Ian Anderson, lead singer of Jethro Tull
The Monkees are being kept out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine, according to Peter Tork as reported in Friday’s Los Angeles Times.
Now that makes me angry. The Monkees were a major band even though they were called the pre-fab-four since the whole idea and series was based on the Beatles’ movies “Help” and “Hard Days Night.” They had several songs they sang and made famous. I would classify the following songs as B-list standards: “I’m a Believer,” “(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone,” “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”
Jimi Hendrix opened the Monkees for a few shows. Hendrix jammed with Tork on several occasions, calling him- “The most talented Monkee."
According to Wikipedia the following bands have covered songs made famous by the Monkees:
The Sex Pistols and Minor Threat both recorded versions of "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone." In 1988 Run DMC recorded "Mary, Mary" on their album Tougher Than Leather. Australian indie-rock bands of the 1980s such as Grooveyard ("All The King's Horses"), Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers ("Mary Mary", "For Pete's Sake" and "Circle Sky") and The Upbeat and The Mexican Spitfires ("Mary Mary") performed Monkees cover versions. The alternative rock group Smash Mouth had a hit with "I'm a Believer" in 2001 (and featured in the blockbuster computer-animated movie Shrek). Japanese popsters Shonen Knife recorded "Daydream Believer.”
To leave the Monkees out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a travesty. Whether they played their own instruments or not, whether they were planned as a joke for a television series misses the point of the influence they had. The group used additional musicians (including Louie Shelton, members of The Byrds and The Association, and Neil Young) throughout their recording career. Additionally, Peter Tork was later one of the musicians on George Harrison's Wonderwall Music, playing Paul McCartney's five-string banjo.
There is too much of rock and roll’s history intertwined with the Monkees to exclude them over some arrogant, purist nonsense when the history of this genre of music is to go against the grain.
6 comments:
On the Mark says: I was never much of a Monkees fan, but I agree that they belong in the Hall.
And I know of at least one person who agrees with you, Davy Jones. Cause there's no one who loves Davy Jones more than...Davy Jones:)
On The Mark, there is no legitimate reason to keep the Monkees out. Their movie "Head" was years ahead of its time.
Janet, Nice to see you again. I agree about Davy, but I think they all have a rather large ego.
Agree, agree, agree (OMG - we agree!). I think the idea of a museum is to showcase influencers and those who made an impact in the period of the time in which they existed. I think the Monkees definitely qualified.
Anita, Wow this is indeed remarkable.:) However, I have to say, I believe we would probably be closer on many issues, but it's the other voices that get in the way. Nonetheless, this is good.
For others just tuning in, Anita's site is Against the Tide and I seem to be the lone voice on a few of the topics Anita posts.
In support of the Monkees, I will be downloading some of their songs from my P2P service and adding them to my iPod. Take that, corporate pig Wenner!
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