In 1987, Paris Stachtiaris and John Di Maio began a weekly Monkees radio program on 90.3 WBAU-FM, the radio station of Adelphi University in Long Island, New York. Paris was the Program Director at WBAU and was interested in producing a Monkees radio special. After discovering that John, the station's Music Director, was also a Monkees fan, the two went on to produce Monkeemania, a three hour special that debuted on August 19, 1987. The show would coincide with The Monkees' performance at Jones Beach Theatre in New York, but there were never any plans to expand the project after its initial airing. Featured guests on Monkeemania included author Eric Lefcowitz, Vance Brescia (who wrote the 1986 Monkees Top 20 hit "That Was Then, This Is Now"), author Glenn A. Baker, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, and Peter Tork.
After a very enthusiastic response, John convinced Paris to undertake a weekly program. Entitled The Monkees Hour, the new radio show featured Monkees music (including material that hadn't been officially released at the time), sound bites, and interviews with a host of Monkees notables. Newsday in New York published a glowing review of the program, but Columbia Pictures (who owned the rights to the Monkees trademark during this time period) didn't share in the goodwill. The university later received a cease and desist order from Columbia.
In a move to avoid any further entanglements with Columbia Pictures, Paris and John dropped "The Monkees" from the program's title and renamed it Headquarters. Advertised as "The only radio show in America dedicated to The Monkees," a who's who of Monkees figures were guests on their program, including Chip Douglas, Bill Chadwick, Ward Sylvester, Diane Hildebrand, Jim Frawley, Coco Dolenz, Lester Sill, David Pearl, Monte Landis, Gerry Goffin, Jack Good, the individual Monkees themselves, and many more. The program ceased production in 1990.
The Monkees Live Almanac would like to thank Paris Stachtiaris for sharing his personal archives with the site for fans to enjoy.
After a very enthusiastic response, John convinced Paris to undertake a weekly program. Entitled The Monkees Hour, the new radio show featured Monkees music (including material that hadn't been officially released at the time), sound bites, and interviews with a host of Monkees notables. Newsday in New York published a glowing review of the program, but Columbia Pictures (who owned the rights to the Monkees trademark during this time period) didn't share in the goodwill. The university later received a cease and desist order from Columbia.
In a move to avoid any further entanglements with Columbia Pictures, Paris and John dropped "The Monkees" from the program's title and renamed it Headquarters. Advertised as "The only radio show in America dedicated to The Monkees," a who's who of Monkees figures were guests on their program, including Chip Douglas, Bill Chadwick, Ward Sylvester, Diane Hildebrand, Jim Frawley, Coco Dolenz, Lester Sill, David Pearl, Monte Landis, Gerry Goffin, Jack Good, the individual Monkees themselves, and many more. The program ceased production in 1990.
The Monkees Live Almanac would like to thank Paris Stachtiaris for sharing his personal archives with the site for fans to enjoy.
