Sixty years after The Monkees first arrived on television, Micky Dolenz is celebrating a milestone that carries both joy and sadness. At 81, he is now the last surviving member of the beloved group following the deaths of Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith.
According to Parade, even so, Dolenz says his former bandmates do not always feel far away. Their voices, performances, and personalities remain woven into the music and footage he continues to revisit onstage, giving him the sense that the four Monkees are somehow still together.
Micky Dolenz Says His Bandmates Feel Like They’re ‘Still There’
Dolenz admitted that being the last surviving Monkee can leave him feeling melancholy at times. Jones died in 2012, Tork in 2019, and Nesmith in 2021. However, the enormous archive of television clips and recordings they left behind has given him an unusual way to remain connected to them. His 60th anniversary tour features footage and stories of his late bandmates as Dolenz performs hits like “I’m a Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville.” Seeing and hearing them again, he says, makes it feel as though they never left.
Looking back, Dolenz also remembers how different their personalities were. Nesmith naturally became the practical one, while Dolenz played the wild drummer constantly bouncing around. Jones brought plenty of charm, while Tork portrayed the less intelligent member of the group despite being, according to Dolenz, highly educated and articulate in real life.
The Monkees Somehow Became a Real Band
The Monkees began as actors cast for an NBC comedy, not as a traditional band. Micky Dolenz did not even consider himself a drummer when producers hired him; he auditioned on guitar but was told to learn drums instead. The four men met only during a wardrobe fitting, yet after the show became a hit, the fictional group unexpectedly turned into a real touring band.
