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| Ten Thousand Motels |
COOL 2 KNOW
He's a believer
Peter Tork defends the Monkees' viability for Rock Hall of Fame
BY JOSEPH DIONISIO
Newsday.com
April 18, 2007
'So you better get ready," shouts the theme to the Monkees' 1960s TV series, "we may be comin' to your town!" Unless, of course, your town is Cleveland.
Peter Tork - whose band Shoe Suede Blues visits East Setauket and Patchogue this week - says the Monkees merit consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but one man opposes their induction.
"The only person ... holding a grudge is Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone," says the former Monkee. The magazine editor "has never written a gracious word. He personally has the veto power to keep us out."
How does the band - whose Emmy-winning show aped the Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" - rank against other inductees? Neither the Animals, the Rascals, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Dells, Del Shannon, Frankie Lymon nor Black Sabbath have more Top 20 singles than the Monkees' 10. Ratings aside, classics such as "Pleasant Valley Sunday" have aged better than the likes of Shannon, whose "Hat's Off to Larry" seems laughable as Hall justification.
Bands as disparate as the Sex Pistols ("Steppin' Stone"), Run-D.M.C. ("Mary, Mary") and The Church ("Porpoise Song") have covered Monkees' songs. Even Radiohead's "Go To Sleep" eerily channels Micky Dolenz's vocals.
"I'm convinced that Micky is one of the great singers of our time," Tork says. "He's always been something of a genius."
One notable fan is Michael Stipe, who reportedly vowed to bar R.E.M. from the Hall until the Monkees got in. Stipe declined comment, but in 1994 he did tell Rolling Stone that "The Monkees ... meant a lot more to me" than the Beatles. R.E.M. was finally inducted last month.
Wenner - who didn't reply to an interview request - allegedly denounces Tork, Dolenz, Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith for not playing their own instruments on the band's first albums.
In this "American Idol" era, when acts are "manufactured" like toasters, fewer critics crucify the Monkees for being a TV show that spawned a band. So have they faced an unfair standard? Were they, in fact, a "real" group?
"I've not heard the slightest murmur about the Monkees being fake," Tork, 65, says from his Connecticut home. "Everybody's forgotten it, except Wenner. He's been vicious."
One Rolling Stone reporter, Tork says, wrote a glowing story crystallizing their merits. But before publication, Tork adds, "The writer said, 'Jann took my article, gutted it and rewrote it to [bury] you.'"
Backed by producer Don Kirshner's songwriting stable - Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart - the band unleashed four straight No. 1 albums and three chart-toppers. They eventually penned their own catchy pop, albeit with less chart success.
"George Harrison used to say he wished his best songs were as good as the worst of Lennon-McCartney," Tork says. "So, we used to hope our best songs were as good as the worst of the Brill Building."
Tork's fame, however, is more about musicianship than songwriting. So said Jimi Hendrix, who called him the most talented Monkee. The guitarist opened several Monkees' gigs, including a '67 show at Forest Hills' West Side Tennis Club. Was his compliment accurate?
"I'm not sure it's quite true," says Tork, who plays guitar, banjo, piano and bass. "I'm far and away the best-trained musician, but I'm in awe of all three [Monkees]. Jimi meant that I was the most [receptive] to his kind of music."
Tork's new album - Shoe Suede Blues' "Cambria Hotel" (sold at cdbaby.com) - stars guitarist Richard Mikuls, bassist Arnold Jacks and drummer Jeff Olson. The band's name doesn't reflect Elvis, so much as a less fractious era in radio.
Besides a bluesy "Last Train to Clarksville," its hidden gem is an Indian violin-laced "For Pete's Sake," aka the show's closing theme. The album has medicinal value, Tork suggests.
"People listen to dance music like taking aspirin: to shut down the pain," he says. "But the blues puts you back together. Like penicillin, it's therapeutic. If I can bring a microscopic bit of that feeling ... my career's in good shape.
The Monkees today:
DAVY JONES, 61 ... the lone British Monkee
His fame led David Bowie (originally David Jones) to change his name ... Tony nominee for "Oliver!" in '60s ... he and Dolenz had little musical training before the series' NBC debut on Sept. 12, 1966.
MIKE NESMITH, 64 ... aka Wool Hat
He wrote Linda Ronstadt's "Different Drum" ... video pioneer who paved the way for creation of MTV ... his mom, Bette Nesmith, invented Liquid Paper in the '50s Skipped most Monkee reunions, and keeps little contact.
MICKY DOLENZ, 62
Earned TV success as child star (1956's "Circus Boy"), director ("Boy Meets World")... auditioned as Fonzie on "Happy Days" and Riddler in '95's "Batman," but voiced Two-Face in a Bat 'toon ... son of actor George Dolenz … former DJ at WCBS/101.1 FM.
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
If those suckers get into the R&RHOF I think many of us can apply for an induction. Come on! A clown band created for a TV show and then later becoming a "rock" group... fuck it! |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
VoodooChileInWOnderl wrote:
If those suckers get into the R&RHOF I think many of us can apply for an induction. Come on! A clown band created for a TV show and then later becoming a "rock" group... fuck it!
LOL. Then you're siding with Wenner??? |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
I have a huge collection of "Rolling Stone" magazine from 1967 to 1973 and then many numbers from 1974 to 1983 and there ain't a word about those clowns |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Well maybe they don't deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. But maybe they should have their very own Aprreciation Thread here at Rocks Off. I mean they do have their fans. |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
No please
NO!!
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| Starbuck |
come now, voodoo. i would estimate that 25% of the monkees' songs are good. you told me, you just may be the one, pleasant valley sunday, daily nightly, most of the songs off head - there's some good stuff there. admittedly about 60% of the monkees' songs immediately give the listener a nasty case of the hives....but there are still some good songs.
another point:
quote:
One notable fan is Michael Stipe, who reportedly vowed to bar R.E.M. from the Hall until the Monkees got in. Stipe declined comment, but in 1994 he did tell Rolling Stone that "The Monkees ... meant a lot more to me" than the Beatles.
this gives me immediate krohn's. it explains alot. |
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| voodoopug |
this topic has embarrassed us all |
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| Brian Jones Girl |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
I mean they do have their fans.
Like me...  |
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| egon |
the R&R HOF is a joke anyway.
So the monkees should definitely be in there. |
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| VoodooChileInWOnderl |
This would be more than a joke Egon! |
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| corgi37 |
I loved the show when i was a kid, but then, i was a kid. |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
What's his real name? Torklestein or something like that? |
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| texile |
they had some great songs, and the show had a great irreverence about it that served as an introduction to rock and roll for alot of younger kids.
granted, people like carole king and neil diamond wrote their songs and the show was copying the beatles....
but wenner has too much power over who gets in anyway...
he's an ass-kissing cocksucker.
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
texile wrote:
he's an ass-kissing cocksucker.
That's kind of hard to do at the same time, isn't it? Not that I've ever tried it. |
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| Saint Sway |
hey they let these ass clowns in... so the doors WIDE OPEN now
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| texile |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
That's kind of hard to do at the same time, isn't it?
lol...maybe -
not for wenner though.
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