{"id":4479,"date":"2018-05-17T00:12:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T06:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lagoonhistory.com\/project\/?p=4479"},"modified":"2026-02-23T20:21:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T03:21:28","slug":"the-monkees-at-lagoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lagoonhistory.com\/project\/the-monkees-at-lagoon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Monkees At Lagoon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In May 1968, Lagoon was the setting of a key moment in the history of The Monkees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the band was created by Hollywood producers for a TV show beginning in 1966 and media critics nicknamed them the Pre-Fab Four, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork quickly rose to fame as The Monkees. They sold millions of records while constantly struggling to prove they had become more than just actors, but a real, working band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When their TV show was cancelled after two seasons in early 1968, The Monkees began filming scenes for a motion picture that followed the formula of pop art style films like The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night<\/em> while still having enough of their own ideas and personality to make it unique. As director Bob Rafelson put it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It’s different from the Beatles’ movies. It’s intense and severe, and it exposes much of what all rock groups went through but nobody had the guts to tell. In the movie we saw The Monkees as victims. The energy had run its course with their old audience. We tried to reconfigure them for the more mature audience who had previously rejected them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The film pioneered some new special effect techniques like polarization and included appearances by Annette Funicello, Toni Basil, Frank Zappa\u00b9 and other stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final scene in the film was a live performance of a new song entitled Circle Sky – a rock song written by guitarist Michael Nesmith. Plans were made to film the performance at their upcoming concert at Lagoon’s Patio Gardens (now the Game Time Arcade). The band arrived in Salt Lake City along with co-producers Bob Rafelson and then-unknown Jack Nicholson. Later that day, the group were guests at local radio station KCPX.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, 17 May 1968, as technical preparations for the concert were underway, The Monkees rode various rides at Lagoon accompanied by an entourage of Salt Lake City policeman and hoards of fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Monkees walking past Lagoon’s Carousel with their police escort. Footage by Henry Diltz<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fans ride Lagoon’s Roller Coaster with members of The Monkees. Footage by Henry Diltz<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fans were already lining up at the Patio Gardens when it was decided that the venue wouldn’t allow for optimal lighting for the film shoot and the concert was moved about ten miles south to the three-year-old Valley Music Hall (the large dome building visible from I-15 in Bountiful). The venue had a circular, revolving stage making for a memorable scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Valley Music Hall in Bountiful as shown in a 1970 travel booklet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The events of those two days were documented in 8mm film footage and photos by popular rock and roll photographer, Henry Diltz. Some of that footage can be seen in the video below, which is presented with audio of directions being given to the audience who would be a part of the scene. More footage of Lagoon is available on the Jimi Hendrix: The Guitar Hero<\/em> DVD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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