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Mike, Peter, and Micky at a private Screen Gems reception in Hollywood on September 1, 1966

6/23/2014

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(Photo courtesy Andrew Sandoval Collection)

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On the road promoting the debut of the TV show

6/23/2014

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(September 1966)

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The Monkees in Del Mar, California

4/2/2014

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In the week leading up to the debut of The Monkees television series on NBC, Micky, Davy, Mike, and Peter took part in a cross country promotional tour that made stops in Chicago, Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.

Los Angeles radio station KHJ staged perhaps the most ambitious event of the tour on September 11, 1966. Contest winners rode on a train to the coastal town of Del Mar, California, which had been renamed 'Clarksville' for the day by the town's mayor. Landing on the beach in two helicopters and dressed in their signature double-breasted shirts, The Monkees met approximately 400 winners of KHJ's radio contest. After the event, the group traveled by train with the contest winners back to Los Angeles. On one of the train cars, The Monkees gave their first true live public performance. Micky Dolenz remembered the day in an interview with Rhino Records co-founder Harold Bronson. "Because we'd been rehearsing now for a few months as a band, they set up these instruments in an empty baggage car on this train, and on the way back we were gonna perform for these kids, who didn't know who we were, on songs nobody had heard before, in a train going 80 miles an hour up the coast. So it was, 'Take the last train to Clarksville,' and my drums were falling all over - nobody thought to tie the drums down." Their set included Michael's "Papa Gene's Blues" and a cover of Baker Knight's "She's So Far Out She's In," a song that was later performed during the first Monkees tour in late 1966/early 1967 (and tracked, sans vocals, during the Headquarters album sessions in early 1967). An episode of the television series was also screened for the contest winners.

This piece, from the February 1968 issue of Monkee Spectacular, looks back on that day.

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At radio station WLS in Chicago

2/22/2014

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During the September 1966 promotional tour...

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Peter at Screen Gems promo event

1/16/2014

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A week before The Monkees was set to debut on NBC on September 12, 1966, the group undertook a promotional tour that made stops in Chicago, Boston, New York and Los Angeles. The promotional tour was launched in Hollywood on September 1 with a private reception at Screen Gems. For the first time, The Monkees played briefly in front of an audience. Here's a picture of Peter from that event.

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Inside the Monkeemobile

12/28/2013

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A promotional tour for The Monkees television series was launched in Hollywood on September 1, 1966 with a private reception at Screen Gems. The picture below shows Micky, Davy, Peter and Mike inside the Monkeemobile at some point during the festivities.

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Monkees at Screen Gems party in 1966

12/17/2013

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A week before The Monkees was set to debut on NBC on September 12, 1966, Micky, Davy, Mike and Peter undertook a promotional tour that made stops in Chicago, Boston, New York and Los Angeles. The group was introduced to deejays, members of the press and record dealers. The Monkees' first single, "Last Train to Clarksville," had been released in August and was already quickly climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The promotional tour was launched in Hollywood on September 1 with a private reception at Screen Gems. For the first time, The Monkees played briefly in front of an audience. The picture below comes from that event. It is not known which songs were played that day.

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11/6/2012

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Thanks to our friends at MonkeeBootlegs, here's another version of the silent 8mm film footage taken during the promotional event in Del Mar, California on September 11, 1966. The Monkees premiered on NBC on the following day.

The Monkees met winners of a radio station contest on the beach in Del Mar, which was renamed 'Clarksville' by the city's mayor for that day's event. Afterwards, The Monkees traveled by train with the winners back to Los Angeles. They perform in one of the train cars with a set that included "Papa Gene's Blues." This marked one of the first times The Monkees played as a live act.

For more information, check out the 1966 Promotional Tour page here at the Live Almanac.

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Mike, Peter, and Micky at a private Screen Gems reception in Hollywood on September 1, 1966

On the road promoting the debut of the TV show

The Monkees in Del Mar, California

At radio station WLS in Chicago

Peter at Screen Gems promo event

Inside the Monkeemobile

Monkees at Screen Gems party in 1966

On the radio during the '66 promotional tour

1966 promotional tour hotel party

Screen Gems reception

Fan Club picture

Rare early Monkees radio spot for KHJ Radio!

Del Mar '66 footage

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