Monkees Promo Material and Merchandise

Here are some Monkees Promo material and merchandise I found on Foxytunes.com.

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Poster

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

DID THE MONKEES REALLY PLAY THIS GUITAR?

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Game

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the Monkees car

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees Season 1 DVD

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees at Hard Rock Cafe in Atlantic City!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

the monkees newest set!

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey, its the Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Hey Hey Were the Monkees Earrings

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

IN MY HOUSE: Tiger Beat featuring The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

The Monkees

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Part of My Monkees Collection

[via FoxyTunes / The Monkees]

Secrect Society of Super-Villains

You can pre-order the Showcase Presents: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume 1. It comes out later this year. I have heard that it is coming out in May. The above is the cover of the first issue of the book when the comic book came out. I don't have any info on what the Showcase Presents artwork will look like yet.

Complete Collections on DVD-Rom

For those of you who have been planning on buying these DVD-Roms from Marvel time is running out. I heard from a reliable source that Marvel didn't renew with the company that puts them out and will only rely on the digital downloads from their site. Those downloads I have been told are only good to be read on your computer. You can't burn them onto a DVD-Rom. If you want to you can buy them at the Amazon.com link below.

Color Guide

I found this on E-Bay. A color guide for an issue of Daredevil.

Ron Dante and The Archies's Mr. Factory

Social commentary in song by Ron Dante and the Archies.

Mannix introduction

The posting of the TV show Mannix coming to DVD got me to thinking about the the intro to the show. So I looked it up on You Tube and was surprised that there wasn't that many postings there on it. Here is the one I did find for season one. It had a wonderful jazz tune that you can't get out of your head.

Archie's Funhouse: The Complete Series on DVD

I just found out that Archie's Funhouse is going on sale tomorrow. It is a 3 disc set of the complete cartoon series. You can still pre-order it now if you click on the Amazon link below. Won't it be great to hear all of those wonderful Ron Dante tunes again?

Larry Norman Video (PG-13)

I still can't embed audio only but here is a video that someone made of the Larry Norman song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready." If you are younger then 13 you may want your parents to view this with you if any part of it needs explaining.

This Day In Music History: Tab Hunter and Young Love

When the rock era started out it was not uncommon for the same song to be recorded by more then one artist. On this day in music history the song Young Love was #1 on the Billboard charts by Tab Hunter and #4 by Sonny James. It became a signature song for both artist. By having as many artist cover a song as possible it provided more income for the publishers and the songwriters.

The first person to record Young Love was its co-writer Ric Cartey for RCA Records. His version didn't make the charts. Later he played it for Sonny James and he liked it enough to record it.

The president of Dot Records thought Sonny's version would only be a hit on the country charts and wanted it to hit the pop charts at the same time. So he contacted actor Tab Hunter who at that time had not recorded a song. He told him he had a record he wanted him to hear and if Tab could carry a tune at all, he would like him to record it.

As it turned out Tab had a pretty good voice and had sang in his school choir. He liked the song and agreed to record it. Ten days later it was in record stores. Sonny's version also hit the pop charts and it was climbing. However, Tab's was right behind him. On March 2, 1957 Tab's version peaked at #1 and later Sonny's hit #2.

Tab's recording career was short lived at Dot. Warner Brothers had him under contract to make movies and wanted him to concentrate on that. When they sent him on a promotional tour for the movie The Spirit of St. Louis no one asked him about the movie. He mostly got questions about his record. Warner Brothers was furious. Eventually Warner Brothers started their own record label and Tab Hunter was one of the artist they signed first. Tab feels that he was the reason they started their own label. Warner Brothers would rather have their artist earn money for them and not other record labels.

Tab Hunter had a long but sporadic career in films which range from Island of Desire to Grease 2. He was the star of his own sit-com in 1960 called "The Tab Hunter Show." I only lasted one season as it was against the last 30 minutes of "The Ed Sullivan Show." In 1977 he played George Shumway the father of Mary Hartman when he joined the cast of "Forever Fernwood." It was the spin-off show of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." He later formed his own production company to produce his own independent films.

Rest In Peace Larry Norman

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Listening to: Larry Norman - I Wish We'd All Been Ready
via FoxyTunes

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Listening to: Larry Norman - I Wish We'd All Been Ready
via FoxyTunes Larry Norman

[via FoxyTunes / Larry Norman]

I heard that one of the founders of Contemporary Christian Music, formerly known as Jesus Rock when it first started, Larry Norman died. One of the first Christian Rock songs I heard played and my youth department even sang in church was his song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready." I hope when the Lord returns that we all are. The one reason I have taken longer then usual in posting this, as Mr. Norman passed away last week, is because I was trying to find a way to embed the song here so others could listen to it. I have not had much luck in doing that with the audio only version of Larry Norman singing. So below you can see the video of DC Talk preforming the song. You have to hear it. There version is beautiful.



