Monkeemania

"I would not work with those guys again if my life depended on it. I can't be responsible for their attitudes and the way they treat people." That's what Davy Jones said about his bandmates last week. So the Monkees are kaput. Funny, I thought they broke up over 35 years ago.

I recently read (okay, skimmed) Andrews Sandoval's day-by-day history of the Monkees. What struck me is how busy these guys were.

Their heyday was from mid-'66 to mid-'68. During that period, they shot two full seasons of their TV show, completed a full-length film, put out five top-selling albums and toured extensively. Most of what they did (admittedly with a lot of help from others) was of reasonably high quality. Even Head, the feature that all but ended their career, has re-emerged as a cult film.

They also had a comeback in the 80s, charting with new records. Even today their legacy lives on--for example, an extensive ad campaign for eBay features their hit "Daydream Believer."

A few years ago I saw Mickey Dolenz at the Egyptian Theatre where they were showing Head. He said comparing The Monkees to The Beatles is like comparing Star Trek to NASA. He may be right, but hey, hey, there's nothing wrong with Star Trek.