In the years since their original disbanding, the group has reunited in various incarnations, mostly involving Dolenz, Tork and Jones, but not Nesmith. The first reunion began in 1986 and at first featured only Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. Davy Jones joined the others and a new album was released before they split again in 1989.
The next regrouping took place between 1993 and 1997 and featured a new album that included the particpation of all four members. A further reunion between 2001 and 2002, was followed by another reunion in 2011 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the television show. This reunion was cut short before 2011 had ended due to scheduling problems with the anniversary tour.
The unexpected death of Davy Jones at the beginning of 2012 prompted the most recent reunion tour, this time featuring Dolenz, Tork and Nesmith.
Created by producers of a TV series to be an American Beatles, the antics of the Monkees band members on the television series were very reminscent of Beatles' antics in films like 'Help' and 'Hard Day's Night'. Indeed, in songs like 'Forget that Girl...', the band and even the lead singer could sound just like the Beatles. With songs provided by Don Kirshner from such writers as Neil Diamond and Carole King, among others, the Monkees were assured of pop success. However, in the beginning, the four group members were hired only as actors to front the band and to provide the vocals whilst studio musicians recorded the backing music. These recordings were provided by Kirshner. Things changed though after the success of the single Last Train to Clarksville, the first hit, leading to demands that the band play live gigs. Having learned to play the music, the band became angry when the second LP was recorded (by Kirshner) by studio musicians, without their knowledge or musical input. They therefore demanded and obtained control of the music.
Nesmith who revealed that the band did not perform on their records was also instrumental in getting Don Kirshner sacked. the next album Headquarters was recorded by The Monkees alone, using hand picked producer Chip Douglas. While not as successful as their first two albums it made it to number one, only to be replaced a week later by The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album. The Monkees eventually settled on a formula of using their own talents as well as those of studio musicians. After two seasons the network and the group could not reach agreement on the format of a third season and the show was canceled even though the ratings were still high. A feature film named Head co-written by The Monkees, Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson) followed.
Peter Tork was the first to leave the band, in 1968, during 1969 The TV show went into Saturday morning reruns and the three remaining Monkees recorded two more albums. in 1969 Nesmith departed and began a serious foray into merging country and rock music. He also eventually developed a format that became MTV. By the way his mother invented a product called Liquid Paper, sold it to the Gillette Company for $47 million dollars then died a year later leaving the money to her only son. The remaining two Monkees Dolenz and Jones recorded one last album named Changes in late 1969.
There has, however, been a resurgent interest in The Monkees' music Rhino Records has been instrumental in restoring all their albums, adding bonus tracks, and equipping them with complementary liner notes and stories.
Davy Jones died on February 29, 2012 in Indiantown, Florida.
Peter Tork died on February 21, 2019, at his home in Mansfield, Connecticut.
Michael Nesmith died on December 10, 2021, in Carmel Valley, California.
DISCOGRAPHY (from www.themonkees.net):
The Monkees (1966)
More of The Monkees (1967)
Headquarters (1967)
Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. (1967)
The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (1968)
Head (1968)
Instant Replay (1969)
The Monkees Present (1969)
Changes (1970)
Then & Now...The Best of the Monkees (1986)
Pool It! (1987)
Live 1967 (1987)
Justus (1996)
Good Times! (2016)
Zor and Zam
The Monkees Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The king of Zor, he called for war
And the king of Zam, he answered.
They fashioned their weapons one upon one
Ton upon ton, they called for war at the rise of the sun.
Out went the call to one and to all
That echoed and rolled like the thunder.
More upon more.
Rolling the call of "Come now to war."
Throughout the night they fashioned their might
With right on the side of the mighty.
They puzzled their minds plan upon plan
Man upon man
And at dying of dawn the great war began.
They met on the battlefield banner in hand.
They looked out across the vacant land.
And they counted the missing, one upon one,
None upon none.
The war it was over before it begun.
Two little kings playing a game.
They gave a war and nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
The Monkees's song Zor and Zam tells the story of two kingdoms, Zor and Zam, that go to war against each other. The king of Zor calls for war, and the king of Zam answers. They spend a whole night preparing for the war, crafting their weapons and puzzling their minds, man upon man. Finally, they meet on the battlefield with banners in hand, but they find that their armies are missing in action. None of the soldiers came, and the war is over before it even began. They end up playing a game instead, with nobody coming to witness it.
This song is a commentary on the futility and absurdity of war. The lyrics depict a situation where two kings, who could not agree on something, decided to go to war, only to find themselves fighting a pointless battle because nobody showed up. The song highlights the absurdity of war where decisions made in haste can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Although the song sounds like a children's story, it carries a profound message that can be applied to real-life situations.
