33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee: Unearthing a Little-Seen Special

A review, 56 years late, from a Monkees fan

Image credit: NBC

There is no other band that I have been as passionate about as The Monkees. The Beatles are right up there, too, but it’s The Monkees that inspired me to join fan clubs — and form my own in the late 1980s. I own all their released music — on vinyl and CD — as well as rarities. It’s The Monkees about whom I’ve read several books. And they’re the only band for whom I’ve waited outside their hotel on their tour to catch a glimpse as they entered their limos.

Back in the height of my fandom, during The Monkees’ late-1980s resurgence, media consumption was entirely different from today. There was no YouTube, nor were there streaming services. If you wanted to see an obscure movie like The Monkees’ psychedelic box-office flop Head, well, you were generally out of luck. When VCRs became available, you could buy videos, but only, of course, if they were available. I was lucky for the opportunity to see Head in a theater that showed quirky old films.

There was a TV special that I’d read about but never had the opportunity to see — 1969’s 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee. I got older, and life became busier. While my appreciation of The Monkees has never waned, I’m only now discovering the treasure trove of rare footage that has surfaced in the intervening years.

Recently, I was looking for something to watch in a rare moment of downtime, and that obscure show came to mind. It was available on YouTube, so I settled in to finally see what had once been elusive.

Not far into the show, I realized why it is obscure. To say the plot is wafer-thin would be a huge exaggeration. It’s pretty much Head, minus the more entertaining soundtrack, better directing, and engaging scenes. The summary of 33 1/3 is this: We were manufactured to be a band. The nearly hour-long show then beats this message into the ground in a series of strange musical numbers. In one of them, the guys wear monkey outfits, and the video is run backward and forward repeatedly for comic (?) effect.

One of the many odd decisions in the program was to have the Monkees manufactured into a doo-wop group, complete with greased-back, 1950s-style hair. The Monkees’ music touched on several genres, from country to bubblegum to psychedelic rock, but they never sang doo-wop.

Aside from the poor scripting and bizarre elements, my main frustration with this special is that it had the potential to be so much better. The show featured such icons as Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. One of the main evil masterminds, Julie Driscoll, gives a few arresting vocal performances, backed by Brian Auger on keyboard. And The Monkees excel in their individual numbers, particularly Peter Tork in a brief but amazing solo keyboard performance. Why was he never given that chance to shine with the band? Or perhaps that was the program’s message.

For all the cheesy, low-production qualities in this show, one of the best decisions made was to allow the performers to perform, rather than lip sync as The Monkees did on every episode of their TV show except the Christmas episode. (At the end of that show, they sang a Catalan carol, “Riu Chiu” — a cappella. It was gorgeous.) The sound quality of 33 1/3 isn’t great, but I was fine with that. It has a raw, of-the-time sound, and it shows that The Monkees could stand on their own feet.

I don’t think this special needed to be made. Talk about beating a dead horse. The Monkees should have ended their time together with Head. 33 1/3 offered no new insight. It was frustrating to see the talent in that show wasted — particularly that of The Monkees. After fighting so hard to be viewed as a real band, they deserved a better send off.

Here are links to a few of the songs and clips mentioned in this article:

The Monkees singing Riu Chiu: The Monkees — Riu Chiu (Official HD Music Video)

Peter Tork’s keyboard playing: Peter Tork — Solfeggietto (1968) — YouTube

Julie Driscoll and Micky Dolenz singing “I’m a Believer”: Micky Dolenz & Julie Driscoll — I’m a Believer — YouTube

The Monkees dressed as monkeys in 33 1/3: The monkees I go ape 33 & A third revolution per monkee

And, if you’re daring, the entire 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee TV special: Monkees Special — 33 & A Third Revolutions Per Monkee