In the 1960's and 1970's not too many people were producing rock music with Christian lyrics as rock and roll music was closely associated with the Devil and to some people it was called the Devil's Music. Larry Norman was one of the first to show you can still love the Lord Jesus and enjoy rock and roll. He had tried making a career in the secular world of rock and roll but it didn't work out as well as he had hoped, even though his group did have a top 40 hit with a song called "I Love You." He then left the group to release his first solo Christian Rock album called "Upon This Rock" in 1969. It was from this album that "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" was released.
Here is a link to his site Larry Norman.com. Also, here is what Kent at Forgotten Hits has to say about Larry Norman.

Chicago and the Beach Boys

Here is a video of Chicago and the Beach Boys singing "Wishin' You Were Here" and "Surfer Girl."

Top 40 Radio A Blast From The Past

Here is a video of a man with his own show that takes people back to the way top 40 radio use to be.

Superman and Hostess in the Ionic Storm

Love-Man Beast

Normally this is not something I would post here but it is just plain funny. Here for your listening pleasure, or something close to it, is the one, the only (thank goodness), Love-Man Beast.

Teardrop City on Peyton Place

Nighttime soap operas have become a staple on network television. One of the early ones was a show in the 60's called Peyton Place. Here is a video of a group playing the Boyce and Hart song Teardrop City, made a bit more famous by the Monkees, on the night club set of the series Peyton Place.

Bobby Hart Interview

I know that Rhino had 2 parts of a three part interview with Mike Nesmith on their site. However, now I, after a long wait, I finally checked back in and saw that part three of the interview with Nez is up and also they have an interview with Bobby Hart. Bobby is the one on the right in the picture above in case you have never seen him before. That is what he looked like back in the later 1960's. The other is of course his show business friend and partner Tommy Boyce. You can listen to the interviews if you click here or on the title above.

Monkees Kellogg's Commercial

Here is a Monkees Cereal commercial that looks to be from season one. Enjoy!

Orson Welles' Batman

While searching the internet today I came across something I found astounding but before posting found it was a hoax. Orson Welles liked comic books. If this were true it whould not have been too surprising as he was the voice of the Shadow on radio. Welles was known for his painstaking research in to whatever he was working on. Perhaps he would have read the Shadow pulps and that would have lead him to read comic books. According to the hoax, he even said that he loved the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories from Denny O'Neil in 1973 and attended an early comic book convention. In 1946 he was even talking over with National Periodicals, who later became DC Comics, with making Batman into a movie. This movie may well have been along the lines of what Michael Keaton's Batman movie followed.

The casting was Welles was to be Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Villains were to have been...

Basil Rathbone as the Joker...

George Raft as Two-Face...


James Cagney as the Riddler...

and Marlene Dietrich as Catwoman.

Yes it is a hoax but on You Tube I found the fan movie trailers that showed what the Orson Welles version of Batman may have been like.


Here is Part one.


and this is part two.

I had a hard time deciding if I should put this here or on my comic books site Mail It To Team Up. I decided to post it here and direct the readers of Mail It To Team Up to this site to view it.

Avengers Got Milk?

Remember this commercial for the Got Milk campaign? Does anyone out there know why I can't find the Baby Ruth candy bar commercial that featured Hawkman?

Castle of Love

Well I hope you all had a happy valentine's day. My wife and I did and big spender that I am I took her to White Castle. Yes you read it right I said White Castle. I thought it was only local but it seems to be nationwide. You see this is the third year that White Castle has held a special valentine's dinner. You had to call ahead and make reservations. You should have seen the looks that people gave me when I told them I made reservations at White Castle. But that was the rules. The did let people come in who just walked in like usual but the got the regular tables and no extras.

We were greeted at the door by the hostess who gave my wife a red carnation and seated us at our table which had a cloth tablecloth not the paper kind that you usually see restaurants theses days. There were candles on the tables and a waitress took our order. We were even asked if we wanted and appetizer. The hostess came by and apologized for not having lit the candles about half way through the meal. I told her we thought they weren't lit yet because it was still somewhat light outside. Later after the dinner was over we were given ice cream as a desert and they took our picture. They kept one and gave us a copy. I told my wife it will probably wind up on a bulletin board or their website. Anyway a fun time was had by all at the restaurant. Except for the ones without reservations who wanted to sit at the tables that were reserved.
I didn't take her to the one shown above but that was the only photo of a White Castle that I could find.

Rest in Peace Steve Gerber

Well I am behind the news on this one as I just learned from Booksteve that one of the best comic book writers of the 1970's and probably of any decade, Steve Gerber, passed away on Feb. 10th 2008. Most of his writing that I am familiar with is from Marvel Comics of the 1970's. It was there that he wrote for Man-Thing, Son of Satan, The Defenders, Omega the Unknown, Marvel Two-In-One and was most famous for creating Howard the Duck.

His battle over the rights for Howard the Duck is near legendary in the business and among comic book fans. It is a shame that it seems to have dominated his career and legacy as he put out some fine and entertaining comic books. As Steve said his work was surreal. Still that does make for good literature from time to time and Mr. Gerber's was good literature.

His battle with Marvel was a rallying cry to freelance artist and gave a kick to the Independent comic book industry in the 1980's. Jack Kirby created the character Destroyer Duck that was the star of an anthology series where other major freelancers submitted stories and the sales helped with the legal fees that Mr. Gerber was having a hard time with. That book also gave us the first look at Groo The Wanderer.

