1986 will long be remembered by Monkees fans as the year that Monkeemania finally returned to the USA.  Of course, it never really left.  Fans have always supported the Monkees and that's the real reason for the current revival.  After all, you can't make a comeback if you have nothing to come back to.  So before we get underway, let's salute you - the Monikees fans - who have made it all possible. Now, on with the show ... "The Monkees Scrapbook" is a collection of odd bits of trivia, interviews, and hopefully a few suprises.  Inside you will find an exclusive interview with Michael Nesmtih, the Monkee who will not join the Summer '86 tour.  Another exclusive "Scrapbook" feature is the never-before-published list of  ALL the songs the Monkees ever recorded, including unreleased material..."  [pg. 8]

Hey, Hey We're The Monkees (1987)
By Mary Anne Cassata;
Sharon Starbooks, 64 p.

"Is it possible that after two decades, the Monkees' music can live again?   Just ask any first, second, or even third generation fan, and you're likely to be quite suprised.  The Monkees TV series is regarded as an American classic right along with such notables as Star Trek, The Honeymooners, and Leave It To Beaver.  Through TV syndication networks, and more so these past few years, the Monkees are as influentially popular at present as they were 20 years ago.  With ample support from the innovative cable station MTV back in early 1986 The Monkees were featured in 22-1/2 consecutive hours called Pleasant Valley Sunday."  [pg. 52]

They Made A MONKEE Out Of Me: The Only Authorized Story (1987)
by Davy Jones;
Dome Press, 240 p.

"I had never had to deal with failure, because I had never failed.  Well, there was the eleven plus, yes - and I'd certainly been second in a running race, or lost as part of a team in school soccer, y'know.  But in my theatrical experiences, school and church drama groups - it was never a question of win or lose.  I never thought about the numbers of people wathcing 'Coronation Street' - or the audiences in the West End theatre or on Broadway.  Same thing with The Monkees.  Success breeds success.  I never wondered about it - other people were responsible for that department...getting the people in...advertising and promotion...bump di bump di bum. Now that I think about it though, that is a fear - butterflies - will the people come?  But failure just wasn't happening somehow - I mean, the success of The Monkees was only to clear." [pg. 64]

Davy Jones: Daydream Believin' (January, 2000)
by Davy Jones;
Hercules Productions, 395 p.

"It's September 7th, 1986.  And when Mike Nesmith walks on-stage at the Greek Theatre, Hollywood, to join Micky, Peter and me - it's the stuff dreams are made of. Five days short of the 20th anniversary of the first airing of The Monkees TV show - the impossible, the improbably...the inevitable happens.  We come home to Tinseltown - the place that made us and then threw away the mold.  And we play and sing together, just the way they always hoped we would, confounding our cirtics and delighting our fans.  Dreams do come true.  And good guys win in the end. Just a couple of days prior, we had been on the MTV Music Awards how featuring such stars as Tina Turner, Mister Mister, Whitney Houston, David Lee Roth and Genesis.  And there we were on the TV screen again - as bubbly and instantly recognizable as when we originated the whole music video style with the first Monkees episode, The Royal Flush, September 12, 1966." [pg 321]

The Monkees Tale (March 1990 - Revised Edition) 
by Eric Lefcowitz;
The Last Gasp of San Francisco, 119 p.

". . . the smoke screen has finally lifted on the Monkees phenomenon.  What remains is a telling portrait of a time when authenticity - a key slogan of the era - could be used as a tool of repression.  Instead of simply being accepted at face value, the Monkees were victimized both by their image and an unwritten law stating that all celebrities must scratch and claw their way to fame. Admittedly, the group was a synthetic creation.  Scientifically manufactured in the image of the Beatles, the Monkees were rock's first test-tube baby.  And yet the group's illegitimate origins are hardly scandalous considering the roots of rock 'n' roll, which, arguably, is the bastard form of all folk music anyway.  This somewhat spurious notion of authenticity clearly muddles the issue.  Everyone knows the Monkees cashed in on Beatlemania - the question is, were they artistically bankrupt as well?  The answer is on the record." From the introduction [page 1.]

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Mutant Monkees Meet The Masters Of The Multimedia Manipulation Machine! (1992) by Davy Jones & Alan Green;
Click! Publishing, 176 p.

