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Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork discuss their ’60s heyday and their brand new album
Hey, hey theyrestillThe Monkees.
We asked Dolenz and Tork to talk about their greatest hits and and their new album.
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Last Train to Clarksville (1966)
Micky Dolenz:We were working 24/7.
Normally, you do a TV series eight, 10 hours a day and go home.
So, its all a bit of a blur.
That middle bit, there were words to that.
I cant learn to sing that.
But I never allowed us to sing it in public.
I cant ever see us singing Hey, hey, were the Monkees!
I couldnt bear it.
Im a Believer (1966)
MD:Idoremember lots of snatches of touring back then.
[When we played Im a Believer] I couldnt hear myself.
I just had to pound away.
I had a big bruise.
(Im Not Your) Stepping Stone is not peaches and cream.
It comes down hard on the subject, poor girl.
And the weight of the song is indicated by the fact that the Sex Pistols covered it.
Anybody trying to write 60s songs now thinks that you have to write 59th St. Bridge.
[Sings] Feeling groovy!
Which is an okay song, but has not got a lot of guts.
Randy Scouse Git (AKA Alternate Title) (1967)
MD:We were over in England.
I write the song about my adventures with the Beatles and the people in England.
Its rude and its dirty for kids.
I said, What does it mean?
And the guy said, It means a horny Liverpudlian jerk.
You have to have an alternate title.
So, I changed it to Alternate Title.
As we sing it, theres a line Now, you know how happy I can be.
John wrote Now, you know howfunkyI can be.
But the music department said, The Monkees arenotinging the word funky.
Always thank her for that.
And, at the session, the guitars were played by Neil Young and Ry Cooder.
Listen to that song.Those guitar parts are Neil Young and Ry Cooder!
It was like the perfect storm, it just all came together.
Because this indie-rock world sounds just like 60s, jangly, pop-guitar music.
But I guess whats old is new, what goes around, comes around.
(2016)
MD:Harry (Nilsson) and I were very close for many years.
It was very emotional.
I had to stop a couple of times and compose myself.
I suspect it was like when Natalie Cole sang along with her father.
Love to Love (2016)
PT:Its a Neil Diamond song and it was recorded with Davy.
We got to mix it and Micky and I sang backups.
They reported that, Well, we just pretended John had stepped out for a cup of tea.
In a sense, this was the same.
Well, Davy isnt here at the moment, but were carrying on.
Its not like we pretended that he was still alive.
We just sang what we had to sing.
The Monkees 50th anniversary tour hits New Yorks Town Hall, tomorrow, June 1.
