 Last night in Madison, Wisconsin at Overture Center for the Arts, Micky Dolenz and his band concluded a string of limited engagement shows meant to honor the legacy of The Monkees. "Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees," produced by Monkees historian and author Andrew Sandoval, opened on April 5 at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee (where The Monkees performed live in 2013 and also filmed an appearance with Johnny Cash in 1969). The Live Almanac covered the Nashville debut, complete with video footage, photographs, set list, and a look at the tour merchandise. Joining Micky onstage for these special shows were members of The Monkees' touring band, featuring Coco Dolenz, Wayne Avers, John Billings, Rich Dart, Pete Finney, Alex Jules, and Emeen Zarookian. At each stop, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork were honored with individual video and song tributes, and the set list included numbers that haven't been aired in some time, with "Valleri" (performed in the style of the first recorded version), "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," "Saturday's Child," "Can You Dig It," "Sometime in the Morning," "No Time," "Let's Dance On," "D.W. Washburn," and "That Was Then, This Is Now" all making appearances. During the pre-show, fans were treated to rare and unique audio selections playing over the house speakers, carefully curated by producer Sandoval in playlists that varied from city to city. The promotional materials for the "Celebrates The Monkees" shows also advertised rare photos and film from Micky's personal archives. Some of the highlights projected on the screen behind the band included footage of The Monkees rehearsing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1967, Micky, Davy, and Michael atop the RCA Building, filming a Kool-Aid commercial and more all from 1969, home movies, outtakes from the 1986 video shoot for "That Was Then, This Is Now," and The Monkees inside the recording studio. Micky will return to the road later this month, performing concerts and making various personal appearances throughout the summer. Check out Micky's current itinerary to see if he is coming to your town! In the meantime, enjoy some performances below from different cities on Micky's "Celebrates The Monkees" tour (tribute videos screened for Michael, Davy, and Peter can be seen in the Akron, Ohio footage) and don't forget the Live Almanac's previous coverage of opening night in Nashville, Tennessee. April 6: Richmond, Kentucky @ EKU Center for the ArtsApril 8: Nashville, IN @ Brown County Music CenterApril 9: Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady ICON Music CenterApril 11: Wheeling, West Virgina @ The Capitol Theatre (more)April 12: Akron, Ohio @ Goodyear TheaterThanks to the Monkees Forever YouTube channel for providing the complete show in Akron, Ohio. Watch the tribute videos for Michael Nesmith (11:50) and Davy Jones (29:00) below, as well as footage of The Monkees rehearsing at the Hollywood Bowl (45:10): The tribute video for Peter Tork begins at 14:10: April 15: Riverside, IA @ Riverside Casino & Golf ResortApril 16: Madison, WI @ Overture Center for the Arts
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 During the 1960s, The Monkees filmed several commercials as a quartet and also as a trio. At one point, Kellogg's sponsored The Monkees television show and Micky, Davy, Michael, and Peter starred in a series of Rice Krispies commercials. The ads were shot while The Monkees were filming on location as well as on the set of their TV show. Davy and Michael were also featured in an ad for Yardley's Black Label cologne. When The Monkees debuted in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969, Kool-Aid acted as a sponsor. With Peter no longer a member of the group, Micky, Davy, and Michael filmed a variety of clips for Kool-Aid in the desert outside of Palm Springs, California and, in early 1970, at an amusement park in San Diego, California. The video below compiles all of these classic Monkees commercial spots: Kool-Aid acted as a commercial sponsor when The Monkees television series debuted in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969.  Micky, Mike, and Davy filmed a Kool-Aid commercial in February 1970 at a San Diego amusement park. Photos of Micky and Davy driving bumper cars will later appear on the back cover of Changes.  (Photo by Henry Diltz)  Kool-Aid acted as sponsors when The Monkees television series started in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969. This piece of memorabilia recently elicited 20 bids on eBay with a final auction price of $356.00! The seller provided the following description: Up for sale is an extremely rare Kool-Aid retail display with an offer featuring the Monkees (minus Peter Tork) offering practical jokes. This display would have been affixed to a grocery store shelf, and people would take the coupons for free hand buzzers or snake in a can when they mailed in Kool-Aid labels. The reverse of the coupon says that the offer expires in February 1970, so this is probably circa fall of 1969.  (Photo courtesy of eBay) A similar advertisement appeared in newspapers in the fall of 1969.
Was a reader of the Live Almanac the winning bidder???  (1996 Trading Cards) Yardley Black Label (1966)Kellogg's (1966 - 1967)Kellogg's (1967 - 1968)Kool-Aid (1969)Kool-Aid (1970)Pizza Hut with Ringo Starr (1995) (1996 Monkees Trading Cards)  February 9, 1970 - San Diego, California (Photo courtesy of Rusti Huber)  (September 21, 1969 Detroit Free Press Sunday Comics advertisement)  June 1969 (Photo courtesy Andrew Sandoval and The Monkees Present deluxe edition booklet)  (From Monkees Monthly #31 - August 1969 issue) Kool-Aid acted as a commercial sponsor when The Monkees television series debuted in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969.  (From Monkees Monthly #31 - August 1969 issue)  Palm Springs desert in April 1970 "Star Collector" was a longtime feature in Monkee Business Fanzine. Monkees collector and author Ed Reilly would break down a wide range of memorabilia, including everything from toys, records, and much more. In this column, Ed examines memorabilia from 1969/1970, which included a sponsorship change from Kelloggs to Post, the rare Golden Hits album, Corgi Monkeemobiles, Kool-Aid/Nerf cross-promotions and more.   This Henry Diltz photo was taken during filming of a Kool-Aid sponsorship commercial:   (Photo by Henry Diltz) Davy, Mike, and Micky in-between takes for a Kool-Aid sponsorship commercial in 1969:   (Photo by Henry Diltz) Filming a Kool-Aid commercial was tough work in those days! This was one of the last photos taken of the Monkees trio and most likely Michael Nesmith's final Monkees project during the group's original incarnation.  April 14, 1970 (Photo by Henry Diltz) Kool-Aid acted as a commercial sponsor when The Monkees television series debuted in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969.  |
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