I guess he took the last train to Clarksville.
Age 78

I didn't know either, until today.

Because he was always aware that he would eventually inherit from his Mom (she invented liquid paper/white-out; her estate was about $50 million, and he was always destined to inherit half of that), it made working with him easier than was true with some of the people in other groups.

Bon voyage, Mike.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2021 01:53PM by Tevai.

I remember my older brother going to see The Monkey’s at Lagoon. Their opening act was the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He was in high school and I was just a kindergarten kid but he told me about it when I was older.

I took my daughter to a monkee's concert after they became popular on Nickelodeon. When they came out, my daughter exclaimed, Dad they are as old as you are!

And now we Boomers note the passing of the icons of the 1960s. Pat Boone is 87. Someday the remaining RfM posters will discuss the death of Keith Richards.

A friend of mine sent me images of a USMC Pearl Harbor ceremony. Present were Marines from Vietnam, pre- & post-unification (i.e. Communist victory), Korea, and WWII vets in wheel chairs. The active duty servicemen approached by cohort and saluted the elderly vets.

Very touching. When I was little, we honored the remaining Civil War vets. Next, we will honor the passing of the Korean War vets, then the Vietnam Vets.

And so it goes.

A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 60:6-8)

Amen.

Nobody knew he died until yesterday because he just died yesterday. You have a habit of saying “I didn’t know that X died” the day after their death. I’ve never figured out if that is postmodern absurdism, or just an unusual tic on your part.

Not that it much matters all that much. It is the consistency that I find puzzling.

It's a self-contradicting statement. Just like when captain Kirk defeated the computer that was controlling the Enterprise.

Michael Nesmith was ultimately the odd man out in the Monkees. He was the only Monkee to have been an actual working musician when he was hired for the TV show. He was instrumental in getting the Monkees out of their contract relationship with Don Kirchner, the man who dreamed up the idea of the Monkees in the first place. He was the only Monkee to reach Bilboard's top 40 after the group split up (he did it twice with "Joanne," and "Silver Moon," in 1970.)

But I think the most on-topic song of his (I once put a post about it on this Board many years ago) was a song he wrote for the group's third album and on which he sings the song's title: "Shades Of Gray."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZxRjItD1o

For those thinking about moving out of Mormonism or who have just left, this song is a reminder that the world is not the all black-and-white place that Mormon leaders make it out to be. As the title says, it's mostly "Shades Of Gray." Enjoy! And RIP, Mike Nesmith!

A truly beautiful tribute, blindguy.

Thank you!

Damn. He was a smart guy. Many people think that the Monkeys were just a boy band for promotion. At first they were. Then, they started taking things a bit more seriously. Other musicians took them serious as well. They had a mutually respectful relationship with the Beatles. They ended up being more than a boy band. \

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/did-the-beatles-have-any-issue-with-the-monkees.html/

He had written songs recorded by other artists before joining the Monkees, and then eventually got to record some of his songs as part of the group. Some of his songs became very popular when recorded by other artists. I think Linda Rondstadt recorded several "Different Drum" I think was the most popular. The Dirt Band recorded some of his songs, I think "Some of Shelly's Blues" is mys favorite.

I didn’t even think they were a boy band. I thought they were guys being funny. It never crossed my mind there was music involved.

This makes me sad. He was one of my first crushes as a little girl :(

Susan I/S Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This makes me sad. He was one of my first crushes
> as a little girl :(

:(

What?! You mean you didn't crush out on Davy or Mickey instead?

You probably liked George the best over Paul or John!

I liked him because he was more on the serious side. A lot of the time he played the straight man, I never have been big on silly. Tall, great dark hair - I had a type even that young. Loved that he played guitar and really played.

As to any of the Beatles, lol, they were my mother's thing. That was "Old People" stuff
(Now to find a good place to hide before Dagny pops me one!)

Sending a pop on the head to Sus!

I didn't know you were such a youngster!

You gotta catch me :P

Ah, yes! The good old days, when a person's character, and the worth of his soul, could be determined by which member of a group he liked best.

I think now that's done by knowing which platforms you most frequent.

Let's hear it RfM and the old farts!!!

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What?! You mean you didn't crush out on Davy or
> Mickey instead?
>
> You probably liked George the best over Paul or
> John!