It is a shame that he didn't seem to care for all of his body of work. I recall reading a story where a young boy got together enough money to finance a comic book convention in the area. He got Steve Gerber to be the guest of honor but didn't have enough for him to get a motel room so he stayed at the boys house that weekend. The first day the boy had all of his favorite Steve Gerber stories laying on his bed. He showed them to Mr. Gerber. The boy was proud of his collection but got a startling reaction from him. He said he can't believe all the garbage that he had produced over the years. This shook the boy but he said it helped to make him a better writer.

Well Mr. Gerber may have believed that he put out a lot of garbage. I don't agree. However, in life there is good garbage and bad garbage. If he did put out garbage then Steve Gerber put out good garbage.
The above photo is from his site which you can see here or click on the title above. On that site he talks about recently working on a Dr. Fate project. The character seems a perfect fit for his style and I hope DC decides to publish it soon.

Monkees Clip from Too Many GIrls

Here is a Valentine's Day video. From Season one of the Monkees. The Episode is called Too Many Girls. We all know that Davy was a chick magnet but in this teaser to the episode they seem to be throwing themselves at him more then usual.

Happy Birthday Peter Tork

According to the Monkees Quiz below I am more like this man then the rest of the group. Happy Birthday to the smartest and best looking dummy in the world. Peter Tork!

Rest In Peace Roy Scheider

Roy Scheider passed away yesterday after a 2 year battle with myeloma but it is also being reported at this time that he died of complications from a staph infection. So the exact cause of death is unknown. He was nominated for an Oscar for his roles in the French Connection and All That Jazz. However, he is best known for his role as thankless police chief Brody in the movie Jaws. That film was the first to make over $100 million and is said to be the beginning of the blockbuster movie era. Three years later he repeated his role in the sequel Jaws 2. While he had been well known in Hollywood, he was not a household name until the Jaws series of films.

Monkees quiz

Well this wasn't too surprising to me. I thought it would either be Peter or Mike. I would have been shocked if it said was was more like Micky or Davy. Take the quiz and see which one you are most like.

Take the Hey Hey, Which Monkee Are You? Quiz.

New Kid in Town

Welcome to the new kid in town Forgotten Hits. Actually I know Kent from when he and his Forgotten Hits lived in the town of e-mail newsletters. He had to move after a problem with AOL. Kent and his friends are very knowledgeable about music from the 1960's and a lot of fun to read. So click on over to his site and give him a friendly hello. Only one posting there right now but I know there will be a lot more real soon and it will be informative and fun. If you loved the Peter Noone interview that is on this site you can thank Kent. Kent is also a big Monkees fan like myself so info on them will turn up from time to time. He gave me permission to put it on this site as he was the interviewer and ran it on his newsletter. He recently had a Phil Spector special that he had to stop suddenly when he had to move but it was fun to read. Welcome to town Kent! I think you'll like it.
Also, the above photo is not from his site. I just found this on another site that I don't know the name. The image came up in a search and when I clicked to see it only the image came up and not the site it was on. Thanks to whatever site it was from for your contribution.

To welcome Kent and his Forgotten Hits to blogspot here is a You Tube clip of the Eagles singing "The New Kid in Town" live!

This Day In Music History: Elvis Presley and Too Much

For nine weeks Guy Mitchell had the #1 hit on the Billboard Charts with "Singing the Blues." On this day in music history, February 9, 1957 Elvis Presley thought that nine weeks was too much and he reclaimed his position at the top of the charts with..."Too Much." :) It was the first #1 hit for 1957.

Now Elvis had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show three times and Elvis went from being a regional to national celebrity. The first time Elvis was on the show Ed Sullivan was sick and not on his own live broadcast. Actor Charles Laughton filled in for him on that broadcast. Ed was on the others and on his third and last appearance on January 6, 1957 Elvis was only shot from the waist up and he sang seven songs. One of those songs was the premiere of "Too Much."

The song was part of a three day recording session that began on September 1, 1956. Musicians Scotty Moore, Bill Black and D. J. Fontana were flown to Hollywood to back up Elvis on the songs that would be his second album for RCA Records. The album, simply titled Elvis, was released in October of 1956 but they held "Too Much" for release in January of 1957.

One moth before Elvis released "Too Much" he took part in a recording session at Sun records that became legendary. In December Sam Phillips of Sun was producing a record for Carl Perkins. Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis were there to record and Johnny Cash stopped by. A picture of the four famous musicians was taken and released to the newspapers.

For years this was known as the Million Dollar Quartet but no recordings were known to have survived. Then in 1981 the recordings surfaced and an album was released in England. It then became known that Cash was there visiting when the picture was taken but left later to do some shopping.

After "Too Much" was released Elvis bought a home in Tennessee from Mrs. Ruth Brown Moore for $100,000. It was built by her husband Dr. Thomas Moore and named after her Aunt Grace. Elvis liked the name and kept it. The name of course was Graceland.

Here is a video of Elvis singing it live on television.