"They say when one door closes, another opens.  Well, when this door opened about a dozen others closed.  We were locked in and it seemed doomed to be over almost before it had begun. The second time around, twenty years later, we played small places, big halls, huge arenas - and basically did what we really wanted to do the first time around, but weren't allowed.  We put more of a theatrical presentation together... did songs we wanted to do, as well as the TV favorites - and had a great time doing it. When we're on stage there's a certain magic that we have together - it can't be compared to anything. But off-stage... ah, well." [pg 22]

Monkeemania (Feb. 15, 2000) 
by Glen A. Baker;
Plexus Publishing, 144 p.

"1967 was a truly extraordinary year for rock music, which was being propelled to dizzying new heights by every major album release.  No one knew this better than the Monkees and, even with only nine rushed days of recording, they managed to contribute to the rapid evolution with some important innovations.  A more practical approach to the question of session musicians had been adopted and a sensible complement of session players were used and duly credited, among them . . . [was] Moog synthesizer pioneer, the late Paul Beaver.  'I had the first Moog on the West Coast,' explains Micky.  'It was only the third one ever made.' . . . Micky played his Moog on Goffin and King's Star Collector and Nesmith's Daily Nightly.  The flying saucer effects on the latter inspired some critics to compre it to Beatle studio innovations." [page 75.]

The Monkees, Memories & the Magic (March 15, 2000)
By Edward Wincensten;
Wynn Publishing, 171 p.

[Sandy M.] shared this, "I am a 40 year old mom of two children.  They are also fans, as of the recent 30th anniversery. [sp]  I first became aware of the Monkees in 1966 through the television show.  I was only 7 at the time.  When I saw the show, seen the guys and heard the music I knew they were something special.  I never missed the show.  I was not the typical 7 year old, I didn't play kids games much, I preferred to listen to music, watch TV and read teen-idol magazines.  I think I acted more like a teenager than a 7 year old.  The show was funny, fresh, creative, fun, and the music was excellent.  All four guys were great and had their own appeal, and good looks.  The chemistry of the guys was perfect, no one else could have done it then, and I don't think anyone else could do it today.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing."  [pg. 42]

I'm A Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness (1993, revised July 25, 2004)  By Micky Dolenz and Mark Bego;
Cooper Square Press, 232 p.

"Because of our similar backgrounds, Davy and I had a lot in common and hit it off almost immediately.  We were used to the film production process and took to it like lawyers to politics.  Mike and Peter on the other hand, were more familiar with the worlds of recording and performing, and they blossomed whenever we started to rehearse or record.  Unfortunately, even from the very beginning, it was apparent that Mike and Peter were destined for confrontation.  There really couldn't be two more incompatible characters.  Mike is pragmatic, Peter is ethereal.  Peter is laid back, Mike is impatient.  Mike is oil, Peter is water.  There's no way these two would have ever gotten together to form a group under normal circumstances but, here we were, all together in a small room, in the final stages of labor, trying to give birth to something that resembled music. [pg. 68.]

Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees (1996) 
Edited by Harold Bronson;
General Publishing Group, 160 p.

"I thought bands played on their records.  So when they told us show up for our first recording session, I brought my guitar.  They didn't want me to play.  They said, "What are you complaining about?  You're making money."  I was distraught.  I look back on it now, and it makes all kinds of sense that we didn't play.  Obviously, we didn't know enough about pop music record production to be able crank out two tunes a week for the show, as well as act in it.  When we started filming the TV episodes, it took us five twelve-hour days per week.  We'd walk out of those things with our eyes crossed, and we were in no condition to be making records.  We finally did make our Headquarters album.  We were doing forty to fifty and sometimes seventy takes apiece on the basic tracks.  I didn't realize beforehand, but we weren't ready." - Peter Tork [pg. 42.]

REVIEW:  "Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees" can be considered the Monkees version of the Beatles' Anthology book.  Filled with first-person narration by all four band members (gleaned from interviews taken from the documentary of the same name), as well as contemporaries and others involved, this book is a fine "in-their-own-words" autobiography, with several different viewpoints,  giving a nice overview of the entire experience.  There are snippets of how each Monkee viewed the others, how major events are perceived by different players, accompanied by lots of photographs (mostly black & white, some color) and divided into thematic chapters ("The Beginning," "Boyce & Hart," "Jimi Hendrix" etc.).  I have a couple of gripes with the layout of the book itself.  Even with all of the people involved, it feels skimpy, with all of the text triple-spaced, so there's LOTS of white space on each page; and the text itself is rather clumsily blocked, so that some quotations spill over onto other pages, without telling who's being quoted, and other simple editorial blunders that show the general lack of professionalism that went into this book.  That said, this is still indispensable for Monkees fans, since these interviews are all exclusive, and can be found nowwhere else.  Add to that the nice, rosy reminiscent glow that is over everything, and it's a very pleasant read.  I just wish the same money had been poured into this as was the Beatles' Anthology - then it would have been definitive.

