A new mini-documentary on YouTube explores the unlikely pairing of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Monkees, who toured together for a brief period in the summer of 1967.
The film, titled ‘From The Monkees to the Hollywood Bowl,’ is produced by the Hendrix estate and features interviews with surviving and deceased members of both bands, as well as their managers and publicists.
The documentary reveals how The Monkees, who were at the peak of their popularity as a TV and music sensation, invited The Jimi Hendrix Experience, who were relatively unknown in the US, to join them as one of their opening acts. The other two were The Sundowners and The Strawberry Alarm Clock.
The film shows how the two bands got along well backstage, despite their contrasting musical styles and audiences. Micky Dolenz, the last living Monkee, recalls how he was blown away by Hendrix's guitar skills and charisma.
The documentary also explains why the tour was short-lived. The Experience's psychedelic rock and wild stage antics did not go well with The Monkees' teenybopper fans, who booed and heckled them. The film includes footage of Hendrix flipping off the crowd at one show. After only seven dates, The Experience left the tour, reportedly at the request of their manager Chas Chandler.
The film ends with a brief segment about The Experience's Hollywood Bowl concert on August 18th, 1967, where they opened for The Mamas and the Papas. The concert was recorded but not filmed, and it will be released for the first time on audio formats on November 17th.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]