Micky Dolenz Recalls the 1967 Tour When Jimi Hendrix Was the Opening Act for The Monkees

In a semi-animated interview with Great Big Story, musician Micky Dolenz of The Monkees recalled the time in 1967 when the great Jimi Hendrix toured with them as their opening act. Unfortunately for Hendrix, this was right at the peak of “Monkeemania” and the mostly pre-teen female audience who didn’t quite appreciate the guitar genius at the time, made their feelings known. Hendrix quit the tour after seven shows using an elaborate gesture to close out his tenure.

In the storied summer of 1967, there was an ever-so-brief (and ever-so-strange) combination of two ever-so-different musical icons: The Monkees and Jimi Hendrix. Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz recounts the brief period of time that the legendary guitarist was the opening act for the pop boy-band sensation. While the pairing of the two acts seemed like a good—if novel—idea at the time, that quickly proved not to be the case.