"Bill Chadwick said "He saw it as an opportunity, as a stepping stone.  He took every advantage he could.  Mike was a very intelligent guy, he was a real good businessman and a real talented person.  He was going to make the best of it no matter what the situation was.  The Monkees was a vehicle." "Lester Sill said "I hold Mike responsible for breaking the Monkees up.  That was his intention, and I tell him this when I see him.  We don't see each other that often, but when he came up here to buy some of his songs back, which I refused to sell him, I told him that I thought he played the part of a cold-hearted Rasputin that did not consider Davy, Peter or MIcky.  I feel he was the catalyst in helping to destroy the group because he felt that the other boys were inadequate." [pg. 11]

The Monkees Collectables Price Guide (Dec. 1998) 
by Marty Eck;
Antique Trader Books, 207p.

"Collecting Monkees memorabilia is like collecting almost any time of collectable:  Some items are more common than others, so their value is not as great.  Some items are much harder to find, because the manufacturer did not produce many, or because of the nature of the item.  Also, these items were, for the most part, designed for young people to play with, not to save. The original packaging is often a better-looking collectible and has more graphics than the item itself.  The wraparound design of many boxes made it difficult to get the item back in after playing with it, so they were usually discarded.  The original packaging often doubles the value of an item, because it is harder to locate.  The Monkees drum set is a good example of the item not being as colorful as the original box." [pg.15]

REVIEW:  This is a great book, not just for collectors (although it's fabulously informative for them as well), but also for just casual fans of the Monkees, since it's chock full of full-color pictures of all kinds of items that were the rage during the height of Monkeemania.  Marty Eck, a ferocious collector of Monkee stuff, has put together a slim paperback book which is nonetheless filled to the brim with rare and otherwise hard-to-find items including general memorabilia, books & comic books, magazines & television guides, music books & sheet music, fan clubs, trading cards, concert items, records & tapes, and even counterfeit items!  Some of my favorite items included are the french Kellogg's "Honey Smacks" box which included a picture of Monkees inside; the Mattel Monkees Record Tote bag; the fan club merchandise; actual office letters directed toward individual Monkees; and of course, the omnipresent official Monkees lunchbox!   Printed on nice, slick paper and in full color, this book is just plain fun to read and look at.  Also included with each item is a full description and a comparative price guide for each and every item.  Whew!  Highly recommended. The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story Of The 60s TV Pop Sensation (June 10, 2005) by Andrew Sandoval; Thunder Bay Press, 288 p.     Wednesday 22nd (1967) FILMING Production wraps on what will become episode 47 of the Monkees series, The Christmas Show.  Before The Monkees shoot thier next episode they probably take a few days off to work on the script for their upcoming movie.  Traveling north to the coastal town of Ojai, California, the group tape their ideas for a screenplay.  In addition to the four Monkees and number of others participate in these brainstorming sessions for a script, including series co-creators Bob Rafelson and Berg Schneider, actor Jack Nicholson, and Monkees assistant Brendan Cahill. Peter: "The main thing I remember ... was retiring to Ojah.  For three or four days we talked about what we did and didn't want.  Just hung out and talked about things.  We sort of found a common ground.  Al that we wanted was just to do something special.  Something a little extraordinary.  Something not quite normal.  What exactly that was, we wound up leaving to Bob and Jack ... We didn't want to do any of the conventional stuff."  [pg. 147] REVIEW:  The best reference book about The Monkees bar none, and the best book about The Monkees overall, period.  A staggeringly complete day-by-day guide to the Monkees during their 1966-1970 heyday, Andrew Sandoval, who's had a hand in most of the notable Monkees projects at Rhino Records, as well as several other bands, he interviewed each of the Monkees at length as well as those associated with the show and recordings, poured over recording sheets, contracts, television shooting schedules, concert listings and more in order to present an almost day-to-day guide to what the Monkees were doing on which day, which recordings were laid down, what episodes were shot, where they performed in concert, and much more.  The information is presented in an easy-to-read format, and the book is loaded with rare and familiar photographs throughout, as well as memorabilia that makes this book extremely easy on the eye.  But there's also eyewitness accounts, explanations for specific events, commentary, a complete Songography, capsule episode guides sprinkled throughout, and even pre-Monkees timelines which trace the early lives and careers of the Monkees.    Mr. Sandoval goes in-depth with his explanation of how the Monkees series got started, detailing audition and rehearsal processes in a minute detail which has never been attempted before.  What happened on January 25th, 1968?  (Mike Nesmith was in RCA Studios, Hollywood laying down tracks to "Empire" and an untitled piece of music); What important event occured on February 27, 1967? (Don Kirshner was officially fired from the Monkees); Where did the Monkees perform on July 18, 1969?  (the Majestic Bandstand, Majestic Hills, WI).  For Monkees fanatics this is just the bread and butter of thier lives - equal in every way to similar books about the Beatles and The Beach Boys, this book is the new standard of excellence for research about The Monkees.

