Actor/artist/musician. Creator of: "The Watcher of Grey Harbour", Stoney Shores of Yachtley Crew, Inspirado Projecto Podcast, "Andy Kaufman Is Alive" EP
60 years ago today, on the Billboard album chart dated November 12, 1966, The Monkees went to No. 1.
The TV show had premiered on NBC two months earlier, on September 12, and Last Train to Clarksville had just topped the singles chart the week before. The album came out on Colgems on October 10 and climbed to the top in its sixth week on the chart. It stayed there for 13 weeks, and when it finally came down, the record that knocked it off was More of the Monkees, which held No. 1 for another 18 weeks. That's 31 straight weeks at the top with their first two albums.
People still argue about how much of the playing on this record was the band and how much was session players. But Micky Dolenz sang lead on Clarksville, Mike Nesmith produced his own Papa Gene's Blues and Sweet Young Thing, and within a year the four of them fought for and won the right to play on their own records.
We lost Davy Jones in 2012, Peter Tork in 2019 and Mike Nesmith in 2021. Micky is out on his 60 Years of the Monkees tour this fall.
Pick one from this album: Last Train to Clarksville, Saturday's Child, Papa Gene's Blues or I Wanna Be Free.
“Cosmic Children” is inspired from an Astronaut telling me that only very few Astronauts actually experience floating in space . Created circa 2000, (and now slowed down to its natural speed) Lawrence August @KidsGetHealthy_ remixed the sound. COMING SOON!
Did you know I did the voices for the character
Dirk Malone, in the animated movie
"Really Bad Movie: A Really Good TV Show"!?
It's a lot of fun and Jason Amodeo singlehandledly animated it frame by frame! https://t.co/5IOarKLXvU
Do you have Pandora and enjoy unique podcasts from Artists/Musicians/Dreamers/Brainstormers? Check out my latest episode of Inspirado Projecto!
https://t.co/EwXQI38o2J
This month in 1967, The Monkees released PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN & JONES LTD.
It was our fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S., spending five weeks at the top of the Billboard album chart. That also made us the first act to score four No. 1 albums in a single calendar year. Not a bad run!
Musically, we were stretching out quite a bit. There was my good friend Harry Nilsson’s “Cuddly Toy,” Boyce and Hart’s “Words,” Goffin and King’s “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “Star Collector,” Mike’s “Daily Nightly” and “Don’t Call On Me,” and “What Am I Doing Hangin’ ’Round?” bringing a little country into the mix.
And then there was the Moog.
I had gotten one of the earliest Moog synthesizers sold, and we put it to work on “Daily Nightly” and “Star Collector,” helping make the album one of the earliest rock records to feature the instrument.
So there was pop, country, psychedelia, electric banjo, a brand-new synthesizer, and even Peter reciting “Peter Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky.”
I'd say we were keeping busy!
Which track from PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN & JONES LTD. gets you moving today?
#TheMonkees #MickyDolenz