This coming Thursday, September 12, is the 57th anniversary of the debut of The Monkees TV show. The band was already known because of their hit song, “Last Train To Clarksville,” so the show already had a built-in audience of young fans that wanted to see the show.
I was eight-years-old back then and I couldn’t wait to watch the show and it didn’t disappoint. The show was created to be the TV equivalent of The Beatles movie, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
Every episode featured The Monkees singing two songs along with madcap comedy. It was an instant hit and a year later, The Monkees records were outselling The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
In honor of this 55th anniversary, I’ve got six links to online articles about The Monkees TV Show and a video link to their screen tests for the show.
And then there’s the MBIP Coming Attractions for next week.
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Sunday Links
‘The Monkees’: The ’60s TV Show That Launched the Band’s 40-Year Career - A nice synopsis of the TV show and what happened to the band.
10 Interesting Facts About The Monkees TV Show - I forgot that they were opposite “Gilligan’s Island” and I abandoned that show to watch The Monkees! I ended up seeing all of the “Gilligan’s Island” episodes later in reruns.
Inside the World of The Monkees — They Were Much More Than the ‘Pre-Fab 4’- This is a great feature about the show and the different members of The Monkees.
TV Series/The Monkees - This article is loaded with tons of bulleted factoids about the show.
The Day The Final Episode Of ’The Monkees’ Aired - The last episode aired on March 25, 1968. It was titled, “The Frodis Caper.”
The last man standing: Mickey Dolenz reflects on his life as the only surviving Monkee - This article features Mickey Dolenz reflecting on The Monkees past and how it feels to be the last member of the band still alive and singing.
The Monkees Screen Tests - The audio starts around 19 seconds. The only one that was unsolicited was Michael Nesmith’s audition.
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MBIP Coming Attractions
Monday: I went out for a rare Friday night on the town with my friend, Jim Borho. We ventured out to the Trust Me Tavern for a fun evening that included delicious chicken wings and homemade pizza!
Tuesday: Even though summer is technically over, we’re continuing the MBIP Dog Days of Summer with a stop at Big Juan’s Texas Smokehouse & Baha Beach Club, with my friend, Brian Hennessey.
Wednesday: I’ll be posting a 9/11 memory on this 23rd anniversary of that dark day in history.
Thursday: Look an update on my forthcoming book, “Confessions of a Spiteful Writer,” this coming Thursday
Friday/Saturday: I’ll be taking these two days off to work on that aforementioned book, but I’ll be posting a “Best of MBIP” on my facecrack and Twitter accounts.
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Sunday Comic
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Related Posts: Sunday Links: Meatballs, Manson Murders and Punk Magazine.