My Friends—The Monkees

Info About the author: Henry Diltz used to sing with the group called the M.F.Q. About a year ago he took up photography as a hobby and now takes pictures of his groovy friends. Among them: The Monkees.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info There’s much love when the Monkees are around. There’s a feeling of tribal warmth that makes you smile and be happy. As Micky says: “The Indians had the idea. They built everything in a circle so nobody would be left out—no corners”.
Info Traveling with the Monkees like I did last summer is a real ball. They have their own airplane and when it’s in the air each Monkee has his own spot. Davy sits in the lounge and writes songs and tells jokes. Peter sits up front and sleeps. Mike and Micky both move around a lot and talk to each other. Mike is learning how to fly so the pilots gave him some flying lessons. When the Monkees get to a city, they are always eager to get off the plane and meet the fans. Micky likes to take pictures of the fans, but they would rather that he sign autographs.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Under an airplane, Micky takes a photo. He loves to take shots at different angles. One evening in Texas, Micky went out to the countryside to take pictures of Samantha in the sunset. He stopped by a field of sunflowers just as the sun was red and the sky pink. Photo was groovy.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info On the plane, Peter sleeps. He can sleep anywhere. Peter is very full of warmth and love for everyone these days. He is very fair minded. He’s trying to be as good a person as he possibly can. As far as the world situation is concerned, Peter hopes it won’t be too long until every nation of the world is united together rather than against each other.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Peter on stage reached new heights this summer as a performer.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Mike ([above]) missed Phyllis a lot on tour. He used to call her every night and then get happy. He was so lonesome one night that he flew his uncle in for a visit. Mike is devoted to his family and relatives.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Fans on tour were great to the Monkees, Davy, especially, had many happy hours with fans all across the country. The Monkees get a lot of notes and poems sent to them. They read many of them. Most of the poems cry out for recognition. The poetry itself is rarely happy. Peter was once happy to receive a poem which was written to honor whomever the reader might be. Fans gave the Monkees many scrapbooks tilled with old photos and news clippings. The Monkees had some laughs at themselves while looking through these. Sometimes they would pull out a page and tape it up on the airplane wall. All of the thoughtful things the fans do for the Monkees does not go unappreciated.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info [Above], Davy Jones looks happy. He relates to people very well. I made him a pair of blue and white beads that he wears around his neck. I have a pair, too. The fans think I’m wearing Davy’s beads. He has had them for six months.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info A little boy named Justin traveled with the Monkees on tour for a few days. His mother is a friend of Peter’s and Davy immediately struck up a good relationship with the boy. Davy loves all children and says when he gets married he’ll have many of his own. I think he’ll make a great father.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Micky and Samantha have a fun time together. Micky jokes about her British ways. She jokes back about his American ways. They like to go out to see groovy plays and also spend time going to good restaurants, dancing, and shopping in various department stores wherever they happen to be. Sammy came over from England for a couple of weeks to go on the tour last summer. She spent a lot of time modeling for Micky and me so we could take pictures of her. She’s an excellent model. She’s very kittenish and warm and fun to be around. She gets along well with everyone. Sam’s quick to catch up on things. I’ll never forget some of the photo shootings we did on the trip. They were really groovy.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Samantha likes to listen to Micky talk. One of his favorite subjects is about spacemen. He’s always saying, “If a flying saucer landed, I would run to it immediately to see who was on the ship.”
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Davy and Micky listen to Bruce of the Buffalo Springfield play the sitar. The boys got together in Chicago last summer when both of the groups were on tour.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info [Above] is a shot of the Monkees taken for a television show they filmed in Chicago. You’ll see it on “The Monkees” this season.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info Shopping for toys is one of Micky’s favorite things to do. He likes gadgets of all kinds and says that toys today are some of the most creative gadgets on the market. He wishes his sisters were still young enough to want lots of toys so he could buy them.
Credit: Henry Diltz
Info More than a drummer! Micky doesn’t go around tapping on things with his drum sticks. When he’s drumming, he really gets involved. He’s very involved and loves to create in many fields. This makes him an exceptional drummer. He can do practically anything he sets his mind to.
Credit: Henry Diltz

Magazine: Tiger Beat
Author: Henry Diltz
Editor: Ralph Benner
Published: November 1967
Volume: 3
Issue: 3
Publisher: Laufer Publishing Co.
Pages: 4–7