Published: July 02, 2009 12:06 am      

Mark Maynard: Hey, hey we're the Monkees: 7/2/09

If you stay around here long enough, your music life will pass before your eyes with Summer Motion’s concert series.

In years past we’ve had acts like the Beach Boys and Doobie Brothers, bands that touched the ears of baby boomers like myself. Every year there’s somebody at Summer Motion that will bring a smile to your face and memories to your mind.

That’s kind of what’s great about it.

Micky Dolenz’s appearance on Friday will shake the cobwebs for a lot of us who remember watching and listening to the Monkees, the boy band put together to compete with the Beatles in the late 1960s.

Dolenz will be tickling our ears with the sounds of the Monkees in Central Park. It’s funny how you remember things. I remember watching “The Monkees” on Saturday mornings but they actually were on in prime-time television — on Friday nights — from 1966 to 1968.

John Cannon, our editorial page editor, reminded me of it when he was editing a story about Dolenz’s appearance. John was the prime age target, about 16, for the Monkees when they splashed onto the scene. I was a little younger and became a fan of the group with the assistance of reruns.

“The Monkees” were born for prime-time TV during the same era as “Batman” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” I mean, what an era of television watching?

When we look back at them now, all three of those shows bordered on the ridiculous. But, for the day and time, they were great entertainment. I can remember watching “Batman” and “Laugh-In” during the prime-time hours but not “The Monkees.” Maybe I was out playing whiffle ball or something on Friday nights.

But I caught up with all the shows in reruns on Saturday mornings. While it wasn’t great acting or drama, there were more than a few belly-laughs. My wife’s sister, 12 years younger than us, also became a big fan through the reruns.

It’s funny how this group touched so many lives through the power of television and music.

Now, don’t be confused. This is not Micky Dolenz and the Monkees but Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. Still, though, he promises to play all the hits from the Monkees and it’ll be mind-bending fun.

It’s kind of like the Beach Boys when they performed here a few years ago. There was only one original Beach Boy but the tunes all sounded great, and just like you remembered them.

I’m sure that’s how it will be on Friday night when Dolenz takes the Summer Motion stage in the park. There aren’t many of us, young or old, who won’t be able to sing along with the songs of the Monkees.

I’m already getting warmed up.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.