the monkeysThe songs were very different from ray charles songs. Despite this, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees would perform one of Charles’ songs dressed as James Brown. One songwriter said that Dolenz’s version proved that the singer was a credible musician.
Why The Monkees Songwriters Toured With The Group
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart co-wrote many of The Monkees’ songs, including “Last train to Clarksville” Y “I want to be free.” They also formed a band called Candy Store Prophets. In his 2015 book Psychedelic Gum: Boyce & Hart, The Monkees and Turning Chaos Into MiraclesHart talked about a time when the Candy Store Prophets went on tour with The Monkees.
“The January-April hiatus from television filming was peppered with bookings for personal appearances by The Monkees,” Hart wrote. “[Producer] Ward Sylvester of Raybert Productions called me at home one morning to ask if the Candy Store Prophets and I would be together.”
Hart talked about what the members of The Monkees played on tour. “Playing to his strengths, Davy [Jones] he had crafted a show tune, ‘Gonna Build Me A Mountain;’ Miguel [Nesmith] he would shake his maracas and sing the Bo Diddley banner, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’; Pedro [Tork] he would play the classic bluegrass banjo solo ‘Cripple Creek;’ and Micky would perform the Ray Charles classic, ‘I Got a Woman,’ complete with believable James Brown dance steps and cape.”
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Peter Tork of The Monkees introduced Micky Dolenz to drugs while listening to a Ray Charles song
Hart emphasized the musical prowess of the group. “For the remainder of the show, The Monkees would play their own instruments, a move contrary to the growing uproar in the press where the ‘Prefab Four’ were beginning to be accused of being actors posing as musicians,” he said. “I could only marvel at the irony!”
During a 2000 interview with the Tampa Bay TimesTork said that Charles’ music was part of an important moment in Dolenz’s life. Tork said that he “turned Micky on” on drugs one night while he was playing one of Charles’ records. Tork said the experience changed Dolenz forever.
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How Ray Charles’ ‘I Got a Woman’ Performed on the US Pop Charts
Charles released “I Got a Woman” in 1954, years before the billboard hot 100 existed. Therefore, she did not make it to the list.
The tune appeared on several Charles compilation albums, including Genius: The Definitive Collection of Ray Charles. The album peaked at number 35 on the billboard 200 and stayed on the list for six weeks.
“I Got a Woman” is a classic song and has an interesting connection to the Prefab Four.