Today is the 55th anniversary of the debut of The Monkees TV show. The band was already known because of their hit song, “Last Train To Clarksville,” so the show already had a built-in audience of young fans that wanted to see the show.
I was eight-years-old back then and I couldn’t wait to watch the show and it didn’t disappoint. The show was created to be the TV equivalent of The Beatles movie, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
Every episode featured The Monkees singing two songs along with madcap comedy. It was an instant hit and a year later, The Monkees records were outselling The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
In honor of this 55th anniversary, I’ve got six links to online articles about The Monkees TV Show and a video link to their screen tests for the show.
And then there’s the MBIP Coming Attractions for next week.
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Sunday Links
‘The Monkees’: The ’60s TV Show That Launched the Band’s 40-Year Career - A nice synopsis of the TV show and what happened to the band.
The Monkees broke the fourth wall of 1960s TV - This article shows how ahead of the time the Monkees TV series was.
10 Interesting Facts About The Monkees TV Show - I forgot that they were opposite “Gilligan’s Island” and I abandoned that show to watch The Monkees! I ended up seeing all of the “Gilligan’s Island” episodes later in reruns.
Inside the World of The Monkees — They Were Much More Than the ‘Pre-Fab 4’- This is a great feature about the show and the different members of The Monkees.
TV Series/The Monkees - This article is loaded with tons of bulleted factoids about the show.
The Day The Final Episode Of ’The Monkees’ Aired - The last episode aired on March 25, 1968. It was titled, “The Frodis Caper.”
The Monkees Screen Tests - The audio starts around 19 seconds. The only one that was unsolicited was Michael Nesmith’s audition.
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MBIP Coming Attractions
Monday: Almost every day on my way to work, I pass the Sunny House Chinese restaurant on Main Street and I always think, “I need to try that place out.” So last night that’s exactly what I did!
Tuesday: I’m going to try a Domino’s pizza as I continue to eat ALL of the pizza in Peoria. I haven’t had Dominoes in decades, so I’m anxious to see if it’s as bad as I think it’s going to be!
Wednesday: For this week’s Shopping Locally, I stopped in at one of the coolest shops in Peoria, Urban Artifacts. They just hung up the Sky Harbor sign and I want to see it and take a picture of it.
Thursday: I’m going to do another frozen pizza review, this week we’re featuring a unique frozen pizza I have never seen before.
Friday: Our Fast Food Finger-Lickin’ Chicken tour continues with the place that started the chicken sandwich wars, Popeyes!
Saturday: We’ll take a look back at a place from Peoria’s past.
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Sunday Comic
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Related Posts: Sunday Links: Meatballs, The Beatles Last Concert In 1966 and Woodstock.