iluvmonkees

“The Monkees brought to you by… Kellogg’s!”

David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young signed copy of “So Far” in black and red felt tip. The original album cover art done by Joni Mitchell in 1974. On the back, Joni Mitchell signed the album, adding a self-portrait of herself on the white background, in black marker. Joni Mitchell is credited on the album which ties in both groups’ signatures {x}

Micky was a neighbor of mine in Laurel Canyon; he was just down the hill from me, down Lookout Mountain. He lived down at the bottom right on Horseshoe Canyon. So I spent quite a lot of time over at his house hanging out with him. We were actually very good friends. I took many photos. I took photos of his little girl, Ami, when she was like a year old. Little Ami Bluebell, who’s now blossomed into a beautiful young actress. I took a lot of shots of parties at his house, and him working on his gyrocopter that he built there at his house. And then, at one point, Micky got into filming, 16mm. He had a Beaulieu 16mm sound camera, and he got the idea to go down to the Grand Prix in Mexico City, and he invited me to go with him. So it was Micky and I and a couple of girls that were kind of friends of the Monkees. One of them turned out to be Davy’s wife, Linda, eventually; and another girl, Susan. There were girls that we all knew real well; part of “the gang,” actually. So we went down there. It was funny, he went down there totally anonymously, but after a day of being in Mexico City, every time you’d hear the radio, you’d hear “Los Monkees! Los Monkees!,” everything was “Los Monkees!” A big crowd would gather at the Grand Prix racetrack. Micky filmed everything. I remember one day going up to Mama Cass’s house. Mama Cass was very much of a social catalyst in those days. She had a picnic one day, and David Crosby was there was Joni Mitchell, his protege at the time. Eric Clapton was there. He kinda was a long-haired guy, kinda real quiet, you know; a few other friends, and Micky Dolenz. I have a couple of shots somewhere of Joni and David and Eric sittin’ there under the trees playing music, and Micky wandering around the yard filming with his camera; and what was he filming, but— At one point, he was down on his knees filming his french fries. I mean, he was doing closeups of the french fries and the ketchup, you know, with his macro lens, and right behind him, here’s Eric and Joni and David jamming together. I don’t know if he filmed any of that even.

Marilyn Monroe photographed at a press conference at the Los Angeles Airport lounge, 1956.