Released: October 1, 1969

Songwriter: Michael Martin Murphey

Producer: Michael Nesmith

She's always appearing with a band of renown
You want to go and see her when you're feeling down
She's a breathtaking spectacle with guaranteed hope
She'll make you feel good, 'cause she's the best thing since soap
She'll greet you in the alley with her fortified smile
She's the original sideshow and she's got her own style

Pardon my baby, she got to have her fun
Yes, I say, pardon my baby, she got to have her fun
'Cause she's a Oklahoma backroom dancer, watch her run

Now, she dances on air just like Superman's child
Like a filter-tip cig'rette she's wild but she's mild
She's more fun than Colorado, and more far-out than Maine
She comes on like thunder and she's more right than rain
She's the mother of earth, and the goddess of thirst
She's the chicken and the egg and whichever came first

Pardon my baby, she got to have a chance
Oh, I say pardon my baby, she got to have a chance
'Cause she's a Oklahoma backroom dancer, watch her dance

Woo
Oh, my
Somebody get the piano player a drink of water

Yeah, I say pardon my baby, she got to have her fun
Yeah, I say pardon my baby, she got to have her fun
Yes, she's a Oklahoma backroom dancer, watch her run

Woo
My, my

The Monkees

America’s answer to The Beatles, The Monkees were the brainchild of filmmaker Bob Rafelson. Once Rafelson’s idea for a television show about a struggling rock band was accepted by Screen Gems Television, Davy Jones, a Tony-nominated actor and musician already signed by the company, was shortlisted for auditions as the show’s star, and Rafelson had other aspiring musicians audition to join him. Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith (also already signed to Colpix/Colgems) were ultimately chosen to play fictionalized versions of themselves. The sitcom ran for two seasons (1966-8), a period in which the band released very popular singles such as “Last Train to Clarksville”, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, “Daydream Believer”, and “I’m a Believer”. The Monkees still continued to play for two more years until Tork left the band and their bizarre art film Head lead to a popularity nosedive, after which Nesmith also left.

However, reruns of the show helped create new fans and inspire reunion tours, most memorably in the 1980s with the help of MTV and Nickelodeon.