This Week's Monkees Music & TV Almanac (8/10-6/08)

[AaronHandy3]

AUGUST 11, 1973

"The Monkees On The Wheel," Episode No. 46 of The Monkees (prod. #4742, aired on NBC December 11, 1967 and June 10, 1968), was repeated @ 1:00 p.m. EDT on ABC.

AUGUST 12, 1968

"The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show"), Episode No. 54 of The Monkees (prod. #47??, aired on NBC February 19, 1968), was repeated @ 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC.



AUGUST 12, 1972

"The Monkees In Paris" (a.k.a. "The Paris Show"), Episode No. 54 of The Monkees (prod. #47??, aired on NBC February 19 and August 12, 1968), was repeated @ noon EDT on CBS, with 3 new songs added: "Oh My My," written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, "I Love You Better," also written by Barry and Kim, and "Tell Me Love," written by Jeff Barry.

This was the only retelecast of "The Monkees In Paris" during The Monkees' Saturday Afternoon run...which occurred exactly 2 years to the day of its NBC rerun!

AUGUST 14, 1967

"One Man Shy" (a.k.a. "Peter And The Debutante"), Episode No. 13 of The Monkees (prod. #47??, aired on NBC December 5, 1966), was repeated @ 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC, with a new song added: "Forget That Girl," written and produced by Douglas Farthing Hatlelid. (The redubbed 1967 repeat airs in syndication to this day.)

Kellogg's™ sponsored this week, and the commercials seen this week were: Tony The Tiger for Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes (:30)/Clairol Summer Blonde (:30)/Bufferin (:30)/Kellogg's Raisin Bran (1:00), and The Monkees for Kellogg's Rice Krispies (:30).

AUGUST 14, 1971

"Monkee Chow Mein", Episode No. 26 of The Monkees (prod. #47??, aired on NBC March 13 and July 31, 1967), was repeated @ 12:30 p.m. EDT on CBS.

AUGUST 15, 1970

"The Monkees Get Out More Dirt", Episode No. 29 of The Monkees (prod. #47??, aired on NBC April 3, 1967), was repeated @ noon EDT on CBS, with a new song added: "Steam Engine" written by Chip Douglas.

AUGUST 16, 1966

The Colgems single #66-1001, Boyce & Hart's "Last Train To Clarksville" bw/ Goffin & King's "Take A Giant Step," performed by The Monkees, is released.



Surprisingly, both Nesmith and Boyce/Hart produced sessions (and in the case of Boyce/Hart, a very long one) of "Last Train To Clarksville" took place on the same day in June 1966 at different studios with Micky Dolenz participating in both! Although all four Monkees were given tries at singing lead on "Clarksville", Micky Dolenz sang the lead on the released version with The Candy Store Prophets, Wayne Erwin, Louie Shelton, Tommy Boyce (acoustic guitar) and David Walters (percussion) doing the backing track. Unfortunately, the vocal takes from the other three were erased. The tune of course went on to become the group's first release (4 weeks before their TV series' debut on NBC, to accurately time it for network promotion), single, gold record, and #1. It was also included on the album.

"Take A Giant Step" is also from Boyce and Hart's second session, this time with Boyce playing acoustic guitar, Jack Keller playing piano, Bobby Hart playing glockenspiel, and Bob Cooper provided the oboe. "Take A Giant Step" made the B-side of the group's first single. An alternate mix (without backing vocals) of "Take A Giant Step" aired on the television show (in Episode No. 9, "The Chaperone"), and Peter later recorded a solo version of the song.

(Data by Louis Colli)