Book Review: The Monkees – The Day To Day Story Plus Unboxing Video!

By Fred Velez

 

Just in time for the 55th Anniversary of The Monkees first coming onto the Pop Culture scene, Andrew Sandoval’s original 2005 book, The Monkees: The Day To Day Story, has not only been updated, it has received a full 740 page re-write in beautiful deluxe editions filled to brim with photos and additional and in-depth information, making this the absolute definitive book on The Monkees as a media phenomenon.

Starting with the individual childhoods of the four who would become the Monkees, Sandoval’s book traces them in their early careers as entertainers, the beginnings of the Monkees television project by producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, Don Kirshner‘s entry as the music supervisor for the project, the work of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart in writing the songs and shaping the Monkees’ sound, the selling and initial success of the television series and records, the first live appearances by the group, their place in the 60’s counter culture, the filming and release of the movie Head and the 33 & 1/3 television special, and much more.

Photos Property of Beatland Books

Following the template of Beatles author Mark Lewisohn, Sandoval follows the history of the Monkees through deeply detailed date entries that fully explore what took place between the years 1965 to 1970. If you want to find out what the Monkees were doing between the months of January to August of 1967, it’s all there with in-depth information and dates on filming and recording sessions, with tons of amazing black & white and color photos. Many of the photos are broken up in pull out pages that give you a panoramic view of the Monkees in the recording studio, in concert, filming the movie Head, etc.

Photos Property of Beatland Books.

 

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the book is the lawsuit between Don Kirshner and Screen Gems that got Kirshner booted from the Monkees project. Sandoval has included details of the lawsuit with the legal depositions of the Monkees that gives revealing and detailed information that puts into perspective of, as Micky Dolenz referred to it, “the palace revolution”, that ousted Kirshner from his position as music supervisor of the Monkees records, and leading to the freedom for the group to write and record the music on their own recordings.

 

Beatland Books is offering three different versions of the book at different prices: the Super Deluxe Hardcover Editionwhich comes inside a sturdy Red protective clamshell casing with an exclusive booklet of rare and fascinating photos that couldn’t be fit into the main book. The Deluxe Edition comes in a slipcase with the design of the famous Monkees ‘Rainbow’ room. The least expensive Open Flexibound Edition is a sturdy and firm Paperbound book that includes everything in the hardcover versions minus the extras. Both Deluxe Editions are personally signed and numbered by Andrew Sandoval. The Regular Edition is not signed or numbered.

The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story: Deluxe Clamshell Edition

Deluxe Clamshell Edition with Bonus Photo Booklet

Original 2005 Edition in Size Comparison with Deluxe Clamshell Edition

As of this writing, the Super Deluxe is completely sold out, and there are limited supplies of the Deluxe Edition and Open Flexibound Edition still available. Orders and payments for the books can be placed at the Beatland Books website.

Andrew Sandoval who has done yeoman’s work as a music archivist, Grammy Award winning producer, and producer and manager for The Monkees, has painstakingly put together an amazing book on the group that can only be described as a work of art in its own right. Pretty much everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Monkees can be found in this book, with well-researched details and beautifully reproduced color and black & white photos that on their own will literally take hours to properly digest.

Whether you’re a serious student of Pop Music Culture, or a Monkees fan from any generation of the past 55 years, The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story is an essential addition for the library of collectors and fans alike.

Beatland Books Order Link: 

https://beatlandbooks.com/preorder-your-book/

Fred Velez, 2021.

Fred Velez is the author of the books ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: The Monkees From A Fan’s Perspective’, ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives’, and the Monkees’ themed Holiday cd ‘A Little Bit Christmas’.

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