For Micky Dolenz, Musical Memories Live On

Best known as lead singer and drummer for the 1960s group The Monkees, Micky Dolenz still tours and makes guest appearances. He's always pleasantly surprised by the many fans who turn out to see him and reminisce about the show.

"People come because they love and identify with the music," he says.

The Monkees were in a category all their own. Initially they weren't a band at all, just four guys who auditioned for a TV show depicting an American group of musicians similar to the Beatles. And yet, the Monkees would go on to have a string of No. 1 hits like "Last Train to Clarksville, "I'm a Believer," and "Daydream Believer" and tour music venues across the country.

Dolenz, who sang lead vocals on most of the songs (Davy Jones sang lead on "Daydream Believer"), attributes their success to the quality of the music and the timeless nature of the comedy.

"The show was wonderful," he says. "It had great writers and was very funny with humor that wasn't topical or satirical, so it stands up through the years. But the songs were written by incredible songwriters, people like Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Harry Nilsson, Boyce and Hart, Neil Sedaka and Paul Williams. So, when you have songwriters of that caliber…and I'd like to think we did them justice producing, playing and singing those songs."

There was also a special connection between Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork that seemed to resonate with viewers. It's especially interesting considering they came together as strangers.

"We didn't know each other before the show," Dolenz explains. "We just met one day, they introduced us to each other and said you guys are on the show. We did the pilot episode, then went our separate ways until the show sold, then came back and started working together."

They "clicked" from the beginning, all feeling at home with the show's quirky, sort of Marx Brothers-like comedic approach.

"I think that had a lot to do with the way the show was cast. The producers would have been looking for four guys who were very different in their personalities, because that's important in a television series, but guys who had chemistry. I've gone on to produce and direct a few films and television series, so I know how important casting is. Without the proper casting it's very difficult to make something work."

The four not only became great co-workers, but close friends.

"I probably spent more time with and knew Davy better because we both had a lot in common," Dolenz says. "We'd both done some acting before, we had families at about the same time, our wives got along well, and our kids grew up together. But I also hung around a lot with Mike and Peter at different times."

Once the show took off and people began buying their records, the Monkees began working to become a true band and soon headed out on tour. They played to packed crowds, backed by extensive security to protect them from the frenzied fans that often tried to get close.

They mingled with other well-known and rising musical artists of the era, including one who became their first opening act.

"Jimi Hendrix was great," Dolenz recalls. "He was quiet, not shy, but very quiet. Not at all like his persona on stage. He was much like my good friend, Alice Cooper, who is also a very different person than his onstage persona."

The Monkees had a great run, but when the show ended in 1968, so did the music.

"After the show went off the air, there was no more Monkees," Dolenz says. "They didn't exist anymore. There was no Monkee office, no Monkee management or Monkee producers or anything. Not like there would be for a more typical group like the Beatles or Rolling Stones or somebody that had a management company. 'The Monkees' wasn't a group, remember? It was a TV show."

So, each went on to whatever came next. For Dolenz, who got his start as a child actor with his first role in a TV show called "Circus Boy," it meant continuing with an entertainment career. But he wanted to venture beyond acting and do more directing and producing. In fact, he directed the final episode of "The Monkees."

"I decided I wanted to direct and produce. So I went to England actually to be in a play. And while I was there, I married an English girl," he says. "I went for three months and stayed 15 years. And I ended up doing a lot of directing and producing during that time."

Then, in 1986, MTV began airing re-runs of "The Monkees." It introduced the show to a new generation of fans.

"At that point the show hadn't been on the air for 20 years," says Dolenz. "Then Arista Records released a record I sang called "That Was Then, This is Now." So, now people were watching the show and listening to the music again."

It led to a reunion tour. All four came back and hit the road again. "That Was Then, This is Now" became a Top 20 hit. Then a re-release of their previous albums saw many of their early songs back on the charts again.

In the years that followed, they did a "30th" reunion tour, then other variations of tours featuring either three or two of the band's original members.

The music and the friendship brought them back together many times. For Dolenz, now 79, it makes it all the more bittersweet to be the group's last surviving member. (Jones died in 2012, Tork in 2019 and Nesmith in 2021.)

"I'm not sure I've actually digested it even to this day. It was a great shock when Davy passed because he was the youngest of us, and by all accounts in good health. Peter had cancer for quite a few years before he died, then Michael also had some health issues and passed away just several years ago."

They were more than bandmates, they were brothers. And Dolenz remains grateful that even though the others are gone, the memories and the music live on.

Pam Windsor is a freelance feature, travel and entertainment writer. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

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