It’s been 50 years since four young men debuted in a TV sitcom about an imaginary rock band called The Monkees. They were chosen for their looks and acting chops, but soon they were writing and recording real music, and the group went on to sell more than 75 million records.
And despite the death of original member Davy Jones in 2012, the surviving Monkees are still making music, five decades after their first TV episode aired. They released a new album last month — their first since Jones' death, though he makes a posthumous appearance. Now, original Monkees Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork are bringing their Good Times: 50th Anniversary Tour to Louisville.
When I got an email asking if we wanted to interview Peter Tork for WFPL, the first person I thought of was my cousin, Erin Miller. Erin is the biggest Monkees fan I have ever known.
"I was pretty much listening to them in my mother's womb, because she would put headphones up to her belly while I was in there," she says. "So I was born a Monkees fan."
And she's met most of the band's members. "I took a plane to Seattle to meet Mike Nesmith," she says. "I did it. And I'm proud." The only Monkee she hasn't met? Peter Tork. So I asked her if she wanted to come in and pinch hit. I figured since she knows (and adores) everything about the Monkees, her questions would be better than mine, anyway (they were)!
Here's Erin, first answering my questions about the reasons for her fandom, then interviewing Peter Tork, her missing Monkee.
Tork will perform, along with Micky Dolenz, next Friday night at the Louisville Palace (Erin will be there).
