Credit: Far Out / NBC
In 1967, Mickey Dolenz and The Monkees had three multi-platinum, chart-topping albums and three number-one singles, as well as a hit NBC TV series. To top it all off, they had their sights set on a mind-blowing major US tour.
Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork knew they could easily wow crowds on their home turf; the next biggest issue was finding an opening act that was enthralling and energetic, the perfect premonition of the headline slot to come. In retrospect, tapping the ebullient, effervescent, and unorthodox Jimi Hendrix for this role wasn’t the best idea Dolenz ever had.
Dolenz was aware of the new talent circling the circuit, as he was famed for playing the guitar with his teeth; after catching him in New York at Cafe Au Go Go, fate brought Dolenz to another Jimi Hendrix show at the Monterey Pop Festival. He watched on as Hendrix set his Fender Stratocaster on fire, hypnotised by his macabre display.
The Emmy-winners thought, naively, that this level of balls-to-the-wall star power would be perfect for their tour: Dolenz mused, as per Guitar Player, “I suggested him to the producers of the show. I said, ‘Y’know, he’s very theatrical’, which he was, of course. And The Monkees, to me, was essentially a theatrical act. We were a TV show, right?”
But they forgot to consider one all-important element of the live experience: the crowd. At the time, The Monkees attracted a fawning, screaming teenage crowd, who trembled over Dolenz and co with naive intensity. The Hendrix experience was too outlandish for such a crowd, who might’ve otherwise been open to the shrieking guitar solos if it weren’t for The Monkees-mania coursing through their veins.
For two weeks, Hendrix played through chants of “We want The Monkees!” and “We want Davy!”, before they were yanked off the bill. The guitar virtuoso admitted to New Musical Express that the fans who brought their children along complained that his act was “vulgar” and, after all, “they gave us the ‘death’ spot on the show, right before The Monkees were due on”. How could anyone contend with that?
The tour promoter, Dick Clark, has looked back on the mystifying choice with as much scepticism as the rest of us. He later recalled. “I’m positive that there must have been some concerns and scepticism raised, because anybody could have seen it was not a compatible coupling…”
Beyond the dreadful shows, the pairing did work on an interpersonal level either, but Dolenz later revealed, “We all became quite good friends”. Despite the awkward times backstage, he had only good words to say about the budding star: “He was very kind, quiet, very gentle, not at all like his onstage persona. We really had a good time hanging out together”.
Dolenz has since thrown up his hands and admitted that it was his over-excitement at Hendrix’s unique act that was to blame for the short-lived collaboration. He considers himself at fault “for that little bit of insane rock and roll trivia”, but everything is worth a go once, right?
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