Feb. 1968 - Ok, we're back with the second issue of Teen Beat...er, Teen Beam.The photo cover is unusual, and I wonder what this Christmas photo is supposed to do with music. Maybe it's because DC obviously decided to tamp down the music portion of the magazine, going with a more all-encompassing "what the kids are into" scope.
First up is a multi-page article on Herman's Hermits, then a letters page(all female fans) called "Tell It To Teeny", and then on the table of contents we find out why the Beat has been changed to Beam:
Next is a piece on The Yardbirds, then a page called "Mad Moments of History", which is four three-panel "gag" strips about moments in history. There's no attempt to connect up this stuff with all the music material, it's just there. Weird!
Next is a piece on The Association, and then another page of gag strips, this time called "The Kids on My Block", which looks so much like Peanuts that you can hear Schulz's lawyers starting to draw up the legal papers.
There's a piece on The Lovin' Spoonful, and then a piece that definitely indicates that DC was trying a little more emphasis on the comic book portion of the magazine, with a feature on the Monkees done entirely in comic book style, drawn by none other than the legendary Joe Orlando!:
It runs three pages, followed by a more typical photos and text piece. Next is the return of "Hollywood Happenings", then another feature on the band Every Mother's Son(called EMS here presumably they figured out that "Every Mother's Son" is a horrible name for a band), then another page of gag strips, called "Disguised Humor", by Mort Drucker!
Teeny predicts some bright futures for the bands The Electric Prunes(I take it back; I guess Every Mother's Son isn't so bad), The Carnival Connection, Myddle Class, and solo act Stephen Monahan. Teeny did ok last issue, but she batted 0.00 here.
It all wraps up with a piece on the Young Rascals, and that would be it for DC's experiment in teen magazines. There wouldn't be a third issue(called Teen Bleat, perhaps?), and DC would never try anything like this again, sadly. Poor Teeny wouldn't even rate a listing in Who's Who, which is too bad. She seemed like a nice gal.
Next is a piece on The Association, and then another page of gag strips, this time called "The Kids on My Block", which looks so much like Peanuts that you can hear Schulz's lawyers starting to draw up the legal papers.
There's a piece on The Lovin' Spoonful, and then a piece that definitely indicates that DC was trying a little more emphasis on the comic book portion of the magazine, with a feature on the Monkees done entirely in comic book style, drawn by none other than the legendary Joe Orlando!:
Teeny predicts some bright futures for the bands The Electric Prunes(I take it back; I guess Every Mother's Son isn't so bad), The Carnival Connection, Myddle Class, and solo act Stephen Monahan. Teeny did ok last issue, but she batted 0.00 here.
It all wraps up with a piece on the Young Rascals, and that would be it for DC's experiment in teen magazines. There wouldn't be a third issue(called Teen Bleat, perhaps?), and DC would never try anything like this again, sadly. Poor Teeny wouldn't even rate a listing in Who's Who, which is too bad. She seemed like a nice gal.
6 comments:
I think it's interesting that even pre-teen mags like this one still covered bands that were quite good, such was the superior state of pop music in the 60s. Even 40 years later, songs from bands like The Lovin' Spoonful, The Monkees, The Yardbirds, and Simon and Garfunkel still hold up and are played regularly. Do you think anyone will want to hear a Hannah Montana song 40 years from now?
OK, no Velvets again, but they did cover the Jimmy Page-led Yardbirds, which at that time were basically the direct precursor to Led Zeppelin (already performing "Dazed And Confused" live).
And you don't remember "Every Mother's Son" with their unforgettable garage/bubblegum classic "Come On Down To My Boat"? The vid was on VH-1 fairly regularly back when I had cable...
Gotta LOVE The Yardbirds!
All of this plus the photo of Mike and Davey with DC comics over at "Hey Kids..." makes me wonder if DC was considering a Monkee comic at the time. Their popularity probably started to wane before DC fully jumped on the bandwagon though.
Just a guess.
Chris
I loved The Electric Prunes! "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" was an awesome song, and they're credited as being the band that first used the Wah Wah pedal. Take THAT, Jimi Hendrix! LOL
Post a Comment