Monkees fans and the year 1969

7/7/2011

A lot of visitors to the site share a very common interest. By far the most visited page at the Live Almanac so far is the 1969 North American Tour.

Now only if tapes would be found so we could hear it.

For what it's worth, Micky Dolenz said in an online interview several years back that the 1969 show was never recorded.

E.C.: Were there dates on the Monkees 1969 tour with Sam & The Goodtimers recorded for a live album and were the Monkees given dubs of it?
Micky Dolenz: No, we never recorded that…I recorded Sam & The Goodtimers as an act, and was trying to sell them to a record company. But we never recorded - I wish we had, it was funny, it was really great having that band, they were a great band.

But in interviews Joe Alterio did in the late '90s with former members of the Goodtimers, they say the exact opposite and that the show was indeed taped. More to come on this item in a future update...

9 Comments

Rachael

7/8/2011 05:29:26

I saw them in late Apr of 69 in Chicago at the Auditorium Theater - yes there was a vid screen behind them, they wore the black suits, and the screaming all around me was constant! The Auditorium seemed like a full house to me, seated in the first balcony first row.. I do recall hearing Tapioca Tundra and For Once In My Life...looking at the set list jarred my memory of also hearing the bluesy I'm A Believer as well as Show Me. Micky was my favorite, he and Davy were quite animated on the stage, Mike not so much but he was there! lol

toni glover

1/20/2013 09:37:27

What a wonderful show that was at the Auditorium in Chicago. I remember a full house and the screaming was constant. My ticket was $6.50 and we were in row 11. Magic!

Monkees Live Almanac

1/20/2013 10:25:16

Toni,

Thanks for the comment...do you happen to have any pictures from the show?

Toni

1/21/2013 01:23:02

I am sorry to say that I do not have any pictures, just a vivid recollection.

Toni

1/21/2013 01:26:16

I remember those velvet suits and the show was about 2 hours.

MusicFan76 link

7/8/2011 05:57:54

Thanks for your comments on attending one of the '69 shows! It's always interesting to hear first hand accounts of this tour. I checked out Andrew Sandoval's book and read that ticket prices ranged from $3.50 to $6.50 for the show you attended. Quite a difference from today's prices, huh?

Andrew also writes that the auditorium held 4,008. One of the many things I learned from his book was that some of the shows on the '69 tour were in fact well attended, if not a full house.

If you think of anything else, feel free to share.

Rachael

7/8/2011 07:06:15

Yes quite a difference in prices that is for sure! Regarding their tv appearances at that time, I recall 33 1/3 was shown just about two weeks or so before the show - watching it, I was soooo excited that I'd be SEEING them soon! Also I had 2 friends who went to the concert too, but their tix were bought at a different time so they were on the main floor...we were all freshmen in high school and we talked about the concert for days from our different vantage points!! lol Ahhhh youth! Along with growing pains, there are a lot of sweet memories as well!

MusicFan76 link

7/8/2011 07:37:12

Rachael,

Do you remember purchasing Instant Replay around this time, and if so, what you and your friends thought of it?

And what did you guys think of "33 1/3" upon its airing? Certainly a change of pace from the TV show at the time.

Rachael

7/10/2011 17:26:43

My friends and I read Tiger Beat, 16, and Flip magazines -- the mags were telling bits and pieces about the special beforehand, so we were kinda prepared for something unusual. I for one absolutely loved that last segment of the show in which Listen To The Band was played. But we were disappointed that there would be only one special, at first there were supposed to be three of them.

I myself came to be a fan in the summer of 67...my friends at that time were able to see them in Chicago in late July...I remember one of them saying she cried when Davy sang I Wanna Be Free, and that Peter played the banjo really good. By the second season I was hooked, and on Micky...so my initial fandom was from summer of 67 through 1969. I remember that by the time of my jr yr of high school (fall of 70) I happened to see Changes in the store, and was taken aback because I didn't realize the Monkees were still around! They were completely off the radar by then though I knew it was only Micky and Davy left - no music, no magazine stories...and I just outgrew them I guess, otherwise....

But in late 68 and in 69 they were still all over the place on tv, even though Peter had left the group. Laugh-In and Hollywood Squares, the late night talk shows and other variety shows...they just didn't have their own show anymore..So Instant Replay was a good lp we thought. But I for one was sad to hear the lyrics of You & I sung by Davy, the writing is on the wall I lamented to my fellow fans/friends, and Tear Drop City sounded like Clarksville to me, which also made me think they were trying really hard to keep the ball rollin'. The best from that lp I liked was I Won't Be The Same Without Her. Just A Game - Micky Micky Micky, that voice! Such the fan that I was lol. I did get Present as well - and Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye and Oklahoma Backroom Dancer were my favorites on that one.

Monkees fans and the year 1969

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