Deputy Dave’s Drink of the Day- Monkee Madness


When producers Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson conceived a situation comedy called The Monkees in 1965, they hoped to create a ratings success by blurring the line between pop music and television. The show was about a band was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork, and Englishman Davy Jones that wanted to be the Beatles but was never successful. However the imaginary band succeeded in obliterating that line entirely when the pop group that began as a wholly fictional creation went on to rival, however briefly, the success of its real-life inspiration, the Beatles. On this day in 1966, the made-for-television Monkees knocked down the fourth wall decisively when their first single, “Last Train To Clarksville” entered the Billboard Top 40.

Described by Dolenz as initially being “a TV show about an imaginary band […] that wanted to be The Beatles, [but] that was never successful”, the actor-musicians soon became a real band. As Dolenz would later describe it, “The Monkees really becoming a band was like the equivalent of Leonard Nimoy really becoming a Vulcan.”

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The Monkees, selected specifically to appeal to the youth market as American television’s response to the Beatles with their manufactured personae and carefully produced singles, are seen as an original precursor to the modern proliferation of studio and corporation-created bands. But this critical reputation has softened somewhat, with the recognition that the Monkees were neither the first manufactured group nor unusual in this respect. The Monkees also frequently contributed their own songwriting efforts on their albums and saw their musical skills improve. They ultimately became a self-directed group, playing their own instruments and writing many of their own songs.

 Noted Monkees and 1960s music historian Andrew Sandoval noted, in The Hollywood Reporter, that the Monkees “pioneered the music video format [and band member Mike Nesmith dreamed up the prototype for what would become MTV] and paved the way for every boy band that followed in their wake, from New Kids on the Block to ‘N Sync to Jonas Brothers, while Davy set the stage for future teen idols David Cassidy and Justin Bieber. As pop stars go, you would be hard pressed to find a successful artist who didn’t take a page from The Monkees’ playbook, even generations later. Monkee money also enabled Rafelson and Schneider to finance Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces, which made Jack Nicholson a star. In fact, the Monkees series was the opening salvo in a revolution that brought on the New Hollywood cinema, an influence rarely acknowledged but no less impactful.”

The Monkees had a number of international hits, including “Last Train to Clarksville”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, and “Daydream Believer”. At their peak in 1967, the band outsold both the Beatles and Rolling Stones. As of 2012, their 11 albums and singles have sold over 65 million copies worldwide.

With that, I give you Deputy Dave’s Drink of the Day: Monkee Madness

Ingredients:

2 oz  gold tequila
1 oz rum
1 oz vodka
1 oz creme de cassis
2 oz banana juice
1/4 banana

 

Combine the Jose Cuervo gold tequila, rum, vodka, banana juice and 4 slices of banana (about 1/4) in a blender with half a cup of crushed ice. Blend well. Pour into a highball glass, add the creme de cassis, and serve.

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