{"id":8316,"date":"2026-09-07T14:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8316"},"modified":"2026-09-07T14:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:06:14","slug":"exclusive-monkees-legend-helps-la-radio-icon-celebrate-25-years-of-beatles-with-wild-john-lennon-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8316","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Monkees legend helps LA radio icon celebrate 25 years of Beatles \u2013 with wild John Lennon tale"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It was 25 years ago today when Chris Carter took the reins of one of LA radio\u2019s most beloved institutions, \u201cBreakfast With the Beatles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Multiple people stabbed in Crown Heights as notoriously violent West Indian American Day parade kicks off<\/a><\/p>\n

And helping celebrate a quarter-century on the airwaves Sunday was a man whose own storied career was kickstarted by a TV show about a band trying to be just like Liverpool\u2019s Fab Four \u2013 Monkees legend Micky Dolenz.<\/p>\n

Dolenz, 81, sporting a black hat and signature yellow-hued glasses, joined the party at 95.5 KLOS\u2019 eighth-floor studios in Burbank as he prepared to hit the road for his \u201cMicky Dolenz: 60 Years of The Monkees\u201d tour.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the last surviving original member of the four-piece that took TV \u2013 and then the pop charts \u2013 by storm in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a television show about a band. They lived in a Malibu beach house and wanted to be The Beatles. On the television show we never made it,\u201d Dolenz said.<\/p>\n

Dolenz revealed he first saw the Beatles on a stolen TV at iconic LA hamburger joint Bob\u2019s Big Boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a guy who had a TV in the parking lot with rabbit ears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just three years later, Dolenz would find himself hanging out with John Lennon at Abbey Road during recording sessions for the Beatles\u2019 landmark \u201cSgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band\u201d album.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bizarre, I feel blessed,\u201d Dolenz said.<\/p>\n

The Monkees went on to score three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 \u2014 \u201cLast Train to Clarksville,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a Believer\u201d and \u201cDaydream Believer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their hit NBC television show turned Dolenz and bandmates Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork into pop-culture icons and helped unleash Monkeemania across America.<\/p>\n

\u201cMicky Dolenz: 60 Years of The Monkees\u201d kicks off in Phoenix before arriving in Los Angeles on Sept. 12.<\/p>\n

For a quarter of a century, Angelenos have woken up on Sunday mornings to Carter spinning an eclectic mix of Beatles classics, rarities and deep cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like going to church,\u201d said Alex Macias, better known to listeners as \u201cOxnard Alex,\u201d who was in the studio for Sunday\u2019s anniversary celebration.<\/p>\n

Macias has painstakingly kept a spiral-notebook diary documenting every song played on the show.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s 894 shows. I started writing down the songs when I was going through a hard time, and it helped me get out of it,\u201d Macias said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreakfast With the Beatles\u201d was created by pioneering LA radio personality Deirdre O\u2019Donoghue, who hosted the program until her death in 2001. Carter took over later that year.<\/p>\n

And his tenure began during one of the darkest moments in American history \u2014 just days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the executives gave me a list of songs not to play because of the tragedy, and one was \u2018Imagine\u2019 by John Lennon. I immediately rebelled and played it every hour, my first week could have been my last,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it weren\u2019t for Deirdre, we wouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d Carter added.<\/p>\n

The program is billed by KLOS as \u201cAmerica\u2019s longest running Beatles show\u201d and remains a Sunday morning fixture in Southern California.<\/p>\n

Carter has interviewed Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr numerous times, along with George Harrison, whose interview with Carter for Capitol Records became Harrison\u2019s last.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Loyal listeners are treated each week to famous guests with connections to the Fab Four, Beatles trivia and a playlist stretching from monster hits to rarities, outtakes and solo material.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, after filling the Los Angeles airwaves with three hours of John, Paul, George and Ringo \u2014 plus a little Dolenz \u2014 Carter closed his 25th-anniversary show with his signature sign-off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasure playing the Beatles for ya.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the Beatles themselves, singing the immortal closing line from \u201cThe End\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother one down,\u201d Carter said as he took off his headphones and left the studio smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for having me for 25 years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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Read more Falcons finally make QB decision after Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s nightmare training camp<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monkees legend Micky Dolenz, 81, made a rare appearance on Los Angeles’ 95.5 KLOS to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the “Breakfast With The Beatles” show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Monkees legend helps LA radio icon celebrate 25 years of Beatles \u2013 with wild John Lennon tale - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Monkees legend helps LA radio icon celebrate 25 years of Beatles \u2013 with wild John Lennon tale - 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