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The Monkees' 1967 acapella Christmas song shows they were incredible singers not just funny

The Monkees have a complicated place in the history of rock music.

via The Monkees/YouTube

The Monkees singing "Riu Chiu."

The Monkees have a complicated place in the history of rock music. On the one hand, they scored some of the biggest hits of the ‘60s with “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” and “Daydream Believer.” On the other, they were a band manufactured in 1967 for a TV show that did little more than sing on their earlier records.

All that changed in 1967 when they wrestled control over their musical careers from the executives who kept them out of the studio and began recording their music with the “Headquarters” album. But even though they proved to be talented musicians, The Monkees were still branded as a prefabricated band whose success was owed more to session musicians and top-tier songwriters.

Anyone who doubts the talent of Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones and Peter Tork, look no further than a performance on The Monkees’ 1967 “Christmas Show” episode. Like every episode of The Monkees' TV show, this one featured a musical number. But this time, instead of a rock tune with a pre-MTV video of the band monkeying around, this featured the band singing an acapella version of “Riu Chiu,” a Spanish villancico that has attained some contemporary fame as a Christmas carol. The song is attributed to Mateo Flecha the Elder, who died in 1553.

The performance highlights the band’s unique vocal abilities that stem from different musical traditions. Before The Monkees, Dolenz was a rock singer, Nesmith was a country singer-songwriter from Texas, Tork was a folk musician and Jones was an English theatrical performer best known for his performance as the Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” But in this performance, their vocals blend perfectly.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The “Christmas Show” episode was memorable for the band’s outstanding vocal performance but also stands as one of the more memorable Christmas specials in TV history. Coming on the heels of the “Summer of Love,” the story is about The Monkees babysitting Melvin Vandersnoot, the hard-hearted child of an affluent family. After numerous attempts to get him into the Christmas spirit, the Monkees warm up his icy heart after showing him love, something all the money in the world can’t buy.

Vandersnoot, was played with incredible maturity by Butch Patrick, best known as Eddie on “The Munsters.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The Monkees' television show would be canceled in 1968 and the band’s original run wouldn’t last much longer. But all four band members would remain in the music business. The Monkees would reunite in the late ‘80s after the show became popular in reruns and would continue to tour over the next four decades, although most of the time, it was without Nesmith. Nesmith would pursue a country career in the ‘70s, and even though his work received a lukewarm reception at the time, his innovative mixture of country music, humor and psychedelia has made him a pioneer in the alt-country genre. Nesmith died in 2021, shortly after touring with Dolenz.

Outside his work as the mainstay in Monkee reunions, Dolenz has starred in numerous theatrical productions and recently released an EP of R.E.M covers. He still tours as a solo act.

Davy Jones went on to perform in Monkee reunions and guest star on several TV shows, most notably on an episode of “The Brady Bunch,” where he was the target of Marcia Brady’s affection. He passed away in 2012.

Peter Tork was a mainstay of The Monkees’ live performances through numerous reunions and played in a band called Shoe Suede Blues. Tork died in 2019 after a long battle with cancer.

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Motivation expert explains how two simple words can free you from taking things personally

You don't need to take responsibility for everything and everyone.

via TEDx SF/Flickr and TEDx SF/Flickr

Mel Robinson making a TED Talk.

Towards the end of The Beatles’ illustrious but brief career, Paul McCartney wrote “Let it Be,” a song about finding peace by letting events take their natural course. It was a sentiment that seemed to mirror the feeling of resignation the band had with its imminent demise.

The bittersweet song has had an appeal that has lasted generations and that may be because it reflects an essential psychological concept: the locus of control. “It’s about understanding where our influence ends and accepting that some things are beyond our control,” Jennifer Chappell Marsh, a marriage and family therapist, told The Huffington Post. “We can’t control others, so instead, we should focus on our own actions and responses.”

This idea of giving up control, or the illusion of it, when it does us no good, was perfectly distilled into 2 words that everyone can understand as the “Let Them” theory. Podcast host, author, motivational speaker and former lawyer Mel Robbins explained this theory perfectly in a vial Instagram video.

“I just heard about this thing called the ‘Let Them Theory,’ I freaking love this,” Robbins starts the video.

“If your friends are not inviting you out to brunch this weekend, let them. If the person that you're really attracted to is not interested in a commitment, let them. If your kids do not want to get up and go to that thing with you this week, let them.” Robbins says in the clip. “So much time and energy is wasted on forcing other people to match our expectations.”

“If they’re not showing up how you want them to show up, do not try to force them to change; let them be themselves because they are revealing who they are to you. Just let them – and then you get to choose what you do next,” she continued.

The phrase is a great one to keep in your mental health tool kit because it’s a reminder that, for the most part, we can’t control other people. And if we can, is it worth wasting the emotional energy? Especially when we can allow people to behave as they wish and then we can react to them however we choose.

@melrobbins

Stop wasting energy on trying to get other people to meet YOUR expectations. Instead, try using the “Let Them Theory.” 💥 Listen now on the #melrobbinspodcast!! “The “Let Them Theory”: A Life Changing Mindset Hack That 15 Million People Can’t Stop Talking About” 🔗 in bio #melrobbins #letthemtheory #letgo #lettinggo #podcast #podcastepisode

How you respond to their behavior can significantly impact how they treat you in the future.

