33⅓ Revolutions per Monkee

'' Revolutions per Monkee'' is a television special starring the Monkees that aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. The musical guests included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold and the Moon Express and We Three. The special was produced by Jack Good, creator of the television series '' Shindig!''.

Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger (with their backing band the Trinity) also played a prominent role. This special is notable as the Monkees' final performance as a quartet until 1986, as Peter Tork left the group at the end of the special's production.

Overview

The story follows Brian Auger and his assistant Julie Driscoll as they take the Monkees through various stages of evolution until they are ready to brainwash the world via commercial exploitation. Trapped in giant test tubes, the four are stripped of all personal identity and names: Micky Dolenz becomes Monkee #1, Peter Tork becomes Monkee #2, Michael Nesmith Monkee #3 and Davy Jones Monkee #4.

Auger and Driscoll observe each of the Monkees' minds as the group attempt to regain their stripped personal identities through their fantasies. Mickey performs an R&B up-tempo duet remake of "I'm a Believer" with Driscoll. Peter reclines on a giant cushion in eastern garb and, with musical backing by sitar and tabla, performs the gentle "I Prithee (Do Not Ask for Love)". Mike, in a chroma-key sequence, sings a country song, "Naked Persimmon". Davy sings and dances to "Goldilocks Sometime" as a toy. Auger finds their fantasies interesting and proceeds with the brainwash.

Now under Auger's control, the Monkees perform like stiff-legged wind-up robots ("Wind-Up Man"). Auger, displeased with their wooden performance, introduces a four-part harmony with pianos stacked atop each other, with Auger and his electric keyboard on top, then descending to Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Fats Domino on the bottom. Charles Darwin appears and, disapproving of Auger's methods, introduces him and the Monkees to evolution in the form of a psychedelic dance performance ("Only the Fittest Shall Survive"). Darwin turns the Monkees back into apes (" I Go Ape") and allows Auger, Driscoll and the Trinity to work from there, and Driscoll sings "Come On Up". Several times during the mayhem, Graham Nash appears in a cameo exclaiming "I don't believe it!"

With the process complete, Auger introduces the Monkees to a gig at the Paramount Theater on December 7, 1956 and describes them as "idolized, plasticized, psychoanalyzed and sterilized". The Monkees, dressed in outlandish 1950s vocal-group gear, launch into a classic 1950s rock medley: " At the Hop", " Shake a Tail Feather", " Little Darlin'" and " Peppermint Twist", backed by Lewis, Richard, Domino, We Three and the Clara Ward Singers. The guest performers contributed their own songs to the medley, with the Ward Singers performing "Dem Bones" as the segment's finale.

Auger and Driscoll break character and announce that they have had enough of the show's brainwashing plot, stating that they would rather have "complete and total freedom" (which Driscoll describes as "utter bloody shambles"), thus introducing the final act.

In a warehouse full of instruments and props, Davy stands atop a high staircase performing Bill Dorsey's "String for My Kite". Peter enters the scene and performs, on a Hohner Clavinet, '' Solfeggietto'' by Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach. Mike and Micky arrive and perform " Listen to the Band", with Mike playing his Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty", Peter on keyboards, Micky on drums and Davy on tambourine. As the song progresses, they are joined by Auger, Driscoll, Buddy Miles and an assortment of partygoers and musicians until the music transforms into a climactic frantic cacophony. The camera zooms out to a book with "Chaos Is Come Again" on the next page. The book closes with "The Beginning of the End" on the front cover.

The closing credits feature a reversed scene from the Moon Express' dance sequence, with Peter singing " California, Here I Come" over the credits as California is nuked, killing the fictional Monkees.

Production and broadcast issues

Negotiations took place in early 1968 for the Monkees to star in three NBC television specials to air in 1969, with '' Revolutions per Monkee'' as the first. The Monkees began rehearsals for the program one day after their return from their Australasian tour in October 1968. Production began in November 1968 after completing a press tour promoting their film ''Head''. Music sessions with Bones Howe and Michael Nesmith producing commenced in mid-November, with the final taping of the special occurring at the end of the month. Before production started, a strike at NBC almost meant that the special could not be taped; however, stage space was found at MGM Studios in Culver City, and the sets were transported there. Because of the last-minute location change, the special was directed from outdoor broadcast trucks parked outside the soundstages.