My Second 45

Not long ago I recalled when I got my first 45. It was a second hand one of the Monkees Daydream Believer. Today I recall my second 45. It was the duet between Elton John and Kiki Dee singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." I bought it at Elsmere Drugs in Elsmere, Ky. Now the owner of the place was named Sid and he and my Grandad where friends. So everyone in my family called it Sid's. For the first 20 years of my life I never heard anyone call it Elsmere Drugs. It was when I was in college and I was talking to my friend Chuck and I told him I was going to Sid's and he didn't know what I was talking about. I told him where it was at. I remember saying "It was the place on Dixie Highway in Elsmere next to the bakery." His eyes lit up with recognition and he said "You mean Elsmere Drugs?" That was when I realized not everyone called it Sid's.

Anyway I bought this with my own money and I believe it was the first one I bought with my own money. I remember listening to it with my friends Dave, Chuck (another Chuck) and Doug. We all enjoyed it. I remember Dave wondering if Elton and Kiki were dating as they positioned him on the picture sleeve looking at her. Oh if we only knew then.

I have loved many of Elton John's songs. Two of my favorites of his early songs where "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." I will never for get how could it felt to hear them for the first time.

80 Page Giant Memories

The late 1960's were a fun time in comic books. One part of the fun for me was the DC comics 80 page Giant comic books. Mostly they were reprints of stories that came out years before I was born but they were new to me. Most of the stories I don't recall that well to this day but I remember enjoying them. On Batman #182 my favorite story was the one with the Rainbow Batman. I don't remember the story but after seeing Batman in drab gray and dark blue it was fun to see Batman in bright colors. I usually saw them at my cousin Steve's house. He was, actually he still is, 3 years older and we would play together and he would let me sit on his bed and read his comics. I could tell he was wanting to play more games as he could read these anytime he wanted. For me reading these books opened up other worlds to me that I didn't have access to any other way. I lived too far from stores that carried them and had to depend on Mom and Dad to bring them home to me or wait till we were in town to get them. So to see these books at my cousins house was always exciting.
One time after leaving there I was in the car reading a book that had the origin of Robin. I don't remember if Steve let me borrow it or if I got it from Mom and Dad. I had never read the origin of Robin till then. I had also never saw the word origin before. I asked Mom and Dad how to pronounce it. They told me to try to say it phonetically. I did but I said orange. My Dad pronounced it correctly but it still sounded like orange to me.

A Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way
through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He
decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his
nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked
hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it so slowly, and then
asked, How much do I owe you?"

You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taug ht us never to
accept pay for a kindness."

He said ... "Then I thank you from my heart."
As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but
his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Many year's later that same young ! woman be came critically ill. The local
doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they
called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name
of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.
Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her
life. From that day he gave special attention to her case. After a long struggle, the battle was won.

Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for
approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was
sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the
rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught
her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words ... "Paid in full with one glass of milk"
(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You,
God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands."

There's a saying which goes something like this: Bread cast on the waters
comes back to you. The good deed you do today may benefit you or someone you
love at the least expected time. If you never see the deed again at least
you will have made the world a better place - And, after all, isn't that
what life is all about?

Superman From The 30's To The 70's

The year is 1974. My Mom and Dad would on occasion drive to Cincinnati, Ohio to go shopping at the McAlpin's department store that is now called Dillards. I was 13 years old and allowed to roam the store on my own and sometimes the downtown area since my parents knew my regular stops. This was in the days before it started being reported that children were being kidnapped in broad daylight.

Anyway on one trip I saw the Bonanza Books Superman from the 30's to the 70's and Batman from the 30's to the 70's. I believe there was one for Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel too but my memory isn't what it should be anymore. I do know those books existed but I am not sure if they were for sale at that store at that time. For some reason I didn't buy it when I was with my Mom and Dad.

Now my Mom and Dad would let me take the bus to Cincinnati. One day not long after seeing the books at McAlpin's I ask my cousin Randy to go with me on one trip. As my cousin Randy liked to read as much as I did I asked him if he wanted to go to Cincinnati with me. His Mom wasn't so sure we should but when my Mom said she would let me wander the downtown area, as back then it was safe to do so, she said it was ok.

We took the bus and arrived at the Dixie Terminal. We walked to McAlpin's and bought the books. I remember Randy buying the Batman book while I bought the Superman one. They were now on sale for $3. Sometimes it pays to wait.

We went to some of the other places I normally went to. The guy who sold newspapers and magazines on the street corner. I bought Nova #1 from him but not on this trip. There was some records shops and the Ohio Bookstore. There must be a story or two I have in me from visits to that store. We got some lunch and then caught the bus home. It was a fun day to share with Randy. We talked on the bus and even read some of the stories on the way home.

Eventually I did buy the Batman book too and even the Wonder Woman one. I don't have the Wonder Woman book anymore. I still have Superman and Batman. I hope to keep them forever as they bring back some wonderful memories.

A few years later I was in the newly built Florence Mall in Florence, Ky with a friend from High School. My friend was deeply into music. He didn't care much for comic books and thought they were childish.He was always asking me when I was going to stop reading them. We were in a bookstore there and I saw the Superman book there selling for $6. I held it up and told him when a regular comic book sells for this price I will stop. Well now that they are selling for $3 or $4 each I have pretty much stopped buying new comic books. I do buy old comics for that price as they may go up in value. But a new one is not worth it to me anymore. So it looks like I kept my promise to my friend.

