Micky Dolenz On Legacy Of The Monkees And Favorite Live Concert Moments

Following the death of Michael Nesmith this past December, Micky Dolenz now stands as the last living member of legendary pop rock group The Monkees.

Dolenz paid tribute to his friend and bandmate in 2021 by putting his own spin on 14 Nesmith-penned tunes for the album Dolenz Sings Nesmith, one created in collaboration with Nesmith’s son Christian who oversaw arrangements as the album’s producer. A new EP featuring four more tracks from those sessions is now available via 7a Records.

Last November, less than a month before Nesmith’s passing, the pair wrapped up one final Monkees tour. Just four months later, Dolenz was back on the road, paying tribute to Nesmith, Peter Tork and Davy Jones during a solo run which featured special never before seen video from his personal collection.

“I first met Davy at the audition process. We had a lot in common. We’d both been child stars,” explained Dolenz on stage last month, setting up a video tribute to Jones midway through a 28 song performance which saw him backed by a stellar seven piece group on stage at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Illinois. “We just hit it off. And we became incredible friends. I miss him terribly. Ladies and gentlemen, David Jones.”

I spoke with Micky Dolenz, who’s currently on tour alongside Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, an outing which continues Thursday in New Jersey, running into early June, about getting back on stage following pandemic-induced layoff, the new Dolenz Sings Nesmith EP, touring in support of his first television show Circus Boy when he was just 10 years old and a formative concert moment involving James Brown. A transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.

What it’s been like at the end of last year and now this year getting back on stage in front of actual fans?

MICKY DOLENZ: Weird! It’s been kind of strange. I hate to say it with all of the people that have been suffering but I’ve been enjoying myself with the time off. I’ve really enjoyed the forced retirement shall we say. And I got a lot accomplished. Stayed safe and everything.

But, on the other hand, I was kind of anxious to get back on the road and do some shows – especially with Nez when he was around. I had such a great time performing with him and being around him. We always just got along so great. I miss him.

That really struck me about that last tour. It seemed like completing those shows was something that was really important to him. What was kind of the feeling between you guys during that run?

MD: It was. Very.

I was concerned about his health. Because it’s no mystery that he’d had some health issues. So we were all concerned. But he was not one to moan and whine. But it was pretty apparent that he was having issues. So I was concerned about that. But he’s a trooper.

And you’re absolutely right. Before we even started it, we checked and said, “Do you really want to do this?” And he said, “Absolutely.” In retrospect, I think he maybe knew more about what was going on than he let on.

Here we are four months later and you’re back on the road. How important is it to celebrate not just the legacy of The Monkees but even more so the legacy of your bandmates in the way that you are?

MD: We did some special video stuff, including video that I shot that’s never been seen before from way back in the 60s. And it is just that – before I decided to do these shows, I did kind of reach out and ask – we reached out to fans and the agents and promoters and said, “Well, what do you think?” You see, some of these shows had already been booked for Nez and I – a couple of years ago in fact. The Ryman in Nashville had been postponed like four times.

So I thought about it. And, like I say, I reached out. And unanimously the decision was, “Yeah. Please do it. And do it for the fans.” I obviously wasn’t going to call it The Monkees. So I came up with the idea of “Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees.” And so far so good. Everybody seems to be appreciating it.

Like I say, we’ve got these special video sections devoted to each of the three guys.

I’m always fascinated anytime something like you just described comes up – this video of The Monkees that nobody has ever seen. That that stuff is even still out there waiting to be found. The Monkees are one of those bands where we assume we’ve seen everything. How did you find this footage? Did you stumble onto it or were you looking for it?

MD: I’ve had it all these years and I’ve known that I’ve had it. But it was all just in boxes, not filed. Finally I got someone to help me catalog it. A lot of it is just silly, lousy home movie kind of stuff. But some of it is kind of cute. And some of it is very interesting. Like I say, I had somebody help me catalog it and that’s when we decided to kind of take advantage of it.

