The Monkees had been over for almost 20 years in 1986. Micky Dolenz was Michael Dolenz, film producer and director, living in England.
Then MTV began airing the wacky, wholesome TV series that made The Monkees a household name in the 1960s and a whole new generation caught Monkees fever. Nothing has been the same since for the group.
Now, Micky Dolenz, 77, is the last living member of the boy band that once rivaled the other Fab Four in terms of popularity and record sales.
Dolenz brings his show, Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees, April 13 to the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet. The show will honor his late bandmates — Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork — in song and with personal multimedia footage of the legendary performers.
Dolenz will be backed by a seven-piece band and will perform all The Monkees’ hits; including “I’m A Believer,” “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train To Clarksville,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” “Valleri” and “That Was Then, This Is Now.”
“Last year, Mike (Nesmith) and I went on the road with a show called The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show,” Dolenz said. Nesmith died in December 2021. “What we decided was, after Mike’s unfortunate passing, I certainly wasn’t going to go out as The Monkee. A number of these dates had already been booked as The Mike and Micky Show, either postponed because of the pandemic or previously booked.
“We discussed it with promoters and the agents and frankly, reached out to some of the fans to get their feelings on it and everyone was very positive. They said it’s a wonderful idea, the idea being ‘Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees.’ And so here we are.”
In addition to all the hits, audiences will hear songs by Nesmith, including “Different Drum,” “Mary, Mary,” “Papa Gene’s Blues” and “Listen To The Band.” Peter Tork and Davy Jones will also be honored with songs they made famous. It will be a feel-good show filled with music and memories, he said.
“It will be peppered with different material and some new video and photographs that no one will have ever seen,” he said. “A lot of the stuff I took with my cameras back in the ’60s. For instance, of the ’67 tour some great stuff backstage with Jimi Hendrix, who opened for us. It will be a different show, obviously. If you are into Monkee music, the music with David and Peter and Mike and I, you will certainly not be disappointed.”
Despite having done his own solo show over the years, Dolenz acknowledged the void he’s feeling.
“It’s going to be strange doing this particular show without him because it was only a few months ago I got offstage with Michael Nesmith,” he said. “It is going to be a little bittersweet.”
In March 2021, Dolenz released an album called “Dolenz Sings Nesmith,” comprised of songs Nesmith wrote throughout his career and produced by his son, Christian Nesmith.
Almost exactly a year later, Dolenz released a four-song EP of songs that weren’t included on the album.
“The idea was that eventually … we would release an EP of these four tracks,” he said. “One of them had never been recorded. All of the other ones, either The Monkees had done or he had done as a solo artist. There’s one called ‘Soul-Writer’s Birthday’ that was never recorded. We found it in the archives. That will be a first.”
Dolenz has worked as actor over the years, especially in theater. He appeared on Broadway and London’s West End in productions like “Hairspray” and “Grease.”
He is married and has four children from previous marriages along with three young grandchildren.
While they don’t understand that Grandpa is a rock star just yet, one day they will be able to appreciate him back in his heyday. Speaking of heyday, he’s not really surprised people are still talking about The Monkees 55 years later.
“It has just been so constant. I feel blessed just to have been a part of it,” he said of Monkeemania. “After the original run of the show was done in 1968 and the show went off the air, the cast split up. I didn’t really have any contact or business with David and Peter and Mike … until 1986.
“I was living in England, married with kids, and I wasn’t doing any acting or singing. I was behind the cameras. I was a television and film producer and director. I became known as Michael Dolenz. Instead of articles that started out as, ‘Micky Dolenz, ex-Monkee,’ it would start out as ‘Television director Michael Dolenz.’ I was totally away from The Monkees and it was fine. It had been a wonderful experience.”
Then MTV did a marathon of the show — which won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1967 — and Dolenz came back to the States for a short reunion tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band.
“I was incredibly surprised at the phenomenal response — a whole new generation and selling out arenas,” he said. “Now, it’s sometimes three generations of fans in the audience. I just feel blessed. That’s the only thing I can say. I just feel blessed.”
If this particular show does well, he is open to more bookings. He’s also going on tour with his friend Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals as a double headliner.
“I am being a little more selective at my age,” he said, laughing. “The traveling is getting tougher. The shows are the easy part. They pay me to travel; I sing for free.”
Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkees
When: 7:30 p.m. April 13
Where: Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St., Joliet
Tickets: $39-$97
Information: 815-726-6600; rialtosquare.com
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