Line by Line Meaning
The king of Zor, he called for war
The leader of Zor initiated a conflict
And the king of Zam, he answered.
The leader of Zam responded to the call for war
They fashioned their weapons one upon one
Both sides created their armaments individually
Ton upon ton, they called for war at the rise of the sun.
They amassed a large amount of weaponry and declared war at dawn
Out went the call to one and to all
A message was sent to everyone, calling for participation
That echoed and rolled like the thunder.
The message was loud and clear, like the sound of thunder
Trumpets and drums, roar upon roar
The instruments loudly accompanied the call to war
More upon more.
The intensity of the call increased in increments
Rolling the call of "Come now to war."
The message was repeatedly broadcasted as an invitation to battle
Throughout the night they fashioned their might
During the evening, they continued to build up their strength for war
With right on the side of the mighty.
The powerful believed they had moral superiority on their side
They puzzled their minds plan upon plan
Both sides carefully strategized and plotted their next moves
Man upon man
Individual soldiers were considered by both sides
And at dying of dawn the great war began.
They began fighting at sunrise
They met on the battlefield banner in hand.
Both sides arrived with their flags/symbols ready for battle
They looked out across the vacant land.
Both sides surveyed the empty battlefield before the fighting began
And they counted the missing, one upon one,
After the battle was fought, they tallied up the casualties individually
None upon none.
Neither side suffered any losses because there was no actual battle
The war it was over before it begun.
Because no one showed up to fight, the war ended before it even started
Two little kings playing a game.
The two leaders engaged in a game-like situation
They gave a war and nobody came.
Despite their best efforts, no one participated in the conflict
And nobody came.
The lack of participation was repeated for emphasis
And nobody came.
The same sentiment was reiterated
And nobody came.
No one showed up to fight
And nobody came.
The lack of participation was emphasized one final time
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILL CHADWICK, JOHN CHADWICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@funnysexycrazy4500
The Monkees - Zor and Zam
The Monkees - Zor and Zam - YouTube
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Lyrics
By Bill Chadwick and John Chadwick
The king of Zor, he called for war
And the king of Zam, he answered.
They fashioned their weapons one upon one
Ton upon ton, they called for war at the rise of the sun.
Out went the call to one and to all
That echoed and rolled like the thunder.
Trumpets and drums, roar upon roar
More upon more.
Rolling the call of "Come now to war."
Throughout the night they fashioned their might
With right on the side of the mighty.
They puzzled their minds plan upon plan
Man upon man
And at dying of dawn the great war began.
They met on the battlefield banner in hand.
They looked out across the vacant land.
And they counted the missing, one upon one,
None upon none.
The war it was over before it begun.
Two little kings playing a game.
They gave a war and nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
And nobody came.
@fantastic59
The king of Zor, he called for war
And the king of Zam, he answered
They fashioned their weapons one upon one
Ton upon ton, they called for war at the rise of the sun
Out went the call to one and to all
That echoed and rolled like the thunder
Trumpets and drums, roar upon roar
More upon more
Rolling the call of "Come now to war."
Throughout the night they fashioned their might
With right on the side of the mighty
They puzzled their minds plan upon plan
Man upon man
And at dying of dawn the great war began
They met on the battlefield banner in hand
They looked out across the vacant land
And they counted the missing, one upon one
None upon none
The war it was over before it begun
Two little kings playing a game
They gave a war and nobody came
And nobody came
And nobody came
And nobody came
And nobody came
The writer of this pacifist junk did not understand real life.
@markcook2371
I absolutely love this song. Why can't ALL wars be like this?
@ljc1107
Why was this in my head today after not hearing it for YEARS? 🤔
@lesleymorgan01
This song needs to go globally viral in 2022. And always!
@eddieb.1446
An absolute masterpiece! Why was this song not popular and played on the radio stations back in the 60s along with the other antiwar songs?
@chezbeers6002
I love this song. I love that it's anti-war and anti-violence. I wish more people knew about it and listened.
@JeddorianJalapeno
Been loving this song since my sister bought it when it was new on vinyl.. he sounds like Grace Slick on this
@compugraphd
I'm with you but a couple years older. I also love Mickey the best (but miss the others)
@markcook2371
@@compugraphd, I'm with you. Mickey was, by far, my favorite. In addition to this song, I also really loved "Pleasant Valley Sunday".
@Cryo837
Let psychotic "leaders" who want war wage it on their own.
Meanwhile we can live our lives peacefully.
"Two little kings playing a game.
They gave a war and nobody came."....best line ever!!!
@minnieminds2950
I remember this song. We were so passionate then about the horrors of war. Then we grew up and got busy and we forgot. Now, after decades of war after war, we are drawn again to the truth we knew as kids. War is almost always the worst of our choices. Thanks for the memories.