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Hello Beatland Reader:

Thank you so much for ordering my book, The Monkees: Day-By-Day Story.

Your books are currently in production and I am counting down the days until the final product is in your hands!

The latest information from the printers is that the books will be arriving in August for shipping to you. The last few weeks have been filled with much hand-wringing and teeth-grinding as I hoped they could make it out to you even sooner. Alas, I wrote the printers a number of times in an effort to speed this process up, but as we get closer to delivery, it would seem the August arrival is now fact.

So, what shall we do for the next eight weeks?

I was thinking I would share some insights and interesting Monkees photos once a week, as well as shipping updates and the schedule as it is updated.

In the beginning…

Let’s be honest, for many readers the Monkees’ earliest days may be the least interesting. However, what I found in researching this new version of the book was that there was not only much “new” detail I could add to their earliest history, but a lot that surprised me. Not only was I able to straighten out my original chronology of events, but I also discovered numerous undocumented gigs and recording sessions. My biggest takeaway from their pre-Monkees work was just how prepared they were for success when The Monkees took off.

Here are some of the most interesting details I found out when researching/rewriting this chapter:

• The Monkees were accused of not having paid their dues when overwhelming success swept in for their series and records in late 1966. However, the book’s early chapters show they not only paid their dues, but all had significant recording and acting experience in the lead-up to The Monkees. They were most definitely not two actors and two musicians, but rather four actors and four musicians.

• While backing the Phoenix Singers, Peter played to enormous audiences at major venues and just before heading to California on a whim (where he wound up auditioning for The Monkees), he was onstage at Carnegie Hall accompanying Peter La Farge. Just as shooting wrapped on The Monkees pilot, La Farge was found dead in New York City on October 27, 1965.

• In the late 1950’s, Micky played to enormous crowds touring publicly as Corky of Circus Boy. He would play sets at places like Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania, performing songs such as “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,” Leiber/Stoller’s “Yakety Yak” and Sheb Wooley’s 1958 #1, “The Purple People Eater.”

• Despite The Monkees being sold to NBC in early 1966, David Jones did not return to Los Angeles until April 1966 to begin working on the project. Having worked in the United States for more than three years, he was prepared to stay in Britain long-term despite this series being built around him. When he did arrive back in Los Angeles, the person he requested to pick him up at the airport was Michael Nesmith. They shared a home and vehicle prior to David finding his own place.

• Michael Nesmith didn’t stop recording as a solo artist when The Monkees was sold to NBC in early 1966. He taped several now-lost sessions with manager/producer Bob Krasnow and singer-songwriter David Gates. These dates were the blueprint for Nesmith’s 1966 Monkees productions; he used many of the same musicians when he got the greenlight from Kirshner to make music for The Monkees in late June 1966.

• The Monkees was not the only project Raybert attempted to produce in 1965/1966. However, once The Monkees took off, they abandoned all other work until late 1967.

I hope you liked these insights from the book! I look forward to sharing some more details with you in my next update.

Stay tuned,

Andrew Sandoval

Beatland Books