Revealing Our Musical Crushes

 LUCY BURDETTE: A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated music Sunday at our church. Our music director is incredible, and he’s infused amazing life into the choirs. Plus he’s a fantastic organist, and tons of fun besides. He often brings in guest musicians for special occasions. I read in the Sunday bulletin that the drummer he’d engaged to play for us tours with Mickey Dolenz and the Monkees.

This was such a blast from the past! Mickey Dolenz was my very first crush. Somehow, I persuaded my parents to let me attend a Monkees concert when I turned 13. My first (terrible) short story was about a jilted teenager who runs up the steps of the Hatteras lighthouse and finds Mickey Dolenz at the top! Trust me, if that had really happened, onlookers would have witnessed a major freak out. Apparently, Mickey and the Monkees band are still touring and this visiting drummer was going out on the road with them in several weeks. I introduced myself and asked him to say hello from Roberta.😂

So Reds, there is the question for the day. What do you remember about your first musical crush? How old were you and what drew you to him or her? Are they still alive and kicking? If you didn’t have a crush (really?), what was your first concert?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: That’s an easy one, Lucy! I was eleven when the Beatles hit the US airwaves. I fell madly in love with Paul McCartney and I have to say I never recovered. Paul just turned 84 on June 18th (of course I know his birthday) and he’s still adorable and is still performing and still writing great music. His new album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, is terrific. I did the Beatles tour in Liverpool a couple of years ago with my pal Kate Charles and now I know the places he’s singing about.

And the first concert was The Beatles, in Dallas. We had seats on the 12th row, can you believe it? Of course you couldn’t hear them for the screaming, but it was still a life-marking experience. I’ve seen McCartney live twice over the years since, and they were the most joyous concerts  vvvI’ve ever attended. We love you, Paul!!

LUCY: So jealous of that concert Debs–Paul was my guy as well:)

RHYS BOWEN: In school my friends were all into Elvis in a big way. We’d listen to Heartbreak Hotel and they’d all swoon. Not me. There was something about his looks I didn’t like. I think my first crush was Gordon McCrea in Oklahoma and Carousel. I had the records of both and played them non stop. But when the Beatles came along— well, who wouldn’t love them?

JENN McKINLAY: First crush was Shawn Cassidy! He had a singing career, I guess, but I crushed on him because he played Joe Hardy on The Hardy Boys Mysteries every Sunday night! This is likely where my love of amateur sleuths began. My first concert was RUSH in the New Haven Coliseum! We all packed into a friend’s ancient Datsun B210 and drove 45 minutes to get there. No cell phones, GPS, or AAA. Can’t believe we survived – LOL. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: My first musical crush..well, definitely not Elvis, I agree, Rhys, there was just no spark for me. But oh, absolutely, the Beatles. I sobbed, watching them on Ed Sullivan, and I was the vice-president of the Midwest Chapter of the National Beatles Fan Cluub. It was an actual thing! Paul, and John, oh, they were so cute, and so talented! I saw them at the Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and fairly levitated. Was that my first concert? No, I’m sure I went to many with my music critic (for the Chicago Daily News)  father –I do remember having a huge crush on Roddy McDowell who I saw playing Mordred in the musical Camelot, gosh, that was in 196-something?(The bad-boy thing, I guess. I never liked Lancelot.)  But the Beatles was the first concert on my own, and soon after that  I was all about Paul Simon. Still am. 

HALLIE EPHRON: My first concert was at the Hollywood Bowl: Joan Baez with an unknown rumpled male singer. She was terrific. He mumbled his way through a set and I, with my great prescience about musical talent, wrote Bob Dylan off as a never-gonna-be.

I’m a big baby when it comes to crowds, so concerts have never been my thing. If that weren’t the case I’d have haunted Paul Simon. Also Buddy Holly. Also LIttle Richard. Hmmm, also Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash.  

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Jenn, my sister and I were absolute devotees of THE HARDY BOYS, and agreed she would get Shaun Cassidy and I could have Parker Stevenson. I understand he’s Episcopalian, so maybe I’ll run into him in a church one day…? Both those men have aged VERY nicely.

My first strictly musical crush was - don’t laugh - Barry Manilow. No, the fact he played with Bette Midler in the Baths did not tip me off. He came to Syracuse for a concert and my BFF and I got tickets. My first show, and WOW it was so good. I’m happy he’s out and proud and living his best life, and I’m happy to have listened to “Barry Manilow II” and “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling” so many times I had to replace my record player’s needle.

PS, Lucy, my Monkee was Peter Tork. Somewhere out there, there’s got to be a personality quiz that reveals who you are based on which of the Monkees or Beatles you crushed on! 

LUCY: I’d be surprised if that quiz doesn’t exist Julia! Red readers, tell us about your first musical crush…

Monkee Mania

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Hey, hey, did you like the Monkees? I NEVER missed a show—and back then (senior citizen voice) you had to watch it when it was on—or you missed it.   Remember?

Well, Monkee mania has changed the life of a dear friend of mine…and I cannot wait for him to tell you all about it.

