RHINO HONORS THE MONKEES

On January 5, 1995, all four members of The Monkees were reunited at theHard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, California. Surrounded by many other devoted Monkees fans, Ihad the pleasure of seeing Davy, Micky, Peter and Michael being honored in a briefceremony in which The Monkees were presented with multi-platinum certification awards.Rhino Records was responsible for the event and Harold Bronson made the presentation. Fiveindividual awards were given for the following albums: The Monkees, More Of The Monkees,Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees, andHeadquarters. We can be very proud of the fact that between the years 1966-1968 TheMonkees outsold The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined!

I am a first generation Monkees fan that was 14 years old when the TVseries first aired. Making the trip to Los Angeles was something I really wanted to do.The Monkees were being honored and I felt the need to be a part of it. I wanted to saythank you to the guys for all the joy and the fun and the wonderful music they have givenme.

The room was filled with fans that dearly loved The Monkees. What awonderful feeling it was knowing that we were not just there for ourselves but the supportwe were showing for The Monkees represented ALL the fans from all over the world thatwanted so much to be there but could not. This day was also very special to me personallybecause I was seeing David, Micky, Peter AND MICHAEL together for the first time.

There was tremendous media coverage of this event. Photographers,including Henry Diltz and Michael Bush, were there, as well as people from varioustelevision programs, newspapers and magazines. Unfortunately, it was difficult for me tosee over this wall of people, video cameras and microphones.

As I looked around the room I saw many familiar faces, including BobbyHart, Talia and Sarah Jones, and Ami Dolenz. The Nesmith family was well represented sinceall four of Michael’s children, Christian, Jonathan, Jason and Jessica were presentto honor their Dad. Victoria Kennedy, Michael’s "partner in life" was thereto show her support as always. Other guests at the Nesmith table included Nurit Wilde andmembers of the staff from Rio Records. This day was especially exciting for Michael andhis loved ones since just hours before the Rhino presentations, Nez received a phone callletting him know that The Garden had been nominated for a Grammy Award!! It was a doublecelebration for the Nesmith family.

The big moment finally arrived when The Monkees stood together beforeus. The excitement and cheering from the crowd was a heart-warming experience. What a joyit was to see all four Monkees together being showered with love, praise and recognitionfor their contribution to the music world.

During the awards presentation, I had the pleasure of standingin-between Jessica and Jason Nesmith. Christian and Jonathan were seated directly in frontof me.

The presentation itself lasted only a few minutes. When The Monkeesfirst walked out on the stage, Micky, Peter and Davy were smiling and looking around theroom at all the fans. However, Michael’s eyes were searching the crowd for hischildren. When Nez spotted Jessica, he let out the biggest, sweetest smile and waved toher. Jessica returned a loving smile back to her Dad. As I stood beside her, I could justfeel the love and pride she has for her Dad. Nez then spotted Jason and again the big grincame upon his face. Jason returned the smile and openly displayed his pride for his Dad.Michael could not see Christian and Jonathan since they were sitting down out of his view.He looked at Jason and Jessica and whispered the words, "Where’s Jonathan?Where’s Christian?" Jason and Jessica pointed down at their brothers. Itobviously meant a great deal to Michael to have all his children together today. Michaelthen devoted all his attention to the fans.

Harold Bronson spoke for a few minutes and then the awards werepresented to The Monkees. Peter, Micky and David each made a brief statement. Michaelstood quietly and did not speak, he was much too busy smiling! I heard a loud crash comefrom the platform where the guys were standing. I could not see what fell but I doremember David helping pick up whatever fell. I heard the crash a second time. I laterfound out that the awards kept falling over in a domino effect and that was what all thenoise was about.

Someone in the crowd called out "Happy Birthday Michael." Nezquickly pointed to David, reminding this person that David shares the same birthday ashimself.

The Monkees then spent a good amount of time posing for pictures.Cameras were flashing like lightning all over the room. People were yelling, "lookover here, no over here, Michael over here." It was insane the way everyone wasdemanding the attention of the guys like they were a bunch of mechanical robots.("Here I stand...at demand") Peter was the one who put an end to the insanity.Peter wildly leapt forward and started yelling very loudly (with a smile on his face)"LOOK OVER HERE, NO...OVER THERE... MICHAEL OVER HERE...NO… OVER THERE!" Iloved it! Peter was so funny and it really made everyone stop and think and get their acttogether. David was charming as usual and Micky kept flashing that beautiful smile.

Then all the press people began to interview the guys. There was thishuge mass of people around The Monkees. It looked like a giant football huddle andsomewhere at the bottom of this pile was our beloved Monkees.

During this time period I talked with Michael’s children. All fourof them are very intelligent, charming, polite and friendly. They posed with me forpictures. Jason’s Mom, Nurit Wilde was kind enough to take pictures for me. I wasalso very happy to speak with Victoria Kennedy, who was very friendly and kind to me.

While all this was going on inside, a humorous and unexpected event wasoccurring outside. The Monkees Mobile, which was parked in front of the Hard Rock Cafe,was receiving a ticket for being parked illegally.

I approached Bobby Hart just before he was getting ready to leave andtold him how much I enjoyed his music. I was very happy to have had the chance to meetBobby, but I felt a certain sadness as I looked in the man’s eyes and wondered howmuch pain he might be feeling over the loss of Tommy Boyce, especially on this day.

Time quickly passed and The Monkees were getting ready to leave. I didnot get a chance to speak to Peter, Micky or David, but I did manage to speak with Nez. Ican’t begin to tell you how much it meant to me to be able to congratulate Michael inperson for his Grammy Nomination on The Garden.

I was very impressed with the way The Monkees can handle such a largecrowd. So many people were fighting for their attention and demanding things from them.The Monkees put out a 100% effort to speak to as many people as possible. These four menreally deserve a pat on the back for the many years they have given so unselfishly ofthemselves to their fans. Our lives have been enriched by the music, the fun, the happymemories and the love we feel for these four individuals.

January 5, 1995 will be a day I will always remember. It was a happyoccasion. The recognition The Monkees were given has been long over due! I am really proudto be a Monkees fan. God bless you dearest Micky, David, Peter and Nez. We love you somuch.