The Bangles and Spock Go Down to Liverpool

Here is a great 80's video that has Leonard Nimoy playing the driver of the rock group the Bangles. From what I have read on the net it seems that Nimoy was their co-star and director of the video because his son was friends with Susanna Hoffs.

Look at the Bangles member on the far left. She seems to be making eyes at Nimoy.

Happy Groundhog Day

Just wanted to tell everyone Happy Groundhog day. Didn't think anyone would want to look at the picture of a groundhog so I put up a picture of Andie MacDowell who was one of the stars of the movie Groundhog Day.

The Golden Age is Gone Forever

I can't say I am happy with the turn in the life of Captain America in issue #34. Yes Marvel comics has "decided" to make Bucky Barnes Captain America. I do have to say that if we can't have Steve Rogers any more I am happy that it is Bucky or even Rick Jones would have been a good choice. I was expecting them to say they decided to have the government create a new one with a character that readers had never heard of before. As much as I love the art of Alex Ross I have to say I am not happy with the new costume either. I believe I saw the art on the internet for the new costume around the time they killed him off. I could be wrong. Yes I still hope that one day Steve Rogers will be Cap. I also hope the same for Barry Allen to come back as the Flash. So don't anyone hold your breath while waiting.
With all of the revisions in comics, Steve Rogers was the last link to the golden age of comics. When life was more innocent and simple. Even World War II that spawned him was a pretty black and white conflict. With the news media today showing every angle of a story it takes a lot of thinking to push away the gray shadows see the issues that are really there. With the passing of the original Captain America life will never be the same. Even if they do bring him back it may never be the same.

Paypal On My Mind

Just a reminder of the Paypal link on the right side of this page. It doesn't cost hardly anything to run the site. However every once in a while I do need some extra money to help pay some bills. Should you ever want to donate to the site every little bit helps. No matter what everyone is welcome to stop by and read this site. Thank you for your readership.

Sean Dietrich.Com Free Music Download

Just a quick note before I have to get ready for work. If you like Contemporary Christian Music then you should go to Sean Dietrich.com. He has some pretty good music there and it is free to download. Sean was on this site once and told me about his site so now I am passing it on to you.

Enough of the Hannah Montana News

Ok I think the media has to back off of Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana. The media and mostly her cable show have built her up to be the new good girl on the block. I am sure that she is. However, she is being reported doing some things that most people wouldn't want their 15 year old daughter to do. The thing is she is a teenager who is living her life in public view. We are not her parents. Let Billy Ray and her Mom handle it. Her Dad has been there before. He said in an interview that he gave that he told her when it stops being fun to stop doing it. Well once her contract is up I wouldn't blame her if she quit. Thankfully she is more known as Hannah Montana. In a few years this may all blow over and Miley can get a new career on her own name. At least she won't be as typecast as the Monkees who only went by their own names on their show. Maybe she should talk to them or David Cassidy. Those 5 men would understand what she is going through.

Ognir Rrats On the web

Thanks to Pop Culture Safari, formerly This is Pop Culture, I was directed to these videos of the Ringo Starr special that I never saw but have only heard about. It stars Ringo as himself and his look a like Ognir Rrats. Ognir is poor and Ringo is famous. Tired of fame he trades places with Ognir. Hilarity ensues. You can click here for part 1 or click here for part two.

Changes

Lately I have been thinking about making some changes in what this site is about. The template of the look of the site may stay the same but I feel the need to change what it covers. Originally it was to be about the stories and poems that I sometimes write but it morphed into more of a pop culture blog. Lately it seems to be all over the place. So I am ask you what do you think this blog does best that it should cover on a more regular basis? Let me know and if I can I will do my best to make those changes.

In Memory of John Stewart

It is sad to note the passing of another show business icon. This time from the world of music. Singer/songwriter John Stewart passed away this past past Saturday from either a massive stroke or brain aneurysm. It has not been released which one at this time. He was a member of the Kingston Trio then went solo. He wrote the song Daydream Believer which was a #1 hit for the Monkees and later a top 20 hit for Anne Murray. In the 1980's he had a top 40 hit on his own with the song titled Gold. My sympathy goes out to his family and friends.

