"The Devil & Peter Tork"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Devil & Peter Tork" - the fifty-second episode of The Monkees series (and the twentieth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (5 February 1968).  It was written by Gerald Gardner, Dee Caruso, and Robert Kaufman, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Salesman" and "No Time."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "Peter sells his soul to the Devil (Monte Landis) during a lesson in music and morality."

"Valleri" b/w "Tapioca Tundra"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Valleri" b/w "Tapioca Tundra" - the Monkees' sixth single (Colgems 1019) - was released in the U.S. fifty years ago this month (February 1968).  Sandoval lists two different dates for the U.K. release.  In the same box that details the U.S. release, he notes that the U.K. single (RCA 1673) was released in April, but later in the chronology, he says it was released on 22 March.

"The Monkees' Paw"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Monkees' Paw" - the fifty-first episode of The Monkees series (and the nineteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (29 January 1968).  It was written by Coslough Johnson, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Words" and "Goin' Down."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "Micky buys a mystical monkey's paw from a malicious magician."

"Monstrous Monkee Mash"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monstrous Monkee Mash" - the fiftieth episode of The Monkees series (and the eighteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (22 January 1968).  It was written by Neil Burstyn and David Panich, directed by James Frawley, and featured the song "Goin' Down."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "When Davy falls for a mysterious woman, The Monkees enter a spooky scene with Dracula, a Wolfman, and the Mummy."

"Monkees Watch Their Feet"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees Watch Their Feet" - the forty-ninth episode of The Monkees series (and the seventeenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (15 January 1968).  It was written by Coslough Johnson, directed by Alex Singer, and featured the song "Star Collector."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "Smothers Brothers star Pat Paulsen narrates this bizarre tale of alien abduction."

"Fairy Tale"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Fairy Tale" - the forty-eighth episode of The Monkees series (and the sixteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (8 January 1968).  It was written by Peter Meyerson, directed by James Frawley, and featured the song "Daily Nightly."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The group put their own twist on a classic fairy tale."

"The Picture Frame" and "Hitting the High Seas"

A couple days ago, I was thinking about "The Picture Frame," and I realized that one of the jokes is reused in "Hitting the High Seas."  In "The Picture Frame," after the Monkees unwittingly rob a bank, they return to the studio and run into Peter, who explains his absence, saying, "I went to stage one at two o'clock instead of stage two at one."  This same reversal of numbers is in "Hitting the High Seas."  After Reynolds hires Micky, Peter, and Davy to be sailors, he tells them, "Six in the mornin', pier three," after which Davy incorrectly repeats, "Three o'clock, pier six."  Probably not coincidentally, both episodes were written by Jack Winter.

"I'm a Believer"

A couple days ago, I was playing "I'm a Believer" on my keyboard (figuring out the vocal melody both by ear and from memory), and I discovered something interesting, which I then verified by referencing the recording.

The song's in G major, but there's an F natural (the only accidental in the vocal melody) in the last line of every verse.  It corresponds to "all my" in the line "Disappointment haunted all my dreams" and "I got" in the line "When I needed sunshine I got rain."  This foreign tonality musically represents the "disappointment" and the rain in place of sunshine.

"The Christmas Show"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "The Christmas Show" - the forty-seventh episode of The Monkees series (and the fifteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (25 December 1967).  It was written by Dave Evans and Neil Burstyn, directed by Jon Anderson, and featured the song "Riu Chiu."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The group try to instill the spirit of Christmas in a cynical rich kid (played by Butch Patrick)."

"Monkees on the Wheel"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees on the Wheel" - the forty-sixth episode of The Monkees series (and the fourteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (11 December 1967).  It was written by Coslough Johnson, directed by Jerry Sheppard, and featured the songs "The Door into Summer" and "Cuddly Toy."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "Micky 'Magic Fingers' Dolenz meddles with the mob when The Monkees land in Las Vegas."

"Monkees in Texas"

When I watched "Monkees in Texas" earlier this week, I found a few references in the incidental music and dialogue.

After Mike tells the rest of the Monkees, "They [Black Bart and his men] killed our golf cart," there's a shot of the golf cart (at about 4:48), and - as incidental music - there's a quote of the third movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35, which has the appropriate heading "Marche funebre: lento."

At about 8:45, as Micky and Peter enter the saloon, Stephen Foster's "Swanee River" is playing.

At about 16:00, Mike tells Davy, "Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes."  At first, I thought this was a reference to the Battle of New Orleans (1812).  In the song "The Battle of New Orleans" (probably most famously sung by Johnny Horton), there are the lines "Old Hick'ry said we can take 'em by surprise / If we didn't fire our muskets till we looked 'em in the eyes."  However, when I lookt up the phrase, I found that it's also associated with the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775).

"Monkees in Texas"

According to Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation, "Monkees in Texas" - the forty-fifth episode of The Monkees series (and the thirteenth of the second season) - was broadcast fifty years ago to-day (4 December 1967).  It was written by Jack Winter, directed by James Frawley, and featured the songs "Words" and "Goin' Down."  Sandoval describes the plot as: "The group comes to the rescue of Mike's Aunt Kate, whose ranch is under siege."