I was admittedly a real fan of that show, and I sat on my butt in front of the television set every Saturday morning, along with the cartoons, and was enthralled by it. And while I was that young boy, I wanted to be in the circus so terribly bad because of thst show!!
I remember
I used to watch it according to my mother, but I don't remember. I was only two years old.
I loved The Monkees obsessively when they were on TV. I still enjoy their music now. All the H8Rs can move along to other songs and let the MonkeeManiacs have this space. Keep up the good work, Lee.
I always liked this song.
Louis Shelton played guitar on Boz Scaggs, Lowdown, an absolute gem. BTW, Mickey Dolenz went to my high school.
Even our Bubblegum Pop was good in the 60's.
You’re right. Mickey was vocals. 3 Monkees were actor/musicians. Davey was a drummer but they wanted his face out front for the teeny boppers.
Recall sitting on the floor with a bowl of cereal, watching the B&W TV show
Their first single. It went to #1.❤
Yes!!!
The “MONKEES “have a bunch of great songs!!
I don't care who actually wrote or performed the Monkees' hits, they're all so good. Have a good one L33.
I’m a new subscriber and huge Beatles fan for the last 25 years. But, I started out as a Monkees fan when I was in junior high. Love them so much. Listen to some deeper cuts - Sometime in the Morning, The Porpoise Song, Words, As We Go Along, Daily Nightly, and so many more. The Monkees were hired as actors for the tv show but became a band themselves in every sense of the word. Micky always said it was like Leonard Nemoy becoming a Vulcan. They’re great though. Watch their show too - it’s hilarious!
The music is the music -- and it still sounds fresh. It really doesn't matter if they didn't play most of the instruments, they worked their butts off for the show. Then had to deal with all the merchandising and rabid popularity too.. I loved them then and still do!
Gerry McGee was my wife's Great Uncle from Eunice, Louisiana, who just passed away recently. He played with Elvis, Kris Kristofferson, and was a long-standing member of The Ventures.
Hey Hey we're the Monkees! theme song is bad ass 😂
Love the Monkey’s. I have since I used to watch them on TV when I was a kid. Great, feel good music.
I agree with you L33, it’s your show, run with it. As I’ve commented on your Rascals reaction about the weekend AM radio morning playlist, this was one of many songs you heard with “Beautiful Morning” and “Groovin” I can still feel, see, and hear those mornings.
This is why I love you, Lee. You are hilarious and so spot on in this reaction. I don’t know why I never connected it to Day Triper but you’re right! That video was in the show. They had cheesy plots where at some point they get into trouble and then do what was known as a Monkees Romp where a song was played and they ran around like fools, very fun.They did all of the vocals, even in the early records. There is some great music in there, especially by Michael Nesmith.
Then I saw her face , now I’m a believer 😊
Loved the Monkees. STILL DO!
Grab a soda, this is a long one... The show used clips like that quite often, performance with stock footage and bits specifically shot during any given episode (my friends have always referred to these as "romps" and were an obvious influence on Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Scooby-Doo and Josie and the Pussycats when it came to the musical chase scenes). The Wrecking Crew and the Candy Store Prophets (Boyce and Hart's backing band) provided most of backing tracks for the first two albums, the third album and 1997's "Justus" were performed by the actual Monkees and the rest of their albums were usually a mix of them with studio musicians. Last Train only features Micky on vocals, the shooting schedule of the show didn't allow for a lot of studio time and having more than one Monkee in the studio at a time usually resulted in chaos in the very beginning. "Last Train" came from Boyce and Hart catching the tail-end of "Paperback Writer" for the first time and mistakenly thinking it was a song about a train, when they found out it wasn't they wrote the song which is why it does sound like "Paperback Writer". Mike Nesmith was a singer-songwriter when he auditioned for the group. The Butterfield Blues Band had recorded one of his songs, "Mary, Mary" and Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies took Nesmith's "Different Drum" to number one during the run of the Monkees' series. Peter Tork was making a living as a folk singer, he was classically trained on piano and guitar and recommended for the group by Steven Stills after he'd be rejected. Micky knew how to play guitar and had been in local Los Angeles bands (both of his parents were professional singers), he learned to play drums for the show (being a drummer you can probably spot that he's playing a left-handed set-up even though he's right handed). Davy came from London and Broadway's musical theaters (he got his start playing the Artful Dodger in "Oliver" and he'd done some British soap operas as a child), he learned to play bass for the group's live appearances and concerts and had a special 2/3 scale bass made for him. The group was initially hired just based on their acting and improv abilities, the producers just really got lucky that all of them had some amount of musical talent. When reading about the band you will often see a mention that the group "out sold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined!" which is a fact that no one ever bothered to check. During an interview circa 1967 Mike got tired about answering the same questions over and over about the group not playing their own instruments while they were on tour and he just made up that "fact" on the spot to shut up the reporter and it's been repeated and repeated over the years with Mike confessing to the fib a couple of years before his death. The Beatles were fans (John Lennon told them that they were the "greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers"), both Don Henley and Phil Collins have credited Micky for them realizing that they could be the drummer and lead singer of a band at the same time and their TV show and music had a big influence on the punk movement a decade later. There was a biopic made by VH1 called "Daydream Believers", its a condensed and fictionalized retelling of the TV years, it is on RUclips and I recommend giving it a watch if you've enjoyed "Daydream Believers" and "Last Train to Clarksville" there is also a documentary with a lot of interviews by the people involved call "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees!" that is very good, as well.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying music … of any kind. These guys were a hoot!
You do fantastic reactions. Thanks man.
