The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation

By Andrew Sandoval

A day-by-day look at the years from 1965 to 1970 reveals the remarkably rich story of the Monkees, one of the most successful pop bands of the 1960s. The Monkees' immensely popular television series... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592233724
• ISBN13: 9781592233724
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Thunder Bay Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 2.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Sandoval's magnificent obsession

This is a jaw-dropping volume of research from the world's foremost authority on the Monkees, painstakingly assembled and magnificently presented. I can hardly believe it exists! The only book it can be compared to is Mark Lewisohn's THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS, which has (incredibly! impossibly!) been allowed to go out of print. The lesson, Monkee fans? Grab it while you can. You know who you are.

Labor of Love by a fan for the fans

Long time Monkees historian and archivist Andrew Sandoval has finally released his long-promised chronology of the group's original run (1965-70) and it was well worth the wait. Taking his cues from Beatles scribe Mark Lewisohn (he thanks him in the credits for inspiration), Sandoval presents a meticulous account of the fascinating and frankly strange pop tale of the original Pre-Fab Four. From the highest highs to the lowest lows, Sandoval takes you there, whether in the recording studio, on the set of the TV show, on a concert stage, out hobnobbing with other celebs, or shopping at the latest fashionable boutique. Sandoval has collected tons of data, gone through countless publications, listened through thousands of hours of recordings, and collected it all in one handy, attractive, hefty volume. He makes liberal use of relevant quotes from all participants, and includes lots of facts, figures and names. There are over 100 photos, many published for the first time. Personally I would have enjoyed more pics, but this tome of biblical proportions is first and foremost the ultimate source of textual information on the band. Still, some minor quibbles: Verb tense usage is sometimes awkward, for example, the use of "past-present" tense in the descriptions clashing with quotes squarely in the past tense. A complete discography with sleeves would have been nice, as well as a bootleg listing. The myriad of recorded tracks listed mention their ultimate original destination, if released. But many of the tracks ended up on bootlegs available only on ebay or at record fairs. Maybe boss Rhino didn't want boots mentioned? A full index would also be great. There are a few minor factual errors, but they can probably be counted on one hand. In fact, Sandoval invites readers to contact him with any corrections or suggestions for future editions. There is a ton of new and fascinating info in this book that I had never read in any other place. You will be amazed by the detail. The Monkees shot to superstardom through a unique marriage of the TV and recording industries, then became a real live stage act, with the help of a dedicated group of people behind the scenes- from old guard cigar chompers to Brill Building assembly-line songwriting legends to maverick hippy TV producers. For the first year it worked like a charm- millions were streaming in as the group filled the vaccuum left by the psychedelisizing Beatles. The unique chemistry of this odd but talented group contributed too. The four individuals themselves, suddenly caught in the middle of this maelstrom of a media blitzkrieg, worked like dogs, shooting TV, recording tracks, and eventually playing live, sometimes all on the same day! They deserve large amounts of cred and respect for many reasons: for the efforts they put in working basically for slave wages; for the classic material on record and celluloid that they created; for the millions of fans they strived to entertain and succeeded in makin

A Must for any Monkee Maniac

Wow. I just got my copy of the book today. I've been a fan for years - have seen various reunion tours, Nesmith solo, a number of books, all the music - but this book offers more insights, pictures and tales than any other I've read or seen. If you're a die-hard fan, there are little questions that must persist for you in this band's tale, and this book answers so many of them. By going through their bright, brief history over virtually each day, its great fun to read. The detailed insights are great, like recording session information, concert dates and songlists, (who/what/tracks, where they eventually appear), but also the commentary that goes along with them - IE how/why Boyce and Hart got back into producing songs in late 67 after being dismissed under Kirshner almost a year before, etc. I guess I had thought all that was to be learned was already out there - but this book offers so many new insights and is really tremendous. My first online review - thought it was worth submitting.

On par with the works of Mark Lewishon & Keith Badman

Andrew Sandoval's 15+ year relationship as THE Monkees archivist for Rhino's various reissues reaches it's apex with the release of this wonderfully detailed book. Some musical purists/snobs will frown at this much attention lavished at a pre-fabricated unit whose creative run really only lasted about three years, but hard-core fans (there's more out there than you would think) and pop culture students will dig the results:it does for the Monkees what Mark Lewishon has done for the Beatles and Keith Badman for the Beach Boys. Great layout, with plenty of cool (rare) b & w photos and press clippings. There's only a 1 1/2 page overview of Monkee happenings post-1970, but the books' final 20 pages include a very detailed session musician index as well as a song by song (unreleased as well) sessiongraphy that to this reader was worth the 20 bucks alone..