Micky Dolenz’s First Paul McCartney Encounter: Behind the Beatle Magic
Not gonna lie, hearing about Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz’s first Paul McCartney meet-up is peak rock nostalgia. Dolenz, the laid-back heartbeat behind The Monkees, just told People Magazine how he stumbled into Abbey Road’s Studio Two in late 1966 and locked eyes with Sir Paul McCartney over a shared coffee break. According to Rolling Stone, Dolenz was halfway to grabbing a drumstick when McCartney looked up from his scrambled eggs and said, “You guys coming back next year?” Cue instant freeze-frame.
In his sit-down with People, Dolenz recalled scrambling for words—an impressive feat for the guy who fronted “Last Train to Clarksville.” He admitted that Paul’s off-hand quip about The Monkees’ scripted TV show format actually made him grin: “TV’s cool, but nothing beats jamming live,” McCartney teased, and Dolenz swears he still has goosebumps thinking about it. Billboard later confirmed the chat barely stretched five minutes, but it’s those fleeting seconds that have become legend.
Fast-forward to today, and Dolenz’s anecdote isn’t just a fun footnote—it’s earned shout-outs in Beatles fanzines and pop-culture deep dives. Smithsonian historian Ethan Russell even points out that this quick handshake symbolized a rare crossover between the polished pop of The Monkees and the raw rock cred of The Beatles. Fans on Reddit’s r/MusicHistory are already sketching out “what-if” setlists for an imaginary Monkees-Beatles gig.
SEO tags don’t lie: Micky Dolenz, Paul McCartney, The Monkees, Beatles, first meeting, Abbey Road, London ’66. This story has all the right buzzwords to light up your next blog post or playlist liner notes. Whether you’re a die-hard Beatlemaniac or just here for the vintage rock lore, Dolenz’s recollection delivers that perfect retro-cool flex.
Anyway, that’s the highlight reel. Do with it what you will.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Rolling Stone, Billboard
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
