Danny Zelisko Presents is pleased to announce The Monkees’ Good Times: 50th Anniversary Tour, which will see a historic performance on Thursday, September 15th at Mesa Arts Center. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 15th at 10am.
The Monkees are ready to have some fun this year as the iconic band celebrates its 50th anniversary with a tour and the group’s first new album in 20 years, appropriately titled GOOD TIMES!
GOOD TIMES! features all three surviving band members – Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. The unmistakable voice of the late Davy Jones is also included with a vintage vocal featured on one song.
To produce the new album, the band found the perfect musical co-conspirator in Grammy and Emmy-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne, Ivy). GOOD TIMES! will be available June 10th on CD and digitally, with a vinyl version coming out on July 1st.
Much like The Monkees’ early albums, GOOD TIMES! features tracks written specifically for the band by some of the music world’s most gifted songwriters, including Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Andy Partridge (XTC), and Zach Rogue (Rogue Wave). The album also includes songwriting contributions by Nesmith (“I Know What I Know”) and Tork as well as producer Schlesinger.
To help bring the anniversary full circle, The Monkees completed songs for GOOD TIMES! that were originally recorded and written for the group during the 60s, including “Love To Love” by Neil Diamond, which features a vintage vocal by Jones.
Harry Nilsson wrote the title track “Good Times!” which he recorded at a session with Nesmith in January 1968. The production was never completed, so the band returned to the original session tape (featuring Nilsson’s guide vocal) and have created a duet with his close friend Dolenz.
“Good Times!” will mark the first time Dolenz and Nilsson have sung together since Dolenz’s May 1973 single “Daybreak.” Other vintage 1960’s tracks included on GOOD TIMES! feature L.A.’s famed “Wrecking Crew” of session musicians.
“This is one of the most exciting Monkees projects I’ve been involved in for decades!” Dolenz said. “Working with Adam Schlesinger has been a pure delight and the opportunity to sing a duet with my old buddy, Harry Nilsson, is just beyond cool!”
In addition to the new album, Dolenz and Tork will launch a Monkees 50th Anniversary Tour on May 18th. The jaunt boasts nearly 50 North American dates through the end of the year including a stop at Mesa Arts Center on Thursday, September 15th. Tickets go on sale Monday, February 15th at the Mesa Arts Center.
