The Monkees get cooked up by a sorcerer while Brian Auger steals the entire show—1969 was unhinged.
33 1⁄3 Revolutions per Monkee is a television special starring the Monkees that aired on NBC on April 14, 1969. Produced by Jack Good, guests on the show included Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Clara Ward Singers, the Buddy Miles Express, Paul Arnold and the Moon Express, and We Three. Although they were billed as musical guests, Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger (alongside their then-backing band The Trinity) found themselves playing a prominent role; in fact, it can be argued that the special focused more on the guest stars (specifically, Auger and Driscoll) than the Monkees themselves. This special is notable as the Monkees' final performance as a quartet until 1986, as Peter Tork left the group at the end of the special's production. The title is a play on "33 1⁄3 revolutions per minute."
Direction
Art Fisher's unhinged psychedelic staging for prime-time NBC.
Acting
Brian Auger playing Charles Darwin AND a sorcerer with straight commitment.
Costume
Whatever Julie Driscoll was wearing as the sorceress—iconic madness.
Director
Art Fisher
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jack Good, who produced this, also created 'Shindig!' and basically invented the music television format.
This aired exactly one year after the Monkees' 'Head' bombed, making this their desperate network TV redemption arc that also flopped.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
US