Between finding this video and putting together this celebratory show, the new EP, you’ve really been forced to ponder the legacy of The Monkees even more so than usual. What does the band mean to you during a crazy time like 2022?

MD: Well, obviously, I’m the last man standing now, you know? And that certainly has had an effect on me to be honest. I think about it almost all of the time – especially when I’m on the road. But, even when I’m not, when I’m back home, it’s strange to be honest. It’s kind of weird. I haven’t fully computed it yet I’m sure.

MORE FROM FORBESMicky Dolenz On The Music Of Mike Nesmith And The Earliest Days Of The MonkeesBy Jim Ryan

We spoke about a year ago when you released the Dolenz Sings Nesmith album. And now there’s the new EP. What was it like working with Mike’s son Christian on it and sort of reimagining those Nesmith-penned songs?

MD: We didn’t work that much together with Nez. He gave us his good graces of course. It certainly was a collaboration with Christian. And he and Christian I know talked. It was during the pandemic so there wasn’t much chance of collaborating with anybody in person much at all. But Nez gave us his good wishes and when he finally heard the product he said he was very proud of it. Those were the words he used: “very proud of it.”

And Christian did, I think, an incredible job on it, reimagining these songs. Especially as a kid who’s heard them his entire life.

I was listening to the EP this morning. The string arrangement on “The Crippled Lion” is beautiful. Is that Christian’s arrangement?

MD: Everything, yes. Christian did basically everything. There were other musicians on it. I had some hand in the arrangement and a couple of things but it was down to Christian.

I’m really intrigued by “Soul-Writer’s Birthday” in particular. Nez copyrighted it but never recorded it, is that the story there?

MD: Yes. That’s right. When he would write something back then, of course because we had the publishers, Screen Gem’s Publishing, he would write something and copyright it. He was quite prolific as you know. So it was just one of those things that we just never got around to recording. It’s as simple as that. So that’s a virgin tune.

It was really interesting listening to “Some of Shelly’s Blues” now. It’s almost hard to believe that was an outtake. But you recorded your take on that song, which Mike wrote, prior to his passing. Do those lyrics sort of take on a new meaning to you hearing them now?

MD: Oh that’s interesting you should say that. Because I think they probably did. A lot of his songs now that I’m singing have. Even ones he didn’t write. “Me & Magdalena.” That’s suddenly taken on a deeper meaning. I’m doing it with my sister now in the show. I’ve done that before in my solo shows with my sister Coco.

As we talk about getting back on stage and getting back on the road, I feel compelled to ask if you remember your first concert or if there’s a formative early concert moment that had an impact that still sticks out for you?

MD: I’ve got a couple that really stand out. One would’ve been seeing James Brown. It was in L.A. That would’ve been the early, early 60s. At a big theatre – big. Maybe like the Shrine Auditorium or something like that? Gosh, maybe ‘62 or ‘63? But seeing him live.

More recently, seeing Johnny Mathis live – who I was and am a huge, huge fan of. He had an enormous influence on a lot of my music – the singing qualities of it.

MORE FROM FORBES‘The Voice Of Christmas’ Johnny Mathis On Singing Christmas Songs And The Role Of Holiday Music In 2020By Jim Ryan

As far as my musical experience, my first performance, I was 10 years old promoting the series Circus Boy. I had learned to play the guitar and was strumming along. So they sent us on this press junket. I went across the country in a train with my pet elephant for this press junket. And we ended up at Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, a famous amusement park, doing a publicity thing. They said, “Can you sing anything on that guitar?” I said, “I know a couple of things. Like ‘Purple People Eater.’” There was a little three piece bandstand band and they knew the song and backed me up. And actually I found a multi-track recording of this. But I sang two or three little songs with my guitar. And then the elephant came out and did all of those elephant circus tricks.

So, basically, my first professional gig, I opened for an elephant.