The Monkees – Good Times: The 50th Anniversary Tour

The Monkees are ready to have some fun this year as the iconic band celebrates its 50th anniversary with a tour and the group’s first new album in 20 years, appropriately titled GOOD TIMES!.

GOOD TIMES! features all three surviving band members – Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. The unmistakable voice of the late Davy Jones is also included with a vintage vocal featured on one song. To produce the new album, the band found the perfect musical co-conspirator in Grammy® and Emmy®-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne, Ivy). GOOD TIMES! will be available June 10 on CD ($13.98) and digitally, with a vinyl version ($19.98) coming out on July 1.

Much like The Monkees’ early albums, GOOD TIMES! features tracks written specifically for the band by some of the music world’s most gifted songwriters, including Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Andy Partridge (XTC), and Zach Rogue (Rogue Wave). The album also includes songwriting contributions by Nesmith (“I Know What I Know”) and Tork as well as producer Schlesinger.

To help bring the anniversary full circle, The Monkees completed songs for GOOD TIMES! that were originally recorded and written for the group during the 60s, including “Love To Love” by Neil Diamond, which features a vintage vocal by Jones. Harry Nilsson wrote the title track “Good Times!” which he recorded at a session with Nesmith in January 1968. The production was never completed, so the band returned to the original session tape (featuring Nilsson’s guide vocal) and have created a duet with his close friend Dolenz. “Good Times!” will mark the first time Dolenz and Nilsson have sung together since Dolenz’ May 1973 single “Daybreak.” Other vintage 1960’s tracks included on GOOD TIMES! feature L.A.’s famed “Wrecking Crew” of session musicians.

“This is one of the most exciting Monkee projects I’ve been involved in for decades!” says Dolenz. “Working with Adam Schlesinger has been a pure delight and the opportunity to sing a duet with my old buddy, Harry Nilsson, is just beyond cool!”

In addition to the new album, Dolenz and Tork will launch a Monkees 50th Anniversary Tour. The jaunt boasts nearly 50 North American dates through the end of the year including a homecoming gig at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on Friday, September 16. Tickets go on sale February 12 and all tickets purchased through Ticketmaster will come with a digital download of GOOD TIMES!.

In other Monkees news, the band will release the entire series of “The Monkees” television show on Blu-ray for the very first time. All 58 episodes have been painstakingly restored in high-definition from the original film negatives. The 10-disc Blu-ray collection also includes the 1968 cult-classic “Head,” along with many never-before-seen outtakes from the film.

Limited to 10,000 individually numbered pieces, the set will be available April 29 and can be purchased exclusively at Monkees.com for $199.98.

During the band’s time together, The Monkees amassed a dozen Top 40 hits, including a trio of tunes that soared to #1. Between September 1966 and December 1967, “Last Train To Clarksville,” “I’m A Believer,” and “Daydream Believer” collectively occupied the top position for 12 weeks. Sales of their LPs were more phenomenal still: The Monkees occupied the #1 position for 13 consecutive weeks, and More Of The Monkees for 18 weeks. Both Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. went to the top as well, for a four-in-a-row feat in the incomprehensible space of 13 months. The final tally: 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles sold in a mere 2 1/2 years.