Ugh! Bleep! Yuk! What else can you say about magazines that print deliberate lies maligning your fave raves? And what else can you do? You can read 16—and ONLY 16—for the truth and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!
THE TWO most popular groups in America today are the Monkees and Paul Revere & The Raiders—so, naturally, they’re the most gossiped-about, picked-upon and maligned of all the young stars! Recently there has been such a rash of made-up and untrue stories and deliberate lies passed around about the Monkees and the Raiders that 16 decided to come to their rescue. Every rumor that has been circulating about these fave raves (and others with whom they’ve come in contact) is below. After each rumor is the honest-to-goodness TRUTH. 16 traced each of these rumors to its source, and then personally contacted the stars involved and got the truth straight from their mouths. So read on and put your mind at ease—because you can believe what your read in 16!
Monkee rumors Permalink
RUMOR: Mike Nesmith said that Monkee music is “trash” and that he wears ear plugs when he performs at concerts to avoid having to listen to it.
FACT: In an interview during the Monkees’ summer concert tour, Mike said that he thought the Beatles are cutting the best pop LPs available; and he also said that he thought the Monkees’ second LP is not as good as their third—indicating that he believes the Beatles are the best young performers on the scene today and that the Monkees are improving in quality with each LP. Mike went on to say that as a result of listening to studio playbacks played loudly and to the screaming of enthusiastic fans at the Monkees’ live concerts, his hearing is off 12% in one ear and 8% in the other. He said that the doctors advised him to wear ear plugs on stage to screen out some of the high decibel sounds of those mighty Monkee “screamers”!
RUMOR: Persistent gossip still has it that Micky Dolenz and English writer-model Samantha Juste are either married or are about to be.
FACT: Micky has not tried to disguise the fact that he is very found [sic] of Samantha. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that these two may become engaged or get married. At press time, however, both Mick and Sam insist they are “not serious” and that they “date others”. Sammy is a warm and adorable girl and Micky seems very happy when he is with her.
RUMOR: Davy Jones told a reporter that no hair grows on his face—therefore, he not only has never grown a beard, but he never shaves.
FACT: Davy, who is 21 years old, has been shaving since he was 18 years old, and—though he is not the hairiest cat on the block—he sure has to shave at least once a day!
RUMOR: A magazine printed the Monkees’ home addresses.
FACT: That magazine—which, much to my embarrassment, is a “cheap and phoney” imitation of 16—printed addresses they said were the Monkees’ home addresses. They definitely were not—nor were they EVER—Micky, Peter, Mike and Davy’s home addresses! Looks like another perfect example of “…anything to trick a teener into buying a yuk magazine”. Stick to 16 and you won’t be fooled!
RUMOR: Phyllis and Mike Nesmith expect a new addition to the family in December.
FACT: Quite true. Both Mike and Phyllis hope for a girl. Of course, they’ll be happy with whatever the stork brings!
RUMOR: The Monkees “can never be friends.” An article in a bleep magazine said the boys don’t get along together because of work, pressure, etc.
FACT: Not true. I have spent many hours with the Monkees together, and recently spent much time with them when they were visiting New York (doing their concerts here and cutting their new LP and single at the RCA Studios). At work or at play, they hang around together—and they are really close and deeply friendly with one another.
RUMOR: Davy Jones is going steady with Lynne Randell.
FACT: Not so! Not so! NOT SO! Davy, Peter, Micky and Mike have been very helpful to Lynne in getting her singing career started in America. Lynne, who is a regular writer for 16, records for Epic Records here and is Australia’s number one girl singer. She is deadly embarrassed by what the press is writing about her “romance with Davy.” THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH TO THIS RUMOR—LYNNE AND THE MONKEES ARE JUST FRIENDS!
RUMOR: Micky Dolenz’ birthday is all mixed up. No one seems to know whether it’s March 8th or March 9th.
FACT: According to Micky’s mom, some misinformation was given when Micky first started to be a Monkee. She definitely states: “Micky was born on March 8, 1945.” That oughta settle that forever!
Raider rumors Permalink
RUMOR: Freddy Weller is married to a girl named Kay and just “…loves the way she makes chocolate cake.”
FACT: Let Freddy speak for himself. Here’s what he said recently, especially for all 16 readers: “I do not go steady, I am not engaged and I certainly am not married. I don’t even know a girl named Kay! I don’t know why this particular writer made these terrible things up about me. Believe me when I tell you that I am single and still shopping around.”
RUMOR: Phil Volk and Mike Smith left the Raiders on “not so good terms,” because they didn’t get along with Mark and Paul.
FACT: I was one of the first people Phil, Smitty and Drake called when they decided to become a trio on their own. Phil and Smitty stated most clearly and emphatically that they had met and had unanimously decided to leave the Raiders for one, and only one reason—to start making records on their own of the kind of music they felt most represented their talents and feelings. We had a serious discussion about how rough it might be on them for a while, but they assured me that expressing themselves as individuals through their own kind of music was the one and only reason why they decided to quit the Raiders.
RUMOR: Paul Revere “dates” and one of the girls he was “dating” recently moved away from California—that’s why he stopped “dating” her.
FACT: Paul Revere has been happily married for over five years. His wife’s name is Sharon and he has a four-year-old daughter named Jody and a one-and-a-half-year-old son named Jamie. Paul was hurt and infuriated by this crass untruth that was printed about him. There probably isn’t a happier married couple in the world than Paul and Sharon!
RUMOR: Mark Lindsay is going to leave the Raiders; Mark has a steady girl in Los Angeles; Mark was twice badly injured on the Raiders’ summer concert tour.
FACT: Mark is NOT leaving the Raiders nor does he have any plans to leave, though it is possible that he may do occasional separate TV appearances, movie roles and even cut a single record on his own. Mark bluntly states that he does not go steady because “…I don’t have time to and I certainly don’t want to get that involved with a girl right now! Maybe one day—but not now.” Mark was injured—but not seriously—twice on the Raiders’ summer tour. He twisted his ankle while trying to outrun a mob of overly-eager fans, and he cut his knee on a flushbulb cube when he knelt down to sing during one number. Medical report: patient completely recovered, thank you.
RUMOR: The Raiders don’t keep their gifts or read the fan mail that is sent to them either backstage or to their Los Angeles office.
FACT: Paul, Mark, Charlie, Freddy and Joe all read every bit of the fan mail they get and pack all the gifts they get on the road into the bus and take them back to L.A. They regularly collect the mail and presents sent to them at their L.A. Office—personally! So, if you send a Raider a gift or a letter, you can rest assured that he’ll definitely get it, keep it and read it! You can write to each or all of the Raiders at 9126 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Calif.
