 (Screenshot courtesy of Sunshine Factory)
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 (Banner designed by Al Bigley) I would like to take a moment to extend my best wishes to everyone for a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season. In the event you haven't heard or maybe missed the email from The Monkees Webstore, the More Of The Monkees super deluxe edition is now shipping, despite a previously announced setback in the release date. Keep an eye out for a special delivery! And as always, thank you for supporting The Monkees Live Almanac. - Mark  (Screenshot courtesy of the Sunshine Factory - click to watch the performance) Here's what I believe to be a fairly rare item that comes from my personal collection, and one that I've never previously seen online - a 1969 Monkees Christmas card that was sent to members of the group's fan club. The card features the signatures of Michael Nesmith, David Jones, and Micky Dolenz on the front, along with their manager at the time, Brendan Cahill. A big thanks to Monkees collector and expert Ed Reilly for confirming the details of this piece of memorabilia.  The card opens to reveal a color picture of The Monkees in holiday-themed attire while having "snow" poured on them by Ric Klein (left) and David Pearl (right), two friends of the group who also acted as stand-ins on The Monkees television series and traveled with the band while on tour. Pearl co-managed The Monkees with Brendan Cahill throughout 1969. The message reads, "Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me."  A black and white copy of this photo appeared in the December 2000 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine.  Another picture from this Christmas-themed shoot was published in the December 27, 1969 issue of the music industry trade magazine Cash Box:  Thank you to everyone for their continued support of this website, and for a wonderful 50th Anniversary celebration of The Monkees!  (Design by Jaime Hitchcock)  (From "Mutant Monkees Meet The Masters of the Multimedia Manipulation Machine!" by Davy Jones & Alan Green - click to enlarge)  Butch Patrick is a former child actor who is best known for his role as "Eddie Munster" on the 1964-1966 CBS comedy, The Munsters. He appeared as "Melvin" on The Monkees Christmas Show episode that originally aired on December 25, 1967. In this late 1987 interview with Paris Stachtiaris on The Monkees Hour, Butch recalls his career in show business, working with The Monkees, and more. The show also features a live version of "Can You Dig It" from the '87 summer tour.  (Screenshot courtesy of Sunshine Factory)  (Courtesy of Al Bigley - click to enlarge)  From the December 27, 1969 issue of Cash Box (Courtesy of Kevin Schmid) Here's an outtake from the 1969 photo session that produced the Cash Box ad seen above. It was first published in the December 2000 issue of Monkee Business Fanzine. Monkees stand-ins and associates Ric Klein (left) and David Pearl (right) lend assistance.   (Banner courtesy of Al Bigley) I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and say thank you for your continued support of this website and blog. I'm sure we can all agree that we are looking forward with great anticipation to the New Year and the celebration of The Monkees' 50th Anniversary!  The photo above was utilized on a 5" x 7" fold-open Christmas card in 1967. Inside the card was the inscription "Let there be Peace on Earth and let it begin with me." According to Marty Eck's book, The Monkees Collectibles Price Guide, this card is believed not to have been mailed en masse and was only sent to a small group of people.
The Monkees famously closed their second season Christmas episode with a performance of "Riu Chiu," a traditional Spanish carol dating from the 16th century. An official studio version was recorded in October 1967, featuring Monkees producer Chip Douglas on vocals who was substituting for an absent Davy Jones. It went unreleased until 1990's Missing Links Volume Two. It is likely that The Monkees learned the song from Chip Douglas, who himself performed it with his former band The Modern Folk Quartet on their 1964 album Changes. These two songs come from A Beachwood Christmas, featuring Peter, his friend and longtime collaborator James Lee Stanley, and company. Here is Peter's banjo rendition of "Angels We Have Heard on High." This track, "I Remember Christmas," was written by Peter's brother, Nick. (FYI: These videos are mislabeled!) This photo and holiday message was originally published in the December 1968 issue of Monkees Monthly.  The image on the right was used as a Christmas postcard to members of the Monkees fan club in 1967. Marty Eck, who published The Monkees Collectibles Price Guide in the late '90s, described the postcard:  |
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