I liked Mike best in the Monkees and George was always my crush in the Beatles. Must be a "thing"

Susan I/S Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This makes me sad. He was one of my first crushes
> as a little girl :(


He was one of mine too. Always my favourite Monkee. My main crush though was Scott Walker of The Walker Brothers and he died in March 2019. I grew up on 60's music and it is so sad seeing them pass away.

I don't remember running into the Walker Brothers Lindy. Did they have a show?

I bet you like Clark Gable too :)

Susan I/S Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't remember running into the Walker Brothers
> Lindy. Did they have a show?
>
> I bet you like Clark Gable too :)

The Walker Brothers were American and not brothers..they just liked the name..Scott Engel, John Maus, Gary Leeds. During the mid 60's they moved to the UK and became pretty massive in popularity aided by the fact they were very good looking, especially Scott but also Scott's voice is often referred to as the best in popular music.
Their hits include The Sun Aint Gonna Shine Anymore, Make it East on Yourself . They split and Scott had a great solo career for a while. You need to You Tube them.

Err Clark Gable was ok but my favourites from that era are Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. Peck is just too handsome for words : )

lindy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> my favourites from
> that era are Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck. Peck
> is just too handsome for words : )

Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird for the win. :)

I had to look up the Walkers. Wow. Sexy voice.

The hair - haha. Looks like a different century. Oh wait.... :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2021 02:36PM by Nightingale.

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had to look up the Walkers. Wow. Sexy voice.
>
> The hair - haha. Looks like a different century.
> Oh wait.... :)

One of Scott's first solo successes was " Joanna". Guess my older daughter's name? : )

My sister used to watch The Monkees on TV. I always wondered why the dude with the guitar wore a stocking cap when there was no snow.

Rubicon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My sister used to watch The Monkees on TV. I
> always wondered why the dude with the guitar wore
> a stocking cap when there was no snow.

Because it visually set him apart, so future fans would "know" HIM as a person, apart from the Monkees.

Assuming in advance that the show would be a hit (which it definitely did become), it would set him up for other performing roles (and, to a significant extent, would also tend to result in behind-the-camera work he might, in the future, be interested in: producing, directing, etc.)

It was a good decision for him, and for the producers of the Monkees, too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2021 09:07PM by Tevai.

    How many of you are descendants of Monkees?  I just want to get a general idea . . .

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> https://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/stg12122
> 1dAPC20211211034504.jpg

This is a great tribute, caffiend.

Thank you.

I didn't know Micky was still alive.

Only one more Monkee still jumping on the bed. :(

From the explanatory article:

"It's extraordinary. The pitch and harmony are flawless, and according to the twitter commentators below the tweet, the unexpected group that did it, the 1960s pop rock band, The Monkees, did it in one take.

It's a 1556 Spanish Christmas carol called Ríu Ríu Chíu, sung in old Spanish, heavily religious in tone, with apparently some Catalan words in its lyrics. Native Spanish speakers on Twitter say the accent is pitch perfect, and it does sound natural."

It's a capella. I don't know if the Monkees did other a capella work.

The link to the article in full, with the performance video:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/a_jawdroppingly_beautiful_christmas_carol_from__the_monkees.html

Done in one take. A capella. Enjoy!

Truly amazing.

As someone who "knew" (in a professional way; I was a staffer for Laufer Publications) all four of them, I would never have believed this possible--for real.

If anyone here should happen to have any knowledge of Ladino ("Jewish Spanish," the language of the "hidden Jews"--especially during and following the time period of the Spanish Inquisition), I would be tremendously interested in learning if there are any connections between historical Iberian-connected Judaism and this song.

Although I never knew this song existed (an ignorance which would be widespread among contemporary Jews), if there should happen to be historical Jewish/"converso"/"Anusim" connections to this song, then this song ought to be a matter of common knowledge among Jews at large. (Most especially, of course, among those who are descended from, or study, medieval Iberian-Jewish ancestry.)

Thank you, caffiend!!

Very muchly appreciated!!

Tevai Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If anyone here should happen to have any knowledge
> of Ladino ("Jewish Spanish," the language of the
> "hidden Jews"--especially during and following the
> time period of the Spanish Inquisition), I would
> be tremendously interested in learning if there
> are any connections between historical
> Iberian-connected Judaism and this song.