In Memory of Allan Melvin

I just heard that character actor Allan Melvin died of cancer at his home. Some reports have said it was Jan. 17th other say it was Jan. 18th. The fact remains that a fine character actor has died. For most of his television career Mr. Melvin was cast in the military roles. He was first cast on the Phil Silvers show as Cpl. Henshaw. Later he started his voice acting career by being cast as the star voice on the Magilla Gorilla Show. He also did episodic tv by appearing in shows such as Perry Mason, Lost In Space, Love American Style, the Andy Griffith Show, the Dick VanDyke Show (usually in military garb again when Rob would remember his military days with his army buddy Sam), etc. Near the end of the 1960's he was back in the military and promoted when he played Sgt. Hacker on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. While Sgt. Carter may have treated Gomer badly Sgt. Hacker was even tougher on America's favorite Marine Private. Having treated lovable Gomer so bad could have ended a lessor actors career. Allan was still lovable and proved it when he was cast in his most memorable role. Alice's love interest on the Brady Bunch as Sam the Butcher. When that show ended he found occasional work on All In the Family as Archie Bunkers friend Barney Heffner. Later he had a 15 year run in commercials as the plumber who got out of hard to do jobs by using Liquid Plumber. After the Brady Bunch ended his cartoon voice over career continued into the 1980's. While Magilla Gorilla is his best remembered role he was also a military figure again when he voiced Sgt. Snorkel and Private Zero on Beetle Bailey. He was the voice of Drooper on the Banana Splits, Tyrone on the Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, Wacky Packy on Uncle Croc's Block. He was the voice of the villain Electro on Spider-man and his amazing Friends and he topped off his cartoon career by playing Joey on the Kwicky Koala Show in the early 1980's and it was Tex Avery's last animated project.

This man had a long enough career for two actors and he did it well. He was one of the busiest characters in Hollywood for over 3 decades and this posting only showed the tip of the iceberg. He should have been given his own show to star in but seemed to always play second fiddle to the lead. No matter if you remember him as Sam, Magilla, Sgt. Hacker or any other role you know that he was always a welcome presence in every home in America and thanks to reruns and TV shows on DVD he will always be seen for years to come.

Hostess and Spider-Man in Break The Bank

It's Saturday Morning and time for Hostess' Team-Ups. Today Hostess and Spider-Man stop a robbery in Break the Bank.

Another clip from Facing the Giants

Here is another clip from Facing the Giants. It tells us that if we give our best all the time God will reward us. We sometimes quit even before we start because we don't think we are strong enough or we think the task ahead of us is impossible. If we endure it worth it in the end. We need to give our best all the time, in everything we do. God is there beside us telling us we can finish this race!
This is now one of my favorite movies. Definitely in my top 10. Right up there with It's A Wonderful Life and Casablanca.

Facing the Giants

Here is a good clip from a film called Facing the Giants. For those of you who haven't seen the movie it tells how a losing team turns around when the head coach gives God the glory for every thing. Here the assistant coach tells about salvation through Christ by using a football goal as his example.

Fun to Watch site

Thanks to Mark at News From ME here is a fun site to watch. You can click here to see what I mean. It may take awhile for it to download and it is in another language so I am not sure what it is called. It seems to be called Online Winkelen.

Forgotten Hits e-mail list

Earlier on this site I told you my story of my first 45 single. I did this as my memory was prodded by the Forgotten Hits mailing list where Kent was showcasing stories from people about their first 45's. Kent is still compiling these stories and wanted me to tell any readers of this site that they can still join the Forgotten Hits list if you just e-mail him at The60sShop@aol.com and ask him to put you on the list. It is that simple. He also sends wav files out of some of the songs that are being discussed to add to the enjoyment. So join in on the fun by remembering many of our pop cultures Forgotten Hits and e-mail Kent today at The60sShop@aol.com and tell him On My Mind sent you.

PS.
If you want you can also tell me and I will post the story here.

Flash Gets A Speeding Ticket While There Is A Hot-Girl in the Comic Shop

Here are a couple of funny comic book related videos. First is The Flash getting a speeding ticket.


Now here is a video where guys sing about the hot girl in the comic shop. It must have been the ending of a TV show as the credits are rolling on the side.

Spider-Man and Hostess in The Champ

Where is this Monkees T-Shirt?

Does anyone reading this blog know where I can get this T-shirt. Target.com once had it but now they don't. I haven't found it on e-bay either. For some reason I didn't buy it when I saw it but now would like to have it. If you know where I can get it please let me know. Thanks from your site operator.

Here is your answer to Do You Know This Man?

Yes it's Davy Jones! When a friend of mine showed me the ad I didn't know why and I hadn't had time to read the small endorsement. Then he said Davy doesn't look like he use to does he? That was how I found out who it was. I know they did it because of the Monkee/Gorilla connection but don't be surprised if Mike, Micky or Peter start to advertise for Charles Schwab.

Also Craig of Zablo's Zone was the only one to give the correct answer. Craig will get a years supply of Rice-A-Roni the San Franciso Treat, but only if he buys it himself every week for a year.

Do You Know This Man?

Here is a recent ad for Gorillatrades.com. Do you recognize the person doing the ad for them? You can come back here tomorrow to see if you have the right answer.