" for Pete"s Sake" a good one by them - flower power!
It's a great song, AND it was co-written by Peter Tork, who also plays the guitar part on it.
The MONKEES WERE CALLED "THE PRE-FAB FOUR" !!
A great song. The Monkees were awesome. I used to watch the TV show a lot. This was a good song to do Lee. Love it!
I loved that show and Beatles cartoons. The Monkees had a bunch of great tunes.
You HAVE to listen to "Take a Giant Step"!!!!!!! ROCKER!
The riff is so good. Mickey vocals as well. And of course the best songwriter's money can buy . And Paper back writer is definitely an inspiration to this song
This is one of the early hits that Michael Nesmith liked. Good tune!
The Monks are a lot of fun. And great songs abound!
"Randy Scouse Git" written by Mickey Dolenz (the last one still living) or "Papa Genes Blues" written by Mike Nesmith.
This one is an even more powerful earworm!
The TV show was fun when I was a kid. They had some good songs.
They became friends with the Beatles. They also made a movie. Frank Zappa appeared in the movie.
Pleasant Valley Sunday is one of my favourites
I love it! Hadn’t heard it in ages- holds up well. Good arrangement, good production of the time. Great Louie Shelton guitar.
When this was on the TV show September 12, 1966, I was 10 years old. We got one chance to see the tv show, rarely reruns. I gave up basketball because, I would not miss The Monkees TV Show. Of Course I had all their albums, and their 45's.
I got to see the last tour with Mickey Dolenz and Michael Nesmith in Atlanta a couple of years ago just a few months before Michael's passing. Great musicianship and emotionality. I didn't know Mike wrote "Beat of a Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies until he played it that night. "Papa Jean's Blues" is a great deep cut from "The Monkees" album with Mike on lead vocal. The Monkees forever! -:)
🌸 fuck the haters , man.... you're doing a fantastic job and I have to say you are my absolute favorite reactor!!
I watched their tv show all the time when I was a kid
He wasn't represented in the studio lineup of this song, but Mike Nesmith was a GREAT songwriter, singer, and a very good guitarist.
His song with the Monkees, "Listen to The Band" is just one example!
The Monkees were a made-for-TV group, for their TV show. I was in the eighth grade when this song was released. We weren't supposed to take their music seriously and tried to dismiss it as "Bubble Gum" music but their songs were written by good songwriters, and they have endured.
Loved your reaction, Lee. And what you were viewing was actually lifted from the program itself. They always spliced in performance clips with fun stuff they would do to accompany their tracks. A lot of critics were dismissive of them at the time, but they developed a rabid fan base because of the TV show airing alongside the release of their albums.
One of, if not their best tune "Papa Genes Blues" 👍
It’s really great watching your reaction to these great 60’s songs , same one I had when I first heard it when it came out !
Micky was one of THE best vocalists of the 1960s!
It is a good song! Used to watch their show. They had some good hits!
You need to do them weekly😊
The guitar riff is definitely inspired by Day Tripper. The Monkees first hit released a week or so before their TV series premiered in 1966. And with that, as if by accident, Bubble Gum rock was born!
Louie Shelton's first job,the Riff for Last train to Clarksville!Louie of The "Wrecking Crew!"
Thank you for displaying the album cover., I stared at Davy Jones for days on end lol. Talented singers, great songwriters and producers. It was magic.
Yes me too re Davy … I was actually in children’s hospital by lake Windermere …paralysed age 14 ..when I first saw the Monkees TV show and one look at Davy and I was gone lol
On this album, check out Sweet Young Thing and Papa Gene's Blues. Good tracks by Mike Nesmith!
The Monkees were a fun band and they definitely had an interesting fun sing a long style. Anytime I hear them these days I get an earworm of the song that stays w me for a while.
Of course I loved the oddball Peter the best
I got to see the Monkee's in concert back in 89. We wound up going to Great Adventure for the day and had NO idea they were doing a concert there. It was just Davey, Mickey and Peter during that time. They were in their 40's I think. Davey had like really long wavey hair lol. He was still a chick magnet back then. He said his daughter's friends all had a crush on him lol.
Mickey was sporting his long white trench coat using like synth drums. They came on stage wheeling the bed in like they do in the opening of the show. It's was pretty cool man.
Best of all Monkees songs. You can stop now. 😉
The Wrecking Crew charts another hit !
Pleasant Valley Sunday is a great Monkees song!
This was their first hit!
But I really became more aware of them with "Pleasant Valley Sunday". It is my fave Monkees song. Of course, it was written by the iconic Gerry Goffin and Carole King. But The Monkees version was fire! I still get a huge nostalgic rush today when I hear the song!
The memories of that Summer are still crisp for me! "Sgt. Pepper's" had just come out right before The Monkees came out. "All You Need is Love" had come out in early July. "Pleasant Valley Sunday" then hit the airwaves (along with so much other stunning music at the time). Needless to say, It was one hell of a (now famous) Summer, even for me as a "mere" 14-yr-old Beatles fan!!
I LOVED THIS VIDEO!❣💯 I'm sorry somebody attacked you.😔 WTH???
I challenge anyone to listen to listen to this without a big smile on their face.
The prefab four were excellent ❤
How many Patrons now? Wow!
Well done buddy. I still watch your Close to the Edge from time to time 😊
The movie Daydream Believers was great. The Monkees sang on all their songs. The song was inspired by Paperback Writer.
Big hit for their debut
And the wonderful jazz singer Cassandra Wilson did a great version of this too; drawing out the sadness of the Vietnam aspect...