The Monkees, where are they now?

WHERE ARE THEYNOW?

Source: Speak Up
Language level: Lower intermediate
Speaker: Chuck Rollando

THE MONKEES

In the 1960s The Monkees were a pop sensation. They were an American imitation of The Beatles and they were probably the “first boy band.” The group had four members: Micky Dolenz, Davey Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork. All four are till alive today, even if their lives are relatively quiet.

TELEVISION

The Monkees were originally a TV show The creators were two young producers: Bob  Rafelson and Berl Schneider. Later Bob Rafelson directed two Jack Nicholson movies: Five Easy Pieces and The Postman Always Ring Twice. Rafelson and Schneider had the idea for the Monkees TV show after they saw the Beatles film. A Hard Day’s Night. They wanted “four insane boys’ for a new group an held auditions in Los Angeles in September 1965, 400 young men went to the auditions. People say the the famous criminal Charles Manson was one of the 400, but this is an urban legend.

HIT SONG

The Monkees show  went on TV in 1966 and it was very popular with young viewers. Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote the songs and one of these. “The Last Train to Clarksville, was a number one hit. Carole King and Neil Diamond also wrote songs for them. The Monkees were successful, but they didn’t like the fact that other people had creative control. The press said they were fake, they said they didn’t play their own music. In fact Nesmith and Tork were both good musicians.

BIZARRE

In TV show ended in 1968. The same year the group made a bizarre movie called Head. Rafelson wrote the screenplay with Jack Nicholson, who wasn’t famous yet Frank Zappa was also in the film. It was not a success, but today critics consider it a cult 60s movie. Peter Tork left the group in 1969 and the Monkees story officially ended in 1970.

REVIVAL

But many people still remember the Monkees and they have had many “reunion tours.” Today Peter Tork has health problems – he has cancer – but   the others are well. Davey Jones, who is English, owns racehorses. Mike Nesmith is a film producer and novelist and Micky Dolenz is an inventor.