“They Made a Monkee (Writer) Out Of Me”

By Scott C. Forrest-Allen

It took me nearly fifty years for me to score my first official writing assignment – and it came so easily!

A routine scroll through Facebook led me to a post from Rebeat Magazine  with whom I was unfamiliar at the time. They were honoring the Monkees’ 50^th Anniversary with a countdown of their Top 50 Songs. My love for both the Monkees and countdowns drew me in. 

Reading these song reviews brought me back to when I was in my single digits enjoying their TV program. I have vivid memories of watching them and seeing how much fun these boys were having challenging authority and society.

Initially impressed at how much research each individual Rebeat writer had contributed to the entries, I was hooked, especially since they were including several album tracks and not just the “hits.” There were even some tunes that I had forgotten.

HANK: So then what?

I reviewed the entire website and noticed how well written the articles were. Then I spotted the “Write For Rebeat” button. Deciding to be bold, (which is rare for me), I wrote an email expressing how much I enjoyed the countdown and asked if they would consider me to be on their staff. Included in my email were writing samples with links to my blog and theatre reviews. It is both humbling and rewarding for me to admit that several of my musical reviews have made it to the North Shore Music Theatre website.

  

HANK: Holding breath. And then what?

They responded to me, and I was thrilled to read that not only did they appreciate my writing, but they invited me to be a contributing writer to their upcoming weekly series that would recap the Monkees’ TV episodes fifty years after their premieres!

HANK: Oh, that is hilarious. What a job!

SCOTT: Yes, after I started breathing again, I accepted. Not long after that, my first assignment arrived – to review the episode “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers.”

And soon: there it was! My very first official article on-line! What made it more real was to see it as a post on Facebook! I did it! It was and is happening! It was okay to breathe again!

Here’s where you can read it:

http://www.rebeatmag.com/every-monkees-episode-your-friendly-neighborhood-kidnappers-s1e4/

The Monkees helped my dream come true!

(And there’s a villain named Trump! This was what, fifty years ago?)

Since then I’ve written eight more articles, including a recap of “Success Story,” my personal favorite episode. It was very early in the TV series and was unafraid to take a serious turn halfway through.

HANK: What happens?

SCOTT: In it, Davy’s uncle threatens to take him back to England because he is not a success. There is a very poignant scene during which his band mates say farewell to him before his flies back to England, complete with Peter handing Davy a parachute in case his uncle changes his mind. It was that sincerity that cemented my love for the Monkees, both TV show and music. This scene always made me cry when I was younger, and I loathe admitting that I choked up when I was writing about it! I’ve seen the episode numerous times, and I know how it all turns out!

HANK: Aw.  Has this assignment taught you anything?

SCOTT: Yes, absolutely. Reviewing these episodes and reading other articles by my fellow scribes has me refelcting on the band’s career and my never-ending attachment to them.

Although time has been kind to the Monkees, I will never understand the initial backlash from critics and fans alike. Remember?  People were outraged when they discovered that the Monkees weren’t playing their own instruments; at least not initially. They had never lied to their public – the TV show was about four actors portraying a struggling rock band. Mission accomplished.

To be fair, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork were accomplished musicians in their own rights, and Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones both had musical theatre backgrounds. So, they had all approached the project with valid experience. Eventually, they became a “real” band and played all of their own instruments for their concerts and would eventually compose material for subsequent albums. Theirs are some of the most professional concerts I’ve every attended.

People are just now realizing how important they are to popular music. On one side, the show could be considered nothing more than an entertaining half-hour filled with great music; on the flip side it was and still is one of the most clever half-hour commercials to promote a band and sell albums, complete with an unofficial introduction to Music Videos.

The plan worked. If the TV show was an innocent salute to the madcap comedy of the Marx Brothers, the music was always approached seriously, being written by the top songwriters in the business and professionally produced.

HANK: There were some big names!

SCOTT:  Definitely. Carole King helped to catapult the Monkees’ success with “Sometime in the Morning” and “Take a Giant Step,” both co-written with Gerry Goffin.

Neil Diamond contributed “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” to the group’s catalog. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Singles Chart, but his “I’m A Believer” peaked at #1.

The band enjoyed two more #1 singles – “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Daydream Believer.”

As a matter of fact, their first four albums (The Monkees, More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones, Ltd.) all peaked at #1.

HANK: What if you run out of Monkee episodes?

SCOTT: No problem!  Since then, Rebeat Magazine has asked me to contribute to their “Deep Tracks” Section with an article reviewing 10 underrated songs and one album by Fleetwood Mac, who is also celebrating fifty years!

This has been such a rewarding experience for me because not only am I discussing subjects that I love, but I am learning how to expand my writing style. I’ve always written with a very compact approach, but Rebeat Magazine has taught me how to write and express more. Instead of expressing my thoughts in a few sentences, I am now writing several paragraphs.

This experience has done wonders for my self-confidence when it comes to my writing. I have since then dug out drafts that had been otherwise abandoned; I’m co-writing the Book for a full-length musical; I’ve contributed an article to a charity organization’s newsletter; and an author has asked me to write reviews for his books. My Dad is happy for me, and my Mom would be proud too.

