The Monkees. Mon-kees. I can certainly understand why the Bradys didn’t let Peter sing more
Seriously. During our recent trip to the States, we took a Shopping Day. Flodjunior surprised me in a CD shop by asking if we could get “this one” - which turned out to be one of those Rhino Records compilations of The Monkees. Having grown up with Peter, Mike, Mickey, and that little English twe… um, Davy, I said, sure.
(My sister went through a severe Davy Jones period. Suffice it to say that this led me to discover that LPs do fly quite nicely if thrown frisbee-style, but that they don’t like falling behind an old-fashioned metal radiator too well :o )
So now this CD is in the car stereo of the flodmobile, and this morning while I was taking the little flodnaks to school, it got to “Shades of Grey”. It’s one of the few times Peter Tork sang a serious song… I can remember he sang stuff like “Auntie Grizelda”, but that was a gag song and he didn’t so much sing it as screech it. But on SoG we hear his normal voice… and it’s just fine. As good as the other three, I’d say, maybe even better than, say, a certain other person who was only allowed into the group because he had a baby face and a heavy British accent. So * why didn’t Peter sing more???*
Maybe because the Monkees were a manufactured pop band, and most of the song I’ve heard Peter sing on were more serious minded, non-single songs. Mickey and Davy sang most of the singles, and AFAIK, all of the hits.
Peter was a serious musician before he became a Monkee and wanted the group to be more of a real rock band, which after all they weren’t, despite his and Mike Nesmith’s efforts. Listen to “Long Title: Do I Have To Do This All Over Again” from the Head soundtrack to hear a good Peter Tork song (he wrote it, sang it, and played guitar). I love it, but it’s hard to see it ever being a hit single.
My personal taste leans toward Micky being the best singer, with Mike coming in a close second. I totally agree with widdershins that Pete’s songs are not “single songs”. Pete’s voice is ok, but I think he’s a better musician and song writer.
Perhaps it’s also because Peter, with his slightly goofy Scooby-Doo kind of look, was seen as the least likely “teen-heart-throb”, at least compared to, well, Davy, obviously, then Micky (particularly in his pre-fro days, when I, as a pre-teen, found him quite hot), and perhaps on an equal level with Mike. As others have pointed out, Mike and Peter were the two who were actually primarily musicians, and they were showcased accordingly in a “created” band - i.e., much less time as front men (sometimes being treated more like backup for the “pop stars”) compared to the other two who had more obvious “appeal”. I didn’t appreciate Mike or Peter much until I grew a little bit beyond the teeny-bopper stage, but certainly their singing ability was at least equal, and their musical ability superior. I read that Peter went from the Monkees to being a school teacher (with a cannibis-related bust along the way) before delving back into the music scene in more recent years.
Anyone else seen Mike’s videos “Elephant Parts” and “Doctor Duck’s Super-Secret All-Purpose Sauce”? While each has its less-than-stellar moments, they are surprisingly witty and sharp, particularly in light of the fact that they were made in such early days of video/music experimentation. They are a great showcase of the pretty darn humorous, intelligent, and creative guy Mike is, although he rarely got the spotlight in the Monkees.
On a semi-related note, Ringo was orginally thought of as the ugly-stepchild member of the Beatles, even though it didn’t play out that way in the long run (the scene in “Hard Day’s Night” when he gets the lion’s share of fan mail wasn’t entirely fictional, if my non-fiction reading is to be believed). Particularly in the earlier days, you saw almost nothing of him, as cameras focused on the more classically “handsome” George, John, and especially Paul. I recall that management was somewhat astounded at Ringo’s personal popularity.
Well, the Monkees were hired primarily as actors, not as singers or musicians. When the “band” was put together, the producers had Davy pegged as “the cute one,” Mike as “the smart, sarcastic one,” Micky as “the nice one who can sing lead on Boyce and Hart’s bubblegum songs,” and Peter as “the goofy one.”