My First 45

Kent of the Forgotten Hits mailing list, you can join his list if you e-mail him at The60sShop@aol.com, recently started a series about people's first 45's. Now I haven't contributed yet but this got me to think about what was my first 45. We had many around my house that were mostly bought by my Mom and Dad or Aunts and Uncles. Most of them I remember the tunes but not the names. Well come to think of it I do remember hearing "Purple Eater", "John and Marsha" and "The Witch Doctor" but the rest are now nameless melodies in my head. Others were Christmas songs or songs to teach children math and other scholastic lessons. Sometimes I would go to see my cousins who might be listening to Elvis or the Beatles but none of these were mine.
I saw other rock and roll acts on TV and heard them on the radio but never bothered to buy them or ask my parents for them. My biggest exposure to Rock and Roll music was seeing reruns of the Monkees on Saturday mornings. I recall in the opening how they would always sing "...we may be coming to your town." Now I lived out in the country and the nearest friend from my school lived to far to walk or ride a bike to see. So I was pretty much a loner in the summertime. I always hoped that the Monkees would come to my town and play with me. I was too young to understand that 4 men in their 2o's may not want to play all day with a little boy and if they did my house would be mobbed by any kid or teen who found out they were there. But I did have my dreams.
One Saturday I was with my Mom, Grandma, Aunt Joan and my little cousin Rachel in a second hand store. Shopping with females has always been boring to me and that day was no exception. As always I went to the toys or books. I wound up finding some used records and while looking at them I found the 45 single of the Monkees and Daydream Believer. At that time it was one of my favorite songs from their show. I asked my Mom if I could have it. I forget the price now but it wasn't much so she bought it for me. I could believe that I had my favorite Monkees tune and on the flip side one that I didn't remember hearing before. It is of course "Goin' Down." Once we got home Rachel and I had a lot of fun listening to it. We would dance to it and I am not ashamed to say that I did like dancing. Mostly I had fun listening to Micky on "Goin' Down" and trying to keep up as I sang along.

As I got closer to my teen years and almost ready for high school we moved from the country to a town a few miles away. We were in a newly built home with new furniture. One of those pieces of furniture was a console stereo system. You had to lift a heavy wooden top to have access to the turntable. Rachel and her family had also moved next door to us and we would play together. One day I got out the old 45 of Daydream Believer. It had been 3 or 4 years since my Mom bought it for me but we still loved to listen to it. After we were done I took the record off of the turntable and set it on the side next to the top. I carefully lowered the top of the stereo when I suddenly heard a cracking noise. I looked to see that the 45 was just barely hanging over the edge and the top put a small crack in the record. Unless I wanted to start farther in on the song the 45 wouldn't play again. It was a sad day to realize that I accidentally destroyed my favorite song and had to throw it away.

I have bought reissues and now have both songs on other Monkees collections that I got over the years. But the enjoyment I get from hearing them is nothing to the joy I felt when I listened to it as my first 45 record. The above photo isn't even from my collection it is from an e-bay auction that I think has now ended.

Battling Tops Again

In a previous post I mentioned how I asked my wife to get me the classic game of Battling Tops. I got it and I have enjoyed it but felt a little foolish till I saw this video. Here is a game of Battling Tops as played recently but four grown men. Guess I'm not the only one with good feelings about this game. It made you feel happy even if you lost. How many games can people say that about.

Spider-Man and Hostess in Hot Shot On the Block

Happy New Year

I just wanted to tell everyone who reads this blog to have a Happy New Year. Also I plan on taking the next few days off of blogging. Unless I have important news don't look for anything new here till the weekend.

Joe, Curly and Davy Jones at the strips

Speaking of Davy Jones yesterday as it was his birthday, I came across some old comic strips on the net that are from the 1960's where the star was named Davy Jones. Now at first, since I had never seen them before, I thought the name was there way of cashing in on the Monkees fame.

However, in doing some research I found that the strip first started around 1918 and was called Joe's Car. No one named Davy Jones was in the strip then. It was just about a little man named Joe and the problems he had with his car. Later the strip changed it's focus to what Joe did for a living. He was a fight manager and the title became Joe Jinks. This was in 1928 and predated Joe Palooka by 2 years as a comic strip dedicated to boxing.


After awhile a popular second character took over the lead role. He was called Curly Kayoe. He was one of the boxers that Joe managed. With the new name came a new look. It seems that Curly Kayoe was now more of a melodrama then the previous cartoonish style it started out with as Joe's Car.

Curly took over the daily strip and Joe was moved to Sunday only where the focus was on his family life. At times Joe would come back as a secondary character in the daily strip.
In 1961 Curly was fading in popularity as a character but a secondary character, seaman Davy Jones, proved more popular and he took over the strip for the rest of the decade just as Curly did from Joe years before. Now we can see that there was no Monkees influence at the time he took over the strip. Not hard to see why they named a seaman Davy Jones but I am certain the Monkees connection helped a little bit a few years later.

As you can see the style also changed. The art and plots seemed far more dramatic. It looked more like a soap opera comic strip. To my surprise the art chores were handled by Wayne Boring who did the art on Superman for DC Comics for about 10 years. Take a look at Davey's friend Marco in the last panel. Doesn't he look like Superman in disguise?

You can find out more about these comic strips if you click here or here.

Happy Monkees Day and a Happy Birthday to Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones of the Monkees

Today is Monkees Day here at On My Mind. Why you may ask. Because it is to wish a Happy Birthday to Mike Nesmith who is 65 today and Davy Jones who is 62. Mike you can officially retire today but Davy has to keep working for a few more years.

So before you celebrate the New Year starting tomorrow start a celebration today. Get out your Monkees T-shirts, records, CD's, hats, posters or anything of the Monkees. Celebrate Monkees Day every year.

Here is a video of the Yardly Black Label aftershave commercial they both did for their sit-com in the 60's.

Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Comics

Over at the site Hey Kids! Comics my friend Rob told a story of how his Dad would take him to work on weekends and buy him some tabloid treasury comics so he could read them while he worked. Well I have a similar story.

When I was a boy my Dad worked very hard. Not only did my Dad have a full time job but he also had 2 or 3 part time jobs. One of them, back in 1974, was working weekends as a janitor or cleaning carpets. It was his own business so he would at times take me with him so we could spend time together. I would at times vacuum, wash the windows or when cleaning shag carpet I would rake the carpet after it was shampooed to raise the fibers and make it look neat for the owners.

One Saturday night after I had washed the windows and vacuumed the carpet I had nothing to do. Dad was buffing and waxing the non-carpeted part of the floor. The carpeted part was not shag so I was pretty much done unless Dad needed help with something. Being bored I started doing something that any boy would do when left alone in an office. I started opening drawers. I had no intentions of taking anything I just wanted to see what was inside. Suddenly in the bottom drawer of the desk I saw to my surprise...comic books. These weren't funny animal books either. These were fairly current Marvel Comic books. The one I remember being on top was Ghost Rider #6. I immediately took it out, sat on the floor and started to read it. For some reason I felt like I was doing something wrong but I didn't know why. After all I was only reading a comic book and I was going to put it back as soon as I was done. I was near the end of the story when I heard my Dad calling. I ignored him as I was near the end and wanted to finish and I also was afraid Dad would scold me for reading when I was suppose to be working.

Suddenly my Dad came from around the corner of the desk and loomed over me. He started to smile and asked me where did I get the book. I told him where I found them and I wanted to finish the story. He continued to smile as he said "When you're done over here and help me move this piece of furniture." So when I was done I did what he told me to.

Now I loved being with my Dad but I hated cleaning up after other people. I especially hated washing the windows. However, this new discovery made it easier to go with him on those Saturday nights. When I was done with my part I went over to the desk and started to read whatever comic books were in the bottom drawer. Dad got a kick out of telling my Mom about how if he needed me he could always find me behind that desk reading a comic book.

Then one night I got a surprise. I opened the bottom drawer and there were no comic books. I opened a few more drawers and found them and started reading. It was in that drawer for a few more weeks till one day all the drawers in the desk were locked. My Saturday night supply was cut off. I thought it was an accident that they were moved a few weeks before but I guess the owner of the desk knew someone was reading them and didn't like it. Moving them didn't stop me so he locked it. In my young mind I didn't know why someone wouldn't want to share the pleasure of reading their comics. That is something I still don't quite understand today but that is another story.

Still how did he find out? I always put them back the way I found them and I never touched anything else. Only the comic books. Later my Dad told me that he also found some old girlie magazines in the mens room. Dad knew who the books belonged to as there was only one man in the office. Dad never did like those magazines as they were demeaning to both men and women and he offered to throw them out. Of course Dad used the excuse that they were old to have them thrown out. He said no as he wanted something to read during the slow times of the day. He probably told him that I found and I read his comic books and he didn't want me to find and read these. Since I don't recall seeing those girlie mags I bet the offices owner put them all in his desk and locked it up so I wouldn't see them.

I am proud that my Dad took a polite stand for his beliefs. But I wish the office owner would have left the books outside the desk on Saturday for me to read. Saturday nights at that office weren't as fun once the desk drawers were locked.

Spider-Man and Hostess in Legal Eagle

I have something else in mind that will only make sense if I post it on Saturday so here is this weeks Hostess ad.

This Just in From the Now I've Seen it All Department

Yes here it is for the classic music and TV fan who also like to flyfish. Hold on to your fisherman's hat it's the Monkees ...fishing lure? I found this on this Monkees collection site while I was surfing the net. So now I have seen it all.

Favorite Movie Santa Poll Results

Our small poll of your favorite movie Santa is over. Scroll down and you will see the winner.













Keep scrolling.













Your getting closer.













You better not shout!













You better not cry!













You better not pout!













I'm telling you why!













Edmund Gwenn is coming to town!

Yes Mr. Gwenn is still the favorite even though he has passed away and therefore not played the role since 1947. He has however been seen in the role for decades on TV and home video in Miracle on 34th Street.

Tying for second place was Tim Allen of the Santa Clause films and David Huddleston of Santa Claus the Movie. Thanks to all who voted and to all who read this blog MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Perry Como Christmas Medley

From a Christmas special in December of 1969 complete with some commercials, here is Perry Como singing a medley of Christmas songs and hymns. Merry Christmas to one and all from On My Mind.

Tennessee Ernie Ford, Andy Williams and Bing Crosby

Yesterday I had a video of Sinatra. Here are three other singers that I often think of when Christmas specials use to air this time of year. Tennessee Ernie Ford, Andy Williams and Bing Crosby with guest appearance by David Bowie. Tomorrow I will have a video of Perry Como singing a Christmas medley.

I'v Got My Love to Keep Me Warm by Frank Sinatra

In the 1950's old blue eyes had his own weekly variety series. This clip is from a Christmas episode singing I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. Since it is in black and white I guess it is old gray eyes who sings it. :)