Synopsis
The Monkees perform "Daydream Believer" in a brightly colored studio set known as the Rainbow Room. Davy Jones takes the lead while Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork gather around a piano and play along with the song's cheerful arrangement. The performance mixes straightforward miming with playful gestures, exaggerated expressions and light choreography. Jones moves through the set as the others interact around him, giving the clip the relaxed, comic energy associated with the band's television series.
Factoids & Trivia
- The performance was filmed at Fred Niles Studios in Chicago on August 2, 1967, as part of a large session that produced musical segments for the second season of *The Monkees*.
- The clip appeared at the end of the episode "Art, for Monkees' Sake," which first aired on October 9, 1967. The episode also featured guest appearances by Liberace.
- The Rainbow Room footage was created for television rather than as a separate modern-style promotional video. It was later circulated independently as one of the group's signature music clips.
- "Daydream Believer" was written by John Stewart, formerly of the Kingston Trio. Davy Jones sang the Monkees' lead vocal.
- The single became the Monkees' third No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released in 1967, while the song later appeared on the 1968 album *The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees*.
- Several other second-season performance segments were filmed during the same Chicago session, allowing the production to reuse the distinctive striped and rainbow-colored set for multiple songs.