 The latest episode from the Cut Out Bin, produced by Derek Miner, examines a missing link in the history of The Monkees' TV show: One of the lesser discussed aspects of the Monkees television series is that the episodes evolved over the band's career. At various times, new songs were dubbed into the show to promote new records. But some of these alternate versions were never seen again . . .
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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??? This article was originally published in the November 1969 issue of Flip.    (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.   Davy, Mike, and Micky in-between takes for a Kool-Aid sponsorship commercial in 1969:  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.  Kool-Aid acted as sponsors when The Monkees television series debuted in reruns on CBS in the fall of 1969.   (From the collection of Troy Maynus) It's sometimes easy to forget that The Monkees (and in particular, their television series) became very much a staple of kids-themed Saturday morning/afternoon television in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After The Monkees and NBC mutually agreed to end production of The Monkees in 1968 after only two seasons (and multiple Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1967), the series premiered in reruns in the fall of 1969 on a new network, CBS, where it was shown through September 1972. Shortly afterward, the show moved to ABC, where it aired through the summer of 1973. Ironically, by the time the series premiered in reruns, promoted as a product of the kiddy crowd, The Monkees as a group had spent the better part of the last two years trying to break out of their manufactured, teenybopper image. By recording as a self-contained band (the albums Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. as well as the singles "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer"), the quartet proved they were not just a product of Donnie Kirshner's world. A series of successful concert tours throughout 1966-1968 highlighted their talents as a live attraction. And a feature film, the wildly offbeat Head, seemed to be created to appeal to a more sophisticated audience. Even in 1969, the year their old TV show premiered on Saturday TV, The Monkees (now a trio after the departure of Peter Tork) were releasing albums and songs that reflected a more mature sound. They even conducted a concert tour backed by an all-black rhythm and blues band.  Despite all of these efforts to be taken seriously as a musical entity, Micky, Davy, and Michael were seemingly torn between projecting a new image for The Monkees while also satisfying the demands of their Screen Gems contract, which included filming commercials throughout 1969 and 1970 for Kool-Aid (and related tie-ins such as Nerf balls). Kool-Aid sponsored The Monkees television show when reruns began in September 1969. However, there was a concerted effort to promote new Monkees music in the Saturday repeats. The original soundtrack of the shows were changed in an attempt to promote fresh cuts from albums like The Monkees Present (1969) and Changes (1970). In some instances, songs that didn't see official release until the 1980s (like "Steam Engine," "If You Have The Time," and "Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears") appeared on the new soundtracks of the reruns (and sometimes in mixes that to this day remain unreleased). For an in-depth listing of the new songs that were chosen for the late 1969/early 1970s reruns, visit these pages at the Monkees Film & TV Vault website: 1969-1970 season on CBS 1970-1971 season on CBS 1971-1972 season on CBS  Billboard ad (May 30, 1970) Almost right away, The Monkees became a ratings success in reruns. In his book, The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, Monkees historian Andrew Sandoval noted that the first few weeks of repeats on CBS earned an audience of over 8 million viewers. In a 1971 article written by future Rhino Records chief Harold Bronson, he wrote that "the foursome receive something like 1,000 fan letters a week (down from the 5,000 a day at the height of their success, but still substantial for a re-run series)." But even with the newer songs being plugged in the highly-rated reruns, it failed to change the dwindling fortunes of the group in late 1969 and 1970 when it came to record and concert ticket sales. The Monkees Present, released in October 1969, managed to climb to just #100 on the Billboard chart. With Screen Gems hoping to capitalize on the success of the Saturday reruns, the 1970 album, Changes, recorded by just Micky and Davy, missed the charts completely. (It finally charted in 1986 during the group's revival that year.) In the fall of 1969, a Colgems employee told music trade magazine Amusement Business that The Monkees were in need of a strong effort to rebuild their success, which wasn't a hopeful sign for concert promoters. Micky, Davy, and Michael performed their last concert together as a trio in December 1969 in Salt Lake City, Utah.  "Oh My My" picture sleeve By early 1970, Michael's efforts to be released from his Monkees contract were completed, though he would still film sponsorship commercials with Micky and Davy through April of that year. The final Monkees single, "Oh My My," peaked at a lowly #98 in June 1970. Micky and Davy conducted one more recording session in September, but the single, 1971's bubblegum-esque "Do It In The Name of Love," would be credited to Dolenz & Jones and not to The Monkees. In 1975, The Monkees television series was sold to local markets for syndication, which resulted in another generation of Monkees fans. A year later, a new greatest hits album was released, peaking at #58 and remaining in the Top 100 LPs for over sixteen weeks. Here's a collection of photographs from the Saturday rerun era, including pictures from Kool-Aid commercial shoots and various other promotional clippings.  Michael and Micky filming the final Kool-Aid commercial in April 1970 (Photo by Henry Diltz)  The trio film a Kool-Aid commercial in February 1970 - photos of Micky and Davy driving bumper cars will later appear on the back cover of the "Changes" album. (Photo by Henry Diltz)  1970 ad (From the collection of Kevin Schmid)  1970 Kool-Aid / Nerf promotion (From the collection of Kevin Schmid)  Filming a February 1970 Kool-Aid commercial (Photo by Henry Diltz)  On the set of a Kool-Aid commercial in February 1970 (Photo by Henry Diltz) |
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