"On the day of the session, I dressed up in my finest fab Carnaby Street gear, complete with hippy beads, tie-dyed shirt, and paisley bell bottoms, and was picked up by a black Daimier limo.  As we pulled up to the studios, I was awash with excitement - looking forward to what I assumed was going to be a psychedelic manic mod music love fest.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into the studio and was greeted by four guys, who were sitting alone, in folding chairs, under the glare of neon lights.  It looked like the inside of my high school gym. John asked if I wanted to hear what they were working on and I replied in fluent hippyese, "Yeah ... cool, man." Up in the booth, George Martin, wearing a three-piece suit, started a four-track tape recorder and I listened to the early tracks of "Good Morning Good Morning."  [pg. 237]

REVIEW:  For fans of the Monkees, this book will probably be something of a disappointment, since there is actually very little of Micky Dolenz within the pages.  Compiled mostly by the staff of the Buzztime Trivia Series, Micky gets copyright credits for four pages of brief reminiscences, and the introduction, as well as the standard acknowledgments and book dedication, and that's about it.  How much of a hand he actually had in compiling and choosing these questions I can't say for certain, but the cynic in me says that he was paid for the use of his name and the few brief passages I've mentioned, and laughed all the way to the bank.  Also, for fans hoping that this book is chock-full of Monkees-related trivia, you will also be disappointed, since this book is a wide-ranging tableaux of trivia, one small section of which is related to the Monkees, but even these questions aren't terribly challenging ("The Monkees' logo had the band's name spelled out in the shape of a _________?").  The questions don't even seem to get harder, and at a scant twelve questions, Monkee fans are going to rip through this section in no time at all.  That's not to say it's a bad book - if you're really into music trivia, you'll have a fine time perusing the wide-ranging questions, testing your knowledge of everything from Motown to Fake Bands, One Hit Wonders to The Piano Man, Charity Songs to Rock Romances.  The answers can be informative and interesting, but unless you are really into trivia games (didn't they go out of style with Trivial Pursuit?), this book will only be of interest to a narrow audience.  Now, if the Monkees would get together and put out a full-bore Monkees Trivia book - that I would wholeheartedly dive into.

Gakky Two-Feet (May 18, 2006) 
Micky Dolenz;
Putnam Juvenile, 32 p.

Nobody wanted to be called a scaredy-cat, so they all followed Frizz. "I can't see a thing," whispered Plop to Gak. Gleeb, a pretty little girl hominidee, was limping along beside Gak.  She had fallen out of a tree when she was a baby and had broken her leg.  She had walked with a limp ever since. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said as she tried to keep up." [pg. 9]

REVIEW:  In the lengthy introduction to his debut children's book Gakky Two-Feet, author Micky Dolenz recounts how he has "always been fascinated with anthropology,"  which, if you stop and think about it, is ironic, considering that for the majority of is life, Mr. Dolenz has been associated with the anthropomorphically-titled rock group The Monkees.  That self-professed love for paleoanthropological theory has  resulted in this book which is a story about a monkey-like creature who prefers to stand on his hind legs, much to the derision of his fellow critters, only to be ultimately lauded for his unique ability after saving his tribe from a prowling lion.  I wish I could say that this first children's outing by Micky is as wacky and clever as his Monkee-days antics, but sadly, it's not the case.  Gakky Two-Feet is not much more than a  somewhat dry, "what-if" scenerio that tries to show in simple terms how an erect  hominid is the next step on the evolutionary chain, being better suited to defend his  colony and thus advance the species.   Unfortunately, the book is about as fun as this description makes it sound.  Micky has succeeded in producing a competent look at current scientific theory, but he's failed at making it fun and lively.  The illustrations, by David Clark, are good, with the chimps all looking somewhat bug-eyed and having an indefinite "slack-jawed yokel" look about them, but with such dry prose to illustrate, the spark of real whimsy is pretty much extinguished.  And I question the ending in which the females of the tribe suddenly find the erect Gakky more desireable as a mate as appropriate for young children.  In short, this Monkey-to-Man storyline penned by Man-to-Monkee Dolenz is sorely lacking in that divine touch of humor and wit that could have elevated it to the next level.