I couldn't find a definitive answer on a quick search, Tevai, looking for Iberian Jews & Riu Riu Chiu. I did find a PDF (nearly 300 pages!) covering a lot of amazing details about music and percussion in various time periods. Quite apart from the interesting musical instrument and social history info included, some of the wry comments amused me, such as the following.

Article Title:

“Historic Percussion – A survey” (Tactus Press)

Excerpts from article (pg: 50, 51):

“To resolve the tension between religious rectitude and the normal human inability to tolerate unrelieved austerity, instrumental music was restricted to celebrations like weddings.”

“There was a limit on the amount of sanctity people could tolerate.”

It also states:

“Through the German Ashkenazim (Eastern European Jewry), oriental poetic and musical forms mingled with German folk and religious song, although Sephardic (Iberian) Jewish music remained more traditionally oriental.”


And much more material that may include some additional info that would interest you.

Sorry I can't include the link because it won't copy but maybe by looking up Tactus Press you could find this work - 300 pages of amazingly fascinating music history. It may include some details of what you're asking about.

Wow - no wonder people have to select specific and smaller areas of historical study as there is so much info! And it's all intriguing. I wish I could remember 5% of what I read.

You did an amazing amount of work, Nightingale!

Within the Jewish world right now, there appears to be an increasing amount of research in most everything related to the Jews of the Middle Ages and afterwards who came from Sephardic (means: "Spanish-descended," in a kind of expanded way [because it also includes as well Portuguese Jews, etc.]) ancestral roots.

Part of this is due to the contemporary availability of DNA tests which is an amazing and new component of all of our lives...part of it is due to the large, and increasing, numbers of "Spanish-descended" Americans, and unfortunately, part of it is due to the awareness that Iberian (mostly) ancestors of centuries ago have passed down to us who live now the often lethal breast cancer gene which evidently made its biological debut many centuries ago.

Right now, if someone (either gender) knows or suspects they have Iberian ancestral roots of some kind (most particularly if they know for a fact, or by family tradition, that they have Jewish ancestors), they either already do know, or they SHOULD know, that they absolutely NEED to get a DNA test ASAP to identify what they themselves might have inherited, and what they may be passing on to their biological descendants.

This is difficult because, due to Spanish Inquisition of the 1400s on, people's lives depended on those familial facts of Jewish ancestry remaining hidden. As someone who knew personally some of these descendants who have now died from this particular kind of breast cancer, its current existence (and possible growth through continuing new births) is very real to me.

There are deaths happening right now from this, and in the year 2021, they are largely avoidable if those affected know they might have a problem and then do whatever is necessary to protect themselves AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN from avoidable and unnecessary deaths.

On a completely different subject (kind of ;) ), there also seems to be increasing interest in the historical pirates of the Caribbean, now that it is fairly well known that Jewish ancestry was common among them.

I think of all the times I was a passenger on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland (it was a Disneyland favorite for me), and I NEVER had the slightest idea, at that time, that the pirates were [to a large extent] Jewish!

However, now that I DO know that fact: as I remember, the pirates all guests saw in that iconic Disneyland attraction DID happen to have characteristically "Jewish" noses, in addition to some other stereotypical signaling as well! (I'm thinking of cartoons from earlier Hollywood times. There were ways to "signal" Jewishness in those cartoons, and I think Disney made full use of those ways to do the same thing in his Caribbean ride.)

Looking back, I think Walt Disney likely knew full well that he was specifically portraying Jews...and I don't think he ever suspected that some day, some years not too far in the future, "EVERYONE" would know that he was doing some pretty blatant stereotyping in this particular, and extremely popular, Disneyland attraction.

Thanks muchly for your post, Nightingale...and Merry Christmas to you!

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> n/t

I hope your Christmas today was exactly as you most wanted it to be, caffiend...and that your New Year to come exceeds your highest and best wishes.

Happy 2022!!

Very interesting, Tevai. I really enjoy all the details you share that I've never heard before. You keep me busy looking stuff up!

I didn't know that about Walt Disney.