It’s also incredibly freeing to relieve yourself of the responsibility of changing people or feeling responsible for their actions. As the old Polish proverb goes, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

“Yes! It’s much like a concept propelled by the book ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k.’ Save your energy and set your boundaries accordingly. It’s realizing that we only have “control” over ourselves and it’s so freeing,” 60DaysToLive2012 wrote.

“Let It Be” brought Paul McCartney solace as he dealt with losing his band in a very public breakup. The same state of mind can help all of us, whether it’s dealing with parents living in the past, friends who change and you don’t feel like you know them anymore, or someone who cuts you off in traffic because they’re in a huge rush to go who knows where.

The moment someone gets on your nerves and you feel a jolt of anxiety run up your back, take a big breath and say, “Let them.”


This article originally appeared last year.

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Celebrate Paul Simon's birthday with a gorgeous 'Here Comes the Sun' duet with George Harrison

The pair appeared together on "SNL" all the way back in 1976.

via RockFM/YouTube

Paul Simon and George Harrison perform "Here Comes the Sun."

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon turned 82 on Friday, October 13. Even though he has suffered significant hearing loss in his left ear, he’s still recording new music. Earlier this year, he released “Seven Psalms,” an all-acoustic song cycle meant to be listened to from front to back.

To celebrate his birthday, some folks on X (formerly known as Twitter) celebrated by sharing a beautiful performance by Simon and ex-Beatle George Harrison of “Here Comes the Sun” on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976. The two traded verses on the song and displayed a natural harmony with their voices and finger-picking. Later that night, they would duet on Simon’s “Homeward Bound.”

“Here Comes the Sun” has grown in popularity since it was first released in 1969, and it’s become the most popular Beatles song on Spotify. Harrison, always seen as a third banana to the monstrously successful John Lennon and Paul McCartney songwriting partnership, would undoubtedly take great joy at besting his fellow Beatles on the charts.

On that night’s episode, SNL producer Lorne Michaels jokingly offered Harrison $3,000 to reunite The Beatles on the show, to which Harrison called the figure “chintzy.” Michaels then clarified that Harrison would only receive $750 of the pot because he’s only 1 of 4. Little did they know that when Michaels made the same joke on the show a few months earlier, Lennon and McCartney nearly took him up on the offer.

Paul Simon has had an illustrious career on SNL. He has appeared on the show 14 times, 4 times as the show’s host and another 5 times as the sole musical guest.

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Skittles takes out a full-page ad asking people to stop throwing candy at Harry Styles

Skittles can hurt.

via Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia Commons

Harry Styles live on stage June, 2022.

Singer Harry Styles was hit in the face with a Skittle thrown by an audience member at a concert in Los Angeles on Monday, November 14. As he thanked the crowd during his Love On Tour concert he can be seen wincing and holding his eye.

Luckily, the “Watermelon Sugar” singer recovered from the incident because getting hit with a flying object from a far distance could cause serious injury.

The incident inspired Skittles to speak out on Twitter. “Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles,” the candy company tweeted.

“The entire fandom thanks you for this. I think the person that threw them should be banned from ever buying them again,” a Styles fan responded to the tweet.


Here’s footage of the incident.


Skittles took things a step further on Saturday, November 19, by posting a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times warning people not to hurl their candy at anyone. “Protect the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. But please, don’t throw the rainbow,” the ad read.

This isn't the first time Styles has been hit with objects on stage. Earlier this year, he was hit in the crotch with a water bottle. He played the direct hit off with his trademark humor, “That's unfortunate.”

He was also assaulted with a chicken nugget. After the crowd demanded he eat it, he refused because he’s a vegetarian. Plus, it was cold.

Let's hope that all of the publicity surrounding the pegging doesn’t inspire copycat Skittle tossers to pelt Styles even further. Styles probably doesn’t want Skittle hurling to become a concert tradition like when people throw toilet paper and shoot off squirt guns while watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Styles isn’t the first rock star to be assaulted on stage with candy.

The Beatles had some real troubles in their early years after guitarist George Harrison admitted that he loves jelly beans. Fans reacted by pelting him with candy while the band played on stage.

“We don't like Jelly Babies, or Fruit Gums for that matter, so think how we feel standing on stage trying to dodge the stuff, before you throw some more at us,” he wrote to a fan in 1963. “Couldn't you eat them yourself, besides it is dangerous. I was hit in the eye once with a boiled sweet, and it's not funny!”

The Foo Fighters had a similar problem after they made fun of Mentos commercials in the video for their 1996 hit, “Big Me.”

"Every time we played it, it would just start raining Mentos, and them mother fu**ers hurt," Grohl said according to Gigwise. "We did a show in Canada and, in the middle of the song, someone threw a pack, and it hit me right in the face. I was so pissed, I picked it up and said, 'It's been 10 fu**ing years since that video.'"

Here’s Grohl explaining the situation on stage.

Warning: Strong language.

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