Mary and Joseph > In Memoriam : Mary, Mary

 

purchase [ Mary Mary - the Monkees ]

This Mary-Joseph post was begun the day the theme went live. It's been sitting - waiting for inspiration and attention for two weeks. So long postponed that it now qualifies as a bridge between the last and next post. Which was actually part of the initial thought but not the intended outcome. (I've been struggling to keep up with the relentless flow of the SMM timeline. Here's hopng that as the days get longer, I find more time.)

I fess up: back in the 60s, I had a collection of Monkees music. Off the top of my head: I'm  Believer (for sure), maybe Pleasant Valley Sunday, and more than likely, this one.

Since we are now talking about bridging Mary-Joseph and Memoriam, Michael Nesmith is on the table. Not for autopsy here, but for musical contributions to Mary Mary. This is one written by Nesmith. One part of Nesmith's legacy is his working to counter the image generated by the TV version of the Monkees and the background noise that they weren't actually musicians: more than once, he offered up his own work only to have it turned down by the studio bosses.

Nesmith. as you may know, passed away a few weeks ago and thereby qualifies for our upcoming In Memoriam theme.

For many of those of my age, I'm a Believer will remain in the back of our minds as a classic of our teen years.

Aware that Paul Butterfield also released this on his East-West album, to me, the defintive version is the one by the Monkees.

In Memoriam: Davy Jones

 

YouTube copy of the "Official" video for the Monkees' "I'm A Believer"

In the mid to late 60s, I had a transistor radio (about the size of a fat iPhone) that received short wave frequencies. One of the stations I could pick up (it came and went/faded so that it sounded like a sine wave) was Radio Luxemburg – I was able to hear about ½ of any song. I have since learned that it was a “pirate” station: a ship stationed off-shore of England that broadcast its playlist “illegally”. Many years later (think” Jimi Hendrix”), I found it difficult to admit that I actually liked the Monkees. However, 40 years down the line, as I look back and research the times/history, I realize that I shouldn’t feel so bad: I am one of millions who propelled their music to the top of the charts.

 

The story behind the Monkees is unique. Originally intended as a TV show, they ended up surprising everyone. They were initially not permitted to play their own music/instruments. They were shuffled around various instrumental roles by management trying to maximize revenue. Dolnez, the lead vocalist of this piece, was not a drummer until his “handlers” decreed so. In the clip, Mike Nesmith plays the guitar. The February 2012 deceased who this post pays respect to is Davy Jones, dead at the relatively early age of 66. In the video clip above, Jones does backup vocals and tambourine. In many other Monkees’ hits, he did the lead vocals.