After reading Jimi’s unnecessarily nasty comments about The Monkees, as a diehard Monkeemaniac, I was ready to come out swinging in their defense. I’m not remotely suggesting that the Monks were as culturally relevant as Hendrix or The Beatles, but neither were they a bunch of glorified no-talent “fairies” as Hendrix suggested.
If this comment is true, then Hendrix was a hypocrite. If he despised The Monkees that much, he never would have agreed to tour with them in the Summer of ‘67. They were an embarrassment? Apparently not enough of an embarrassment that he didn’t want some exposure thanks to their mega-popularity!
Once Jimi was on tour with them, though, he realized they weren’t “plastic people” as the music press had dubbed them. They became good friends. He, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz would regularly jam backstage. One time Peter’s East Coast buddy Stephen Stills dropped by and joined Jimi and Micky on guitars. Peter later reflected on the hour-long supergroup of Hendrix, Stills, and Dolenz!
Finally, in Michael’s autobiography, Infinite Tuesday, Nez wrote about going to England in 1970 after leaving The Monkees and looked up a depressed, despondent Jimi, giving his friend personal and professional advice on his immediate future. Michael of course was devastated that nothing would come of it.
I know this was a post about Hendrix and The Beatles, but it’s my duty to defend The Monkees when someone’s not too busy singing to put them down.
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