Song 448: The week the playlist recognizes Your Auntie Grizelda by the Monkees, written by Diane Hildebrand and Jack Keller, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. When the sad news about Peter Tork arrived a few days ago, I decided to feature a Monkees track this week, and as far as I could tell, this cut was evidently the only one where Peter sang the lead vocals. The Monkees brightened my HS years, and I tried to watch their TV shows when I could, though I had to do so slyly, since my parents and grandparents did not approve of the devil's music, but when we did manage to have them on, they made me smile, along with both of my brothers. Thanks to the series, and good friends who had their records, I quickly got to know their music quite well, to the point where I could sing along with much of their repertoire, including this tune. A few years later, when I got to know the music of CSN, I remember reading the story, probably in Rolling Stone, that Stephen Stills had applied for a spot with a developing TV show, and when he got rejected, he suggested that PT might satisfy the developers' preferences, and that was how Mr. Tork got the job. I would guess that most listeners recognize the portrait this tickler paints of a woman so proper She couldn't budge a smile and do it for free, particularly when she's judging others over her tea. We have to say good-bye to Peter Tork, but we can thank him for the way he made us chuckle. No bird of grace ever lit on Auntie Grizelda, but perhaps one will fly over Peter's tombstone.
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