In all likelihood, the producers didn’t CARE that Peter and Mike were real musicians and songwriters. That’s not what they were hired for. They were hired to PLAY members of a rock group on TV, not to BE members of a rock group.
Peter was a decent (not great) singer, but his voice didn’t suit the kind of up-tempo pop that Don Kirschner wanted the Monkees to perform. Micky’s did. That’s why, so long as Don Kirschner controlled the Monkees’ recording career, Peter wasn’t going to get to sing much… except for maybe an occasional jokey, novelty song.
Short answer: He wasn’t cast as a lead singer on The Monkees tv show, and the songs (despite their separate success) served and fueled the show. Shortly after it was cancelled and the movie (“Head”) tanked, Peter left the group for a couple decades. Another serious tune (pairing Tork and Dolenz) is “Words.” And, if you can get your hands on Rhino re-issues of original albums, you’ll find a few other Tork gems.
Now…as for the essence and being of Tork…he was and is, in deed, a fabulous musician and singer. In the sixties, his music (outside the Monkees) focused on folk. Now, his band is blues and early rock-and-roll. Yes, I said his band IS–as in, his current band, Shoe Suede Blues.
In recent decades, the Monkees (okay, sometimes only the Threekees as fans call them since Nesmith doesn’t like to tour or get overly involved) have made a few albums. “Pool It” in the 80s which includes one serious and one humorous (novelty) song by Peter. “Dolenz, Jones, Tork LIVE” in 1986 which features songs from their reunion tour includes a few more tunes by PT including “Shades of Gray” and PT singing the hit he penned (which closed the The Monkees’ show during the second season) “For Pete’s Sake.” Finally, in the 90s all four joined together for “Justus” (Just Us), which was completely written, performed and produced by–you guessed it–just them. Twelve songs, only one features Tork vocals.
Now fret not, if you fancy the golden tones of Tork and are sad they are not more widely featured on Monkees material, you may enjoy his solo album “Stranger Things Have Happened” can still be had for nearly a song and TWO Shoe Suede Blues albums featuring Tork on all but a few songs are available as well–some great covers and fab originals including a playful, not quite comical, tune (“Dress Sexy for Me”).
Finally, Peter’s best friend James Lee Stanley–a prolific songwriter and musician has recorded two albums with Tork (“Two Man Band” and “Once Again”) which include haunting harmonies as each takes his turn singing lead and backing vocals. And I personally have some great booklegs from concerts spanning the last decade, including a small show he did in Ohio where he performed with his brother, Nick (a keyboardist/songwriter in his own right).
Email me if you’re interested in a sampler…if you ask nicely, I just might be persuaded to share my wealth.
I always thought the Monkees were vocally based on (or ripped off from) the Beatles’ pattern, with Dolenz and Jones forming a “Lennon McCartney” style duo within the group…and occassional Nesmith and Tork tunes as there were one or two quirky Harrison tunes and a Ringo Starr novelty number midway into every early Beatle record. Weren’t the Monkees mainly inspired by “Help!” anyway?
Urgh . . . “Ringo Starr novelty number?” Perhaps if you mean that the fact that Ringo was singing lead vocals on a song was novel. But the songs he sang were hardly “novelty numbers.” Ringo’s lead vocal output on officially released Beatles records consisted of:
Boys: A major hit song for the Shirelles, and a concert favorite. Prior to Ringo joining the band, Pete Best sang it. Not a novelty song.
I Wanna Be Your Man: Written by the Beatles as a hit song for the Rolling Stones, then recorded themselves with Ringo singing. Not a novelty song.
Honey Don’t: Carl Perkins R&B shuffle. Not a novelty song.
Matchbox: Another Carl Perkins hit. Not a novelty song, but a straight-ahead blues number.
Act Naturally: Smash C&W hit for Buck Owens. Humorous lyrics, but far from a novelty song.
What Goes On: A throwaway Lennon/McCartney song so that Ringo could have a lead vocal on Rubber Soul. Still, nothing novel about it.
Yellow Submarine: Legitimately a novelty song, written by McCartney.