See what I mean? Something else to Google... :)

And yes, I agree about DNA. The most amazing science! I'm fascinated with all the latest discoveries. Including our ability in the near future, if not now, to even contemplate reproducing a Neanderthal person due to DNA that's been extracted from ancient remains. Of course, the idea sounds far-fetched perhaps to some but also I wonder about the ethics of such an undertaking as well as the advisability. Too, I'm not thrilled at the thought of somebody way in the future digging around in my bones to obtain samples of my DNA. Not that I'd be of interest to science, I wouldn't think. But I'd like to give as much consideration to the ancients as we would like extended to ourselves and maybe just leave them in peace.

On another note, happy holidays to you too, Tevai. It's lovely to get a stretch of days off - for those of us who do. We had a big snowfall last night (as predicted) and today it's deep and white and quiet. My favourite day of the year to relax with a big fat book - my gift to myself for Christmas - thankyouverymuch NG! - and of course, endless cups of tea to keep me company.

I somewhat worry about myself that I select a book called Autopsy (Patricia Cornwell) to curl up with. And that I enjoy it so much, ha. But it's OK - later I get to watch a concert by the local Welsh Men's Choir, courtesy of a gift link from my sister in MN. So that'll be upbeat to counteract from the grim murder mystery I'm engrossed in at the moment. Just taking a minute to check out RfM on my way to boiling the kettle again.

Hope everybody's having a good day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2021 03:28PM by Nightingale.

How did they nail that intricate melody in one take?

jay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How did they nail that intricate melody in one
> take?

All four of them were a lot more talented (and a lot more dedicated) than most people ever knew.

They worked incredibly hard, and often under very difficult and unpleasant conditions.

For those of us who worked behind the cameras, there was a lot of earned respect for their individual, and for their group, work ethics.

I couldn't have done what I saw them do.

I doubt most people could.

You should write a memoir, Tevai. You've had intriguing experiences and know a lot of interesting stuff. :)

Nightingale Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You should write a memoir, Tevai. You've had
> intriguing experiences and know a lot of
> interesting stuff. :)

When I worked for the fan magazines, I had two objectives:

1) Credits ("I wrote "x" number of articles per month for this-or-that publication," etc.)

2) Connections (connections to people who might, in the future, hire me...or connections to people-who-knew-[other] people who might, in the future, hire me, since it is commonly accepted throughout the industry that "everyone knows everyone" (one way or another: they are relatives; or in-laws; or former colleagues; or former employers/employees, or acquaintances, etc.)

Real life example: When I was a sixteen, the family who lived next door to my family sold their house to new owners, and the husband in the incoming family was a novelist/screenwriter. The new family asked the selling family if they knew of a good babysitter, and the seller gestured towards my house and recommended me. That recommendation about my babysitting abilities led, step by step by step, to all of my future writing career (to all of the rest of my life, actually)--and this is the way the entire entertainment industry largely operates.

In the industry, earned credits and human connections become the network by which careers (of all kinds) are created.

Once established, no one wants to mess up that network, so tell-it-all books are actually (from a mathematical standpoint) fairly rare compared to the comparative richness of the material available. ;) There are people who do indeed make the decision to cash in, but there actually aren't that many of them.

Most of the stuff "fit to print" has been printed long ago, and anything else no longer has current interest, or current market, value. (Even if there WAS current interest, or current market value, what I might know about this or that is not stuff I would ever want to publish, because even if those people have now died, I still wouldn't want to be the person telling tales.)

Take all the gossipy stuff out, and what is left would be pretty boring, because it would just be, in large part, a large group of feeling-plenty-miserable people, working extremely hard and often under really bad conditions, so it looks (on the screen) like the performers in front of the cameras are having a marvelous and carefree time on a beautiful sunny day in July, when all of you are, moment by excruciating moment, really wet and freezing on a drippy and dismal California winter day.

All of us who have been part of the industry have our stories, but the truth is: most of those stories will never be told by any of us 'cause we just wouldn't want to publicly betray those we once worked with.

In my case, I have no Monkee stories to tell because I wasn't the lead writer for the magazine group I worked for, but I have noted through the years that the person who WAS the lead writer during those years has never told "what REALLY happened" either. Some puff pieces have been published along the way, but never anything even approaching anything sensitive.

For most (I think) of us: It just "isn't done."

Thank you, Nightingle!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/2021 03:36PM by Tevai.

I never knew anyone died, until I came to RFM, or listened to the radio, news, others...

He's probably still monkeying around