Published: July 04, 2009 06:15 am      

Story and slide show: Monkee makes the scene

Micky Dolenz sings favorites to large crowd in Central Park

Micky Dolenz opened his Summer Motion performance with the song “That Was Then, This is Now.”

Many of the people who came to listen to Dolenz perform came because they remembered him from his days as a drummer for the Monkees on albums as well as in the group’s television show.

But some didn’t know him as he is now.

Gertie Conrad, 56, of Dundee, Ore., said she didn’t recognize the man who sat in front of her on a flight from North Carolina to Huntington as Dolenz even though she said he was her favorite Monkee.

“We said, ‘Who is that guy?’” she said of her reaction after getting off the plane.

When she was told it was Dolenz she decided to come to the concert.

“I grew up, of course, with the Monkees, so it was special,” Conrad said.

She’s in the area visiting friends from Ironton.

Dolenz sang Monkees’ hits such as “Last Train to Clarksville,” as well as covers of songs by other artists who played roles in his career.

He performed Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” because it was the song he sang when auditioning for the Monkees TV show and Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” because Hendrix once opened for the group.

Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo also attended the event to present Dolenz with a plaque commemorating him as a new member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

The show’s opening act, the Legends, also sang songs that many in the crowd knew and sang along to including “Let’s Go to the Hop” and “YMCA.”

Jeff Crawford, 50, of Barboursville, got to meet Dolenz at a meet and greet before the concert.

“That was awesome because he was my first childhood idol,” he said.

Crawford said he got his first set of drums because of Dolenz and played in a group with a few friends who imitated the Monkees.

“I grew up in an era where it was the Monkees or the Beatles, and I chose the Monkees,” he said.

Cindy Jackson, 47, of Ashland said she also used to play the part of Dolenz when she and her friends played the Monkees.

Jackson was introduced to the show by her sister.

“She talked about it for a week,” Jackson said.

But when the show came on, Jackson said she was disappointed because it didn’t feature real monkeys.

“But I grew to love it,” Jackson said.

Charlotte Chapman, 57, of Logan, W. Va., said that she’s been a fan of the Monkees since 1966 and used to watch Dolenz on the show “Circus Boy,” which he starred in before landing a part with the Monkees.

Chapman came to the concert with daughter Melanie Chapman, 27, of Barboursville.

Melanie Chapman bought tickets and convinced her mother to come to the concert. She said her mother taught her songs from the Monkees when she was younger.

“She had the greatest hits cassette and we listened to it and I knew every word,’ Melanie Chapman said.

Cade Mahan, a Summer Motion committee member, said the turnout for the concert was as large as opening night.

He said he wasn’t surprised because the word has gotten out about the great setup in Central Park and all the space available.