So, Fifty looks pretty good for the Monkees, Fleetwood Mac, and me!

They made a believer out of me!

HANK:  A daydream believer, right?  SO happy for you!  And now I’m singing.  So Reds, did you love the Monkees? Any Monkee memories?

Our Debut Concerts

LUCY BURDETTE: Loni Emmert asked this question on Facebook last week (thank you Loni!) and I knew we would have fun discussing it here: What was the first concert you ever attended?

And I am chagrined to have to say: The Monkees! (Couldn't it have been something uber-cool like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones?) But I was a teenager, madly in love with Micky Dolenz. And tickets to the 1967 Monkees concert in Detroit were what I wanted for my birthday most of all.

Earlier that year, my best friend and I had slaved for hours to make Micky a "party kit" to celebrate his birthday. We'd made crepe paper party hats, and lord knows what other homemade gifts, and packed it off to his fan club address. I did get a signed photo back from the club. But I suspected he was waiting to give me a shout-out from the stage...

I don't remember much about the concert--except that we screamed and screamed. And even though it isn't listed on the set, I'm certain that Davy Jones dropped to one knee and crooned "The day we fall in love." The memory still sets my young-girl heart aquiver…

 HALLIE EPHRON: Mine was pretty amazing. It was at the Hollywood Bowl Sept. 3, 1965, Bob Dylan made his Bowl debut as the opening act for Joan Baez. I was singing folk songs and learning guitar, and I am chagrined to admit that I did not get Dylan, not one bit. (A few years later I saw Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin at the Filmore in SF and was similarly baffled.) 


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Lucy, I have to admit, my first concert was similarly dorky: at the age of fifteen, my best friend and I went to see Barry Manilow when he came to Syracuse. The tickets must have been a present from my parents, as I had spent all my allowance money on Barry Manilow records. Oh, my, how we screamed and sighed. He was so slim and cute and he had the fluffiest, most perfectly-blown-out seventies hair ever.

Most memorable concert? Going to see the Grateful Dead in college and discovering AFTER I had gotten through security that one of my friends had hidden his stash in my purse.  

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: My very first? Well, my father was the music critic for the Chicago Daily news, and when I was pretty young, like, five, he would take me to the symphony. Was I well behaved? I guess so...since he kept taking me. But apparently there was one memorable (for Dad) occasion where I must have been fidgeting  and the man in front of us turned around and said: "Please keep that child quiet."   And it was Yul Brynner!

And I would have loved to see the Monkees! 

But my first real concert as a separate person was the Beatles at the Indianapolis Coliseum, a huge arena usually used for cows. I cried for DAYS. Before, during, and after.

One of the most memorable: some college pals and I sneaked off campus (in Ohio) and drove to Chicago to see Crosby, Still and Nash. They sang for a while, and it was great..and then they said: we'd like to introduce you to another guy who sings with us sometimes. And out came Neil Young!
And then they sang Suite Judy Blue Eyes...and out came Judy Collins!

And all the while, my parents thought I was in class.

RHYS BOWEN: My first concert on my own was when my friend and I went to see the Rolling Stones. It was in a not too impressive hall, so they can't have been that well established, and the group that opened for them--well, they were terrible. It was Tom Jones and I believe they were called The Squires. I was amazed when he became a star later, but I have to admit he did improve with time.

But other types of concerts--my aunt was a huge theater buff and took me to opera, musicals etc when I was quite young. I saw Rigoletto at twelve and cried my eyes out because it was so sad.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: My first concert WAS the Beatles--on their first US tour in 1963, at the Dallas Convention Center, with my best friend, Franny, and a bunch of other girls from our 6th grade class. I have no idea now how we got tickets, or whose parents took us (certainly not mine...) We were on the 12th row, center. Could we see anything? NO. Everyone stood on their chairs, and I was short. Hear anything? NO. Non-stop screaming from the minute they took the stage until the end of the concert. Still, it was something never to be forgotten. Now I think, poor guys, having to play city after city to a bunch of hysterical screaming girls... No wonder they got tired of it.

Most memorable concerts from the last few years? The Police reunion tour. And Paul McCartney, a couple of years ago. Dallas was the last stop on his tour, and you could tell when he walked out on the stage that he was exhausted. But then the audience started cheering and clapping, and you could just see him taking in all that love and energy, absorbing it. He played his heart out for three hours--three hours!!-- and every second was fabulous. Still gives me chills just thinking about it.

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: OMG, Debs, the Beatles? Wow. <fans self> OK, I think my first concert was Sonny and Cher. (No, I'm not joking. I was fairly young.) The most memorable is a toss-up between two. First is opera singer Leontyne Price at Artpark (outside on a perfect summer night under the stars — she finished with Gershwin's "Summertime"). And also Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour. (Anyone remember that? It was the one made infamous by the Gaultier cone bra.) It was amazing and life-changing. (Seriously. I'm being serious here, folks. I think Madonna is a fabulous performance artist. Seriously.)

Reds, do you remember your first concert? Are you willing to tell us about it?? 

And just for fun, here's Kaye Barley's Memory Quilt, made from the concert t-shirts she scored over the years!