Monkee Business: The Revolutionary Made-For-TV Band 
By Eric Lefkowitz 
Retrofuture Products, LLC;  
Released November 4, 2010 

Product Description The Monkees had everything-a popular TV show, hit records, and adoring fans. Everything but control over their careers. Author Eric Lefcowitz chronicles the kaleidoscopic journey of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork, following each of the four Monkees, together and apart, from 1965 to the present day. A must-read for music fans, Monkee Business is the definitive biography of a rock and roll legend. click here for a sample (.pdf format) About the Author Eric Lefcowitz is the author of The Monkees Tale, (1985), Tomorrow Never Knows: The Beatles' Last Concert, Are You PC? (1992), Have a Nice Day: Rhino's History of Rock'n'Roll--The 70s (1995), and What to Expect in the Year 2000 (1998). He began the website Retrofuture.com in 2000. He has written for the New York Times and many other publications.

REVIEW:  The second Monkees-themed book by author Eric Lefkowitz (the first being 1990's The Monkees Tale), his new book Monkee Business (with the Monkees portrayed on the cover as the heads of vintage coins), treads much of the same ground as his previous book, telling the story of how the Monkees came together, their success and ultimate flame-out - adding little details and focusing on one of the more obscure sides of the entertainment industry: the business.  It's no secret that the Monkees were conceived as a stepping stone for producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider to eventually make movies - and the author takes pains to explain their tactics and plans to make their dream succeed.  That they did, in fact succeed, beyond even their expectations, is an established fact, but this book is the first to look at the complex, behind-the-scenes machinery that made the Monkees a financial success.  In this aspect, the author both succeeds and fails in his ambitions.  Some details are revealed: the percentage rate that Don Kirschner demanded for his "golden-ear" services; the contract deals with the television studio; the personality snafus that nearly derailed the Monkees initial promise are all investigated; but since exact payment amounts and contract details aren't presented, most of the business here is glossed over in general terms, or not mentioned at all.  Still, this is a fascinating book - filled with quotes, back room dealings, and personality clashes, most of which have been documented in other sources, but many of which were new to me.  Still, I wish the author had delved more deeply into the details, and after the demise of the Monkees original series and recordings, he tends to skim over the rest of the Monkees' career, puttering over their reunion(s), which to my view, would have been just as interesting, business-wise, as their original successes.  A good book which could've been much better if the author had dug even deeper.

Monkee Music
By Andrew Hickey
lulu.com;   212 p.
Released December 7, 2011

Product description: Here they come... In Monkee Music, Andrew Hickey, author of The Beatles In Mono and The Beach Boys On CD, examines the music of Micky, Mike, Davy and Peter from their early bubblegum pop hits with Last Train To Clarksville and I'm A Believer, through their reinvention as a self-contained band with songs like Pleasant Valley Sunday and Daydream Believer, and their psychedelic masterpiece Head, and on into their reunion albums Pool It! and Justus. This book contains analysis of every studio track the Monkees ever released, and is a must for any Monkee Maniacs. Click here to read excerpts.

REVIEW:  Unlike other artists, The Monkees have never had a book dedicated to examining their musical out-put album by album, song by song.  Andrew Hickey, known to me by his long-time participation in Beach Boys musical forums, has released an informative, interesting, and valuable book on the Monkees musical legacy.  Woven into the personal thoughts and analysis on each Monkee album and track are background information, composer involvement, chart history, and much more.  Did you know that the Monkees comeback single "That Was Then, This Is Now" was a cover of a song released a year earlier by another band called "The Mosquitoes"?  I didn't.  Or that "Hard to Believe" was co-written by Davy and a couple of their touring band and a roadie?  Cool little tidbits like that are littered throughout the book, and if the author just so happens to diss a song that is one of your favorites, so what?  It's cool to read along while listening to an album and see just how much you didn't know about one of the Sixties best, and most intriguing rock bands.  Although the author tackles bonus tracks which have been included on recent reissues, he doesn't address the recent "Deluxe" editions that Rhino has put out, and he doesn't touch any of the individual members' solo albums, both of which would have made this book truly definitive.  Still a worthwhile read, and a valuable addition to your Monkee book shelf.