Throwback: Happy 81st Birthday, Mickey Dolenz!

It’s March 2026. We’re about to blow through the first third of the year. Things have gotten messier and more hellish. Apparently, we’re now at war. We’ve got masked goons grabbing people off the streets and shooting civilians. The economy is reeling. We’re dealing with a mad, dying king. And yet, we have to simultaneously fight fascists and get on with our daily lives. 

But there’s music, art and community. I hope that this site is a bit of escape and maybe even a reminder of how much community means when the world is running down. The seventh New Colossus Festival takes place this week. And it’ll be a busy week of catching new music, seeing old pals and meeting new ones. So the posts will be a bit sporadic around here but I’ll do what I can to keep the show going. 

• The Who frontman  Roger Daltrey celebrated his 82nd birthday on March 1
• The pioneering singer, activist and actor Harry Belafonte was born 99 years ago on March 1
• Karen Carpenter was born 76 years ago on March 2
• Lou Reed, arguably one of the most influential figures of the past 75 years or so was born on this day 84 years ago on March 2
• Tone Lōc celebrated his 60th birthday — yes, y’all 60th! — on March 3
• The legendary soul artist Bobby Womack was born 82 years ago on March 4
• Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted celebrated his 63rd birthday on March 4
• Teena Marie, one of the perhaps most under-appreciated pop and R&B vocalists ever was born 70 years ago on March 5
• Best known for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante celebrated his 56th birthday on March 5
• Mary Wilson, the legendary co-founder of The Supremes was born on 82 years ago on March 6
• Pink Floyd‘s David Gilmour celebrated his 80th birthday — yes, y’all, 80th! — on March 6
• Isley Brothers’ guitarist Ernie Isley celebrated his 74th birthday on March 7

As a child of the 80s, I grew up watching a lot of unsupervised music programming on TV. I have fond memories of watching The Monkees repeats on Nickelodeon, and around that time, they had a reunion/comeback album that was quite a big deal. (A couple of videos from the album were aired on MTV at some point or another.)

The Monkees was a bit of goofy, clearly Beatles-esque fun with some really great songs. I somehow didn’t know that Neil Diamond wrote “I’m A Believer,” but now that I think of it, I hear Neil Diamond in the song. He also wrote a handful of other Monkees songs. Go figure! The Monkees brought folks a lot of joy throughout their run together. 

The Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz celebrates his 81st birthday today. Happy birthday, Mickey!

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The Joy of Violent Movement is a completely independent and completely D.I.Y. media outlet. Over the course of this site’s 15+ year history, I’ve used my fiercely independent stance to cover music with an eclectic and global perspective that a lot of other publications just don’t have — and will likely never have. 

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