One of the biggest hits recorded by The Monkees is “Last Train to Clarksville,” which was released in 1966. Many of us grew up singing along to the song without realizing it was written as a protest against the Vietnam War.
Take the last train to Clarksville And I’ll meet you at the station, You can be here by four-thirty, ‘Cause I’ve made your reservation, don’t be slow, Oh, no, no, no, Oh, no, no, no.
If you listen closely to the lyrics sung by Micky Dolenz, you can hear that The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville” is actually in the voice of someone frightened about going off to war.
Now I must hang up the phone, I can’t hear you in this noisy railroad station, All alone, I’m feeling low. Oh, no, no, no, Oh, no, no, no, And I don’t know if I’m ever coming home.
The song does not specifically mention the war, but songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart explained that they kind of “snuck in” the Viet Nam references. They noted, “We couldn’t be too direct with the Monkees.”
On Sunday July 16, 1967, Jimi Hendrix opened for The Monkees for the final time. The opening performance by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was the last of three shows at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, New York, and it ended a seven-show run for Hendrix that started when he joined the ongoing tour in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 8. After Jacksonville, the pairing also performed in Miami Beach (Florida) on July 9, Charlotte (North Carolina) on July 11, and Greensboro (North Carolina) on July 12 before heading north for the final shows together in Queens on July 14, 15, and 16.
The Pairing of Jimi Hendrix With The Monkees
During the summer of 1967, Hendrix was popular in the United Kingdom, but he was still rising in the United States. He garnered attention at his performance earlier in the summer at the Monterey Pop Festival, where Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz had seen him. But Hendrix’s first album Are You Experienced (1967) was not released in the U.S. until August. So, Hendrix ended up as the opening act for The Monkees, who were in the middle of their successful 1966-1968 TV series run.
The teaming of The Monkees and the Jimi Hendrix Experience was meant to go longer then seven shows, continuing until August 20. And the members of The Monkees were fans of Hendrix and enjoyed having him on tour.
The Eventual Split
But many who came to see The Monkees were not happy to hear an opening act so different from the band they came to see. For example, some fans yelled “We Want Davy [Jones]” as Hendrix played.
One often repeated story is that after Hendrix had enough, he flipped off the audience at the Forest Hills show and then left. Hendrix told NME magazine that it was just the “wrong audience,” joking that he was being replaced with “Mickey Mouse.”
Hendrix, however, also told the magazine that he got along well with the members of The Monkees. And by most accounts the departure was amicable.
By some accounts, Hendrix’s managers knew the combination would not work and had planned the pairing as a publicity stunt all along. Either way, it was one of the most unique concert billings in rock history, and one that would never be repeated.
A little more than three years later, Hendrix passed away on September 18, 1970. Four days after Hendrix’s death, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz recorded the final Monkees song for the original band, with Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith having already quit.
Tour Promo
Below is a radio promo for the Detroit show featuring Hendrix opening for The Monkees. Note that the photos were added for the YouTube video and were not a part of the promotion.
The Detroit show took place on August 13, by which time Hendrix had left the tour. So fans who bought tickets based on this promo may have ended up disappointed. Check it out.
Note: The This Day in History website states that the final Hendrix-Monkees show was July 17, 1962, but the concert poster shown in this video verifies that the final Forest Hills date was on July 16. Also, some websites claim that Hendrix and The Monkees played together at eight shows, but a Monkees website that lists the shows between Jacksonville and Forest Hills confirms there were seven shows in that span.
Do you wish you had seen one of these concerts? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On Sunday July 16, 1967, 