The Monkees were reportedly angry with producer Jack Good and director Art Fisher's script for '' Revolutions per Monkee'', calling it "too sloppy, too fairy-tale like," while Davy Jones felt that, for a TV special starring the Monkees, it emphasized the guest cast over the group itself. Nesmith, in liner notes for '' The Monkees Anthology'' CD compilation, called ' "the TV version of ''Head''".

While Peter Tork was, at one point, the only Monkee working on ''Head'', he bought out his Monkees contract at the end of production of '' Revolutions per Monkee'' on December 20, 1968, reportedly suffering from exhaustion. Tork's departure reduced the Monkees to a trio, and the group was not seen on network TV as a foursome again until 1997. After production wrapped, Tork was given a gold watch with the inscription "To Peter, from the guys down at work".

Unhappy with the final edit, NBC aired the special on the West Coast opposite the 41st Academy Awards broadcast on ABC. The telecast was also marred by an engineer who accidentally presented the segments out of sequence. These incidents prompted NBC to cancel plans to produce the remaining Monkees specials. Because of the technology of the time, the Hawaiian broadcast of the special affiliate KHON-TV was delayed for two weeks, finally airing on April 28. The special's telecast in Great Britain occurred on Saturday, May 24 on BBC2. It premiered in Australia on ATN7 on Sunday, November 16.

Musical numbers

*Micky Dolenz and Julie Driscoll: "I'm a Believer (Blues)"
*Peter Tork: "I Prithee (Do Not Ask for Love)"
*Michael Nesmith: "Naked Persimmon"
*Davy Jones: "Goldilocks Sometime"
*The Monkees: "Wind Up Man"; "Darwin"
*Paul Arnold and the Moon Express: "Only the Fittest Shall Survive"
*The Monkees: "I Go Ape"
*Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity: "Come On Up"
*Medley:
**The Monkees: " At the Hop"
**Fats Domino: "I'm Ready"
**Jerry Lee Lewis: " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
**Little Richard: " Tutti Frutti"
**We Three and the Monkees: " Shake a Tail Feather"
**Fats Domino: " Blue Monday"
**The Monkees: " Little Darlin'"
**Little Richard: "Long Tall Sally"
**Jerry Lee Lewis: " Down the Line"
**The Clara Ward Singers: "Dem Bones"
*Davy Jones: "String for My Kite"
*Peter Tork: " Solfeggietto" by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
*The Monkees and cast: " Listen to the Band"
*Peter Tork: " California, Here I Come" (end titles)

DVD release

In the 1990s, '' Revolutions per Monkee'' was released commercially by Rhino Home Video (parent company Rhino Entertainment owns the rights to ''The Monkees'') in two different versions. The version of '' Revolutions per Monkee'' released individually in January 1997 (R3 2284) has been on file for years at the Paley Center for Media in New York City, with good sound quality, a fuzzy picture and the segments in original broadcast order.

The DVD version features two commentary tracks: one by Brian Auger and the other by Micky Dolenz, who has mixed feelings about the program.

The special was remastered for the Monkees' 50th anniversary Blu-ray box set, but because of licensing restrictions, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was edited from the medley.

Soundtrack

No official soundtrack was planned or has been released. Some songs have been officially released as bonus tracks on recent deluxe editions of ''Head'' and ''Instant Replay''. The versions of songs with vocals have been lifted directly from the television audio.

A number of low-quality demo recordings are known to exist, including versions of "A String for My Kite" and "Wind-Up Man" and unused songs "Buttoning the Buttons", "I Am a Fish", "Lucky You" and "The Bus & the Crocodile", all performed by the same musician, probably the show's main songwriter Bill Dorsey. "I Am a Fish" was recorded by Tiny Tim under the title "The Other Side" in 1968. The tracks "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" and "I Wish That I Were Dead" (a.k.a. "But Now I Find") were officially released singles by the Brogues, but they have been erroneously listed as demo recordings for '' Revolutions per Monkee'', as has "My Community", written by Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico, which was recorded by Tiny Tim under the title "Community" in 1968. A vinyl bootleg album, possibly recorded by placing a microphone in front of a television speaker while the program played, was produced by Zilch Records.Prindle, Mark. "Prindle Record Reviews – The Monkees." ''Prindle Rock And Roll Record Review Site.'' Web. 09 Mar. 2012. .

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:33 Revolutions per Monkee
The Monkees
1960s American television specials
Music television specials
Musical theatre television specials
1969 television specials
1969 in American television