I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness [Paperback]

Micky Dolenz (Author), Mark Bego (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2004

In fascinating, star-studded anecdotes, original Monkee Micky Dolenz takes readers from his starring role at age 12 as TV's "Circus Boy," to the open casting call that brought the Monkees together, through the creative conflicts that finally drove them apart. Along the way you'll find hilarious anecdotes about his adventures as a Monkee—the girls, the parties, the celebrities—as well as the harder-edged realities of a life lived in front of a camera.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sophomoric exercise 48-year-old Dolenz looks back at his life, concentrating on his years as the drummer for the Monkees, a late '60s rock band prefabricated for television. There are several irritating sections written in screenplay format, and the authors often indulge in lame puns. Dolenz admits he is "girl-crazy" to this day, and claims his access to women through fame was like being "a kid in a carnal store." Dolenz's point of view about that period vacillates constantly. On one hand, he appears to feel that he was a part of the authentic '60s experience: he describes the afternoon he smoked a joint with Paul McCartney; his attendance at the Monterey Pop Festival; and Jimi Hendrix's opening for the band on one summer tour. Then Dolenz changes gears, making fun of the hippie ideology of bandmate Peter Tork, whom he portrays as ranting about "fat-cat, big business fascist pigs!" In similar fashion, he insists that seeing the Monkees as a rock group is like thinking Leonard Nimoy really was a Vulcan, but he also takes pride in their growing creative control that peaked with the album "Headquarters," the first that the band recorded without studio musicians. Bego is an entertainment writer. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A good-natured, superficial show-biz bio by the drummer of The Monkees, written with veteran rock-'n'-roll chronicler Bego (Aretha Franklin, 1989, etc.). From the start, Dolenz rode life like the Last Train to Larksville. In the 50's, as a ``hyperactive boy's boy,'' he snared the title role in the smash sitcom Circus Boy. A decade later came the Monkees, four zany young lads--from Hollywood, not Liverpool- -who answered the British rock invasion with their own American TV series. Producer (and future film director) Bob Rafelson knew what he was doing: The Monkees zoomed up the Nielsen ratings, and the group's early releases, penned by Neil Diamond (``I'm a Believer'') and other great songwriters, bumped the Beatles off the top of the charts. Why the clamor? Because, says Dolenz, The Monkees was the first TV show ``to depict young people on their own'': It was ``My Three Sons without Fred MacMurray.'' The show also gave birth to a new method of record promotion, through national TV rather than local radio--the first glimmer of the MTV revolution. For Dolenz, the series led to a magic sleigh ride: smoking hashish with Paul McCartney; starring in Head, a movie scripted by Jack Nicholson; bedding every starlet in sight. When the group split up, Dolenz hit the rocks--divorce, depression--but, more recently, spearheaded the Monkees' ``incredibly successful'' reunion (the top-grossing tour of 1986); he now works as a British TV director. Monkeyshines, nothing more, but it makes you want to hear those tunes again. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; Updated Edition edition (May 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815412843
• ISBN-13: 978-0815412847
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious midlife autobiography!, July 28, 2004

By 

Anyechka (Rensselaer, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness (Paperback)

I'm really glad this book is finally back in print. I've read my own copy countless times, and each time it's as funny, cute, and irreverant as the last. Micky had a great attitude towards writing his memoirs, despite initially feeling he was too young at 48 to do that. He doesn't take himself too seriously, and points out at the beginning that this isn't meant to be some dry and strictly factual analysis of his life like too many autobiographies are. He also doesn't focus only on his years in The Monkees; though he admits that will always be a huge part of his life, he realises it was far from the only part of his life, and that important things happened both before and after he was in the band. There are so many anecdotes, vignettes, funny stories, fantasy scenes, scenes written in screenplay format, and flashback in here, one of the reasons why it's so enjoyable and readable. It makes it more interesting and fun. Micky also tells the reader not to take it too seriously, and that perhaps some of the things he describes may not have happened exactly as he depicts them, and says that when you finish reading you should go out and do something to help your community, not just put the book back on your shelf and walk away.

There are some valid criticisms about how some things aren't detailed much, but maybe it's because Micky didn't want to hurt the people involved (like his first wife Samantha or his oldest daughter Ami) by revealing too much personal private information to the public. It's enough that we know Micky's first marriage ended in divorce because of the kind of reckless and wild lifestyle he was living in the Seventies; we don't need to know all of the graphic details or who he may have cheated on her with. He respects his loved ones too much to expose them to public humiliation and embarrassment by revealing things that are best kept private. It's a very different style from Davy Jones's autobiography, a book with more graphic and scandalous details. And perhaps Micky didn't reveal the name of his second wife, Trina, whom he had Charlotte, Emily, and Georgia with because they were divorcing at the time this book was originally published, and he was too upset over it to use her name. On so many levels this book is refreshing and a welcome change from the average self-absorbed autobiography with too much information and things that the average reader didn't really want to know about.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New edition, June 20, 2004

By 

R. Riis "rriis" (NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness (Paperback)

The new edition adds a chapter that covers 1992-2004, including the tours, the "Justus" and "Missing Links" albums, and various film/theatrical projects, and the discography has been brought up to date.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Monkee Delivers My Favorite Autobiography., July 13, 2005

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Lovely to See You (Out There Somewhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I'm a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness (Paperback)

Micky Dolenz thought he was too young to write this book the first time I bought it (he was 48). Well, he sure made up for in enthusiasm what he lacked in age-wise preparation.

I love his humorous anecdotes, sarcasm, and directness. I also love his self-mockery and admissions of being wrong when he so blatantly behaved that way. I have always thought he was the best singer in the group and the most talented natural comedian of the bunch. This book does nothing to dispel that concept. In fact, since I have never really liked Davy, I found myself giggling at his nast digs about the munchkin teen idol's love for himself quite often.

This book is also living testimony that not every child star grows up to be a useless, jailbound creep and, like he himself does, I admire his parents for taking him out of showbusiness and back into the real world of being a regular kid after Circus Boy was cancelled. He cites this as the major reason that, though he got into his fair share of trouble later both in and after the Monkees, it didn't last. He also shows you a bit of the sad figure that Harry Nilsson, his one-time partner in crime was. He shares what he learned about the price of fame and how he also learned to emerge like a Phoenix from the ashes and become a lucrative director behind the camera.

Micky Dolenz is a man of many talents and, in this self-penned history, he unwittingly exposes you to them all. With heart, humor, and some wisdom attained via the school of hard knocks, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read from a man who's still around to tell his tale to those who are willing to listen and learn.