With A Little Help From My Friends: I hardly need to point out that not only is that not a novelty number, it’s most famous version is by Joe Cocker, not know for his novelty covers.
Don’t Pass Me By: Ringo’s first recorded original number, so that makes it somewhat novel, but it’s just a straight-ahead bluesy shuffle with a C&W influence.
Good Night: Treads a fine line between sincerity and parody. Novelty-ish.
Octopus’ Garden: Very novelty-like. ALthough the playing on the song is terrific.
So, out of eleven officially released songs that featured lead vocals from Ringo, maybe three could legitimately be considered “novelty numbers.” The real novelty songs in The Beatles came from Paul and John: “You Know My Name, Look Up The Number,” “Wild Honey Pie,” “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” Mr. Moonlight," etc.
George Harrison didn’t start contributing as a songwriter to the band until 1963, with “Don’t Bother Me” on With the Beatles, not particularly quirky. His next original songs were “I Need You” and “You Like Me Too Much” on Help!, which also weren’t particularly quirky.
I think a lot of the conventional wisdom about the Beatles really isn’t true.
Yes, but the Monkees were indeed based on the ‘conventional’ idea of the Beatles (the one that A&R men or ABC programmers had in 1966). People like you may know better, but they didn’t.
I think Ringo was is a severly overrated drummer, but as a singer…as of 1966 he was mostly seen as the novelty song singer ('Yellow Submarine", “Act Naturally”) of the band. “With A Little Help…”, which indeed is a emotionally deep song that passes for a light hearted shuffle, was a twinkle in John Lennon’s eye when the Monkees were formed.
Yes, but even in 1966, only one of the songs listed (Yellow Submarine) could legitimately be considered a novelty song. Act Naturally, despite your attempt to cast it as such, was a legitmate Country & Western smash hit two years before the Beatles recorded it. It was by no means a novelty song. Ringo was the occassional singer, but he was not a “novelty” singer – he simply was not the lead singer.
So other than YS, which of those songs were “novelty songs?” Unless you’re going by a very specific and uncommon definition, none of them were.
As far as being a “severely overrated drummer” . . . well, I don’t think it’s any shock to anyone by 2002 that Ringo Starr is not Max Roach or Buddy Rich. He isn’t even Alex Van Halen, but so what? The question is, “Was he a good rock-and-roll drummer?” And the facts are:
–Even before getting their contract with EMI/Parlophone, the band was thinking of asking Pete Best to leave, and was thinking of asking Ringo to join;
–Ringo was well-known as the best drummer of all the Liverpool bands, bar none, by 1962, when he joined the Beatles. It was considered extremely newsworthy in the local music press for the best drummer to have joined the best band;
–Out of all the songs released by the Beatles, only three (to the best of my knowledge) feature a drummer other than Ringo: the single version of Love Me Do, with Andy White, who played only because George Martin had already booked him and had no idea Ringo even existed or was going to show up; and Back in the USSR and Dear Prudence, which feature Paul playing drums because Ringo had quit the band;
–Once the Beatles broke up, they continued to call on Ringo to play on their records, when they could have (and did) work with anyone they wanted to;
–Post-1966, when the band stopped touring and made it clear to Brian Epstein that they didn’t want to do any more films or similar projects, they were under no obligation to keep Ringo in if he was subpar, but they did.
The evidence as to what kind of drummer Ringo was is all there. Every bit of documented evidence shows that he was hard-working, professional, creative, and altogether an essential part of the band.
I’ve seen “Elephant Parts” but not the other one. The impression I got was that Mike handled the music video-related stuff and left the comedy bits to the writers, like Jack Handy. I know that “Deep Thoughts” started on “Elephant Parts” before it went to SNL (I remember seeing the “Tadpoles! Tadpoles is a winner!” one on SNL and knocking myself out trying to remember where I’d heard it before).
Still, Nesmith seems like a pretty cool guy in general. Remember he produced Repo Man as well – I don’t like the movie myself, but I do recognize it as a seminal bit of the 80’s.
