The Monkees hit the airwaves in, what, 1966? I was 8 years old. I have to admit I bought it hook, line and sinker. I was in! I think, up to that time, I was quite enamored of Pop music and it's Stars, but in the same way that I was obsessed with James Bond. It was simply a boyish fantasy in which the indulger, if forced to admit, could never hope to truly roam. Fun nonetheless.
Somehow, though, watching these fakesters on the TV every week seemed to enable me to think that I could do that.
Go figure!
I alternated between wanting to be Davy/Micky/Mike. Peter just seemed a doofus. I had all their albums. The fact that I knew the names of all the songwriters that Doc mentioned is fairly odd when you consider my age, especially when you factor in that I even knew Boyce and Hart were the principals and usually contributed the best ones.
My siblings and I had to attend a local day care in those days. It was my habit to take Monkees albums in and use them to serenade the cuter female denizens. I got my first real kiss as a result! I could do a pretty mean Davy and an even better Micky, if I do say so myself.
Today I see them for what they were, without an ounce of revisionism. Many of those songs, however, hold up exceptionally well. I never been ashamed to admit I'm a Pop maven and brilliant Pop will always be brilliant Pop!
I wonder whatever happened to old Boyce and Hart?