By Gloria Stavers
QUICK AS A FLASH—when a new group becomes popular—the rumors about them start spreading like wildfire. Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones are the four new victims of a series of rumors with no basis in fact. 16 is devoting this page to keeping the “Monkee Record” straight. Any rumor of any importance about the Monkees is kept in a special file at 16, and all rumors will be cleared up from time to time in this section. If you hear anything about Davy, Mike, Peter or Micky that you find upsetting or hard to believe, write to me—Gloria Stavers—at 16 magazine, 745 Fifth Avenue, New York City 10022, and you can jolly well bet your Monkee button that I’ll get to the heart of the matter and tell you what the real truth is!
RUMOR: Davy Jones said, “I’m going to make a couple of hundred thousand dollars and then I’m gonna get out of here and set up a riding stable at home. I want to be a jockey again—that’s what I want.”
FACT: Absolutely not true. Davy never said such a thing. Once again he is the innocent victim of a “made-up” story by one of those reports who delights in twisting quotations around. Although Davy loved riding horses when he was younger, and still enjoys an occasional race when he goes home, he has no desire whatsoever to be a jockey. He wants to live in America and become an important figure in show business—especially in the fields of Broadway musicals and nightclub entertainment.
RUMOR: Some super-dumb mag wrote that Mike Nesmith said, “I’m not married—if I had to listen to a woman jabbering all the time, it might ruin my hearing.”
FACT: Once again, one of those “made-up” stories. Mike is very happily married to Phyllis Barbour Nesmith—and they have a lovely 26-month old son, Christian Duval.
RUMOR: Micky Dolenz is suffering from a serious bone disease that makes it hard for him to move about and which may prove to be fatal.
FACT: When Micky was a young star, he had a bone ailment called “Perthese leg disease”. He was on crutches from the age of fix to six and a half. The cause of the disease is not known, nor is the cure. Micky has completely recovered, but he still has a slight limp—and this is what will probably keep him from getting drafted!
RUMOR: The Monkees’ music is “manufactured” by other people and is not performed by them.
FACT: The Monkees sing and play on every single one of their records. On some of the bands on their LP’s, outside—or what is known in the recording industry as “back-up musicians”—are used. Every single recording group in the world—and that includes the Beatles—uses back-up musicians in live performances on the road. If the Monkees themselves did not sing and play on the records, the Musician’s Union would not permit them to collect royalties—and they have already collected thousands and thousands of dollars in royalties, which they are spending.
RUMOR: Mike Nesmith’s original green wool hat is so dear to him that he’s having it cast in bronze to be kept in his new home.
FACT: Mike couldn’t stand the nickname “Wool Hat” from the beginning. Though he auditioned in his green hat, and had to wear it from time to time on the TV show, he decided that the best thing to so was to give it to somebody who really wanted it. So, in Cleveland on January 15 (Correction), Mike tossed his original green hat into the audience, and if you were the lucky girl who caught it—you’ve got the real thing!
RUMOR: This one is once again from a zeech magazine: “Peter Tork is really wild about Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas”.
FACT: Cass Elliot of the Mamas & Papas is very much married to Jim Hendricks, an American folk singer. In fact, they are about to become parents. Her younger sister, Leah, is a buddy of Peter Tork—repeat, BUDDY—no romance.
RUMOR: When the Monkees were in Louisville, Ky., on their recent concert tour, they referred to that city as a “hick town”.
FACT: Not true. Some Louisville writer got all uptight because the Monkees (and the various members of their traveling party) didn’t cater to his every whim. Soon after, a letter signed “Dudley Saunders” was published in the Louisville Times with the erroneous comment. Davy, Peter, Micky, and Mike—to a man—insisted that they all really grooved all you Louisville cats. They had a ball there and hope that you enjoyed them as much.
RUMOR: Davy Jones and Action dancer Jeri-Lynn are going steady.
FACT: Tain’t so! Davy and Jeri-Lynn have not even met each other! A perfect example of how completely way-out rumors can be printed by unreliable publications.
