Orange, CT:
Charles F. Rosenay!!! is best known to Monkees and Beatles fans for all his promotional efforts and productions over the past four decades. Since 1978, he has presented Beatles conventions and festivals. Since the early ‘80s, he has been very involved with Monkees Conventions that are recognized as some of the finest and most historic ever presented, including the 1987 National Monkees Convention in New Jersey that featured Davy, Micky, Peter, Boyce and Hart. He was also the lead singer in one of the first Monkees tribute bands, “Monkeemania,” Along with having met all The Monkees, and interviewed Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork on stage at events (the latter two numerous times), he was friends with both Davy and Peter.
In 2020, Rosenay!!! wrote the forward and edited Fred Velez’s book on Monkees fandom, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You 2: The Monkees From International Fan Perspectives.” In 2021, he was part of the team that launched the first-ever all-Monkees internet radio channel on Live365.com called MonkeeManiaRadio.com, where he hosts the weekly “Monkees Interview Show.” For as long as Charles can remember, he has been asked to write a book on The Monkees, The Beatles, or on his adventures through the years as a pop music aficionado, expert, and promoter. He has just published his first book, and although it’s not exactly a Monkees book, nor a memoir of his experiences, there is enough Monkees content to make it a welcome addition to any fan’s collection.
The pop culture book is titled The Book of Top 10 Horror Lists. It contains lists of favorite monster movies, actors, and other themes from 100 celebrities, including one Monkee and a number of others whom are closely related to The Monkees. In fact, there are no less than nine Monkees-related chapters!
Charles called on many of his long-time friends in The Monkees’ universe to be part of this special book. Included in this unique collection are such notables as songwriter (and one half of Boyce & Hart) Bobby Hart; Peter Tork’s dear friend and musical partner James Lee Stanley; two members of The Monkees’ touring group, Christian Nesmith and Circe Link, one of whom happens to be Mike Nesmith’s son; Barry Williams of The Brady Bunch, who was the opening act for the Davy and Micky’s Monkees tour; Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster), who appeared on a Monkees episode; singer Gary Puckett, who was with The Monkees on their 1986 Reunion Tour; author Mark Bego, who co-wrote Micky’s book, “I’m a Believer: My Life of Monkees, Music, and Madness;” and none other than Micky Dolenz himself.
There are also chapter from such Monkees’ contemporaries as The Beatles’ drummer before Ringo, Pete Best; John Lennon’s sister Julia Baird; the late Clay Cole; a New York-area disc jockey and radio personality in the 1960s; Phil “Fang” Volk of Paul Revere & The Raiders; Kasim Sulton of Utopia; Woodstock legend John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful; Spanky McFarlane of Spany & Our Gang; Mitch Schecter of The Rip Chords; R & B singer Little Anthony; Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge; Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon; and Ron Dante, the voice of The Archies. Other rockers who contribute their Top 10 lists to this book include members of The Cars, The B-52’s and the Go-Go’s.
Along with the musical events, Rosenay!!! is very involved in theme travel. He has been bringing Beatles fans to Liverpool and London on his annual “Magical Mystery Tour” through www.LiverpoolTours.com, he hosted and organized several similar vacations for Rolling Stones fans, and he is also the creator and organizer of the annual Dracula Tour to Transylvania, a “vampire vacation” that brings fans to the land of Vlad the Impaler and Dracula through www.DracTours.com. That spun off his GHOSTours to Europe, week-long travel experiences for lovers of the supernatural (www.ToursOfTerror.com). Rosenay!!! has acted in horror films and shorts and was also the founder of Connecticut’s largest and scariest indoor haunted attraction, “Fright Haven,” which still operates during the Halloween season. So it isn’t such a stretch that horror turned out to be the theme of his book.
How exactly did this unique book come to be? For a few years, Rosenay!!! wrote an online newsletter called “National Horror Happenings,” which was read by thousands worldwide. A special feature of that column was an occasional Top 10 List from a celebrity. Charles would invite well-known and not-so-well-known notables, many of whom were his friends, to contribute a list. In most cases it was their favorite monster movies. Others, however, contributed their lists of favorite genre actors, scariest scenes in horror films, funniest scary movies, sexiest scenes in horror, and so many other interesting themes. Within a short time, there were memorable lists from actors, rock stars, authors, athletes, horror icons, directors, producers, scream queens, radio and TV personalities, and other pop culture luminaries.
When the pandemic hit, all of what Rosenay!!! did, he could no longer do. A party DJ/MC/entertainer by trade, there were no longer events where he could perform. He was no longer able to book live bands, as there were no longer gigs. All the international tours, including his “Magical History Tour,” which brings American fans to the Beatles’ land every summer in conjunction with Beatle Week, were now postponed. He was most grateful that the “Peter Tork Memorial Convention for Monkees Fans,” held in February of 2020, was able to take place before the pandemic hit. With a little extra time on his hands during quarantine, Charles started to assemble, edit, and write introductions for all those Top 10 Lists. He called on a friend, Janet Davis, also from Connecticut, to proofread what he had written and accumulated. Davis became his Assistant Editor, and the book had come together. Rosenay!!! realized that there were about 80 or 90 lists in the can, and his goal was to reach 100, which he did in just a short time.
More than just lists, every submission is a list plus additional comments as to why the choices were made. Often hilarious, sometimes thought-provoking, but always fascinating, the lists run the gamut from fan-based opinions straight through to thesis-worthy chapters on the horror aspects of Shakespeare’s work.
Not only are there lists from a Monkee and Monkees associates, there are lists from a Beatle, a McCartney, and a Lennon relative. There are also lists from a Karloff, from “Star Trek”’s William Shatner, from respected thespian Ed Asner, from a Woodstock legend, from a Baseball Hall of Famer, from three Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, and from many famous names one would never know were “monster mavens.”
Rosenay!!! has always been a fan and follower of horror, pop culture, and Top 10 Lists, commenting, “Who doesn’t love a Top 10 List? They’re short, they’re fun, and we always want to see if our choices match. In this book, 100 celebrities reveal their Top 10 favorite monster movies and themes.” He adds, “You won’t believe the actors, singers, musicians, horror figures, writers, film-makers, artists, composers, disco divas, sports figures, and others who are horror buffs and “monster mavens!” Charles asks, “Will your favorite horror films show up on any of their lists?“
Monkees fans will be curious to read Micky Dolenz’s list, and to see if they know or have seen any of the choices, but they’ll also enjoy all the rest of the celebrity chapters.
Terrifying” is the name of a bonus track from the 2016 Monkees’ album “Good Times,” and perhaps some may use that to describe this book. But to borrow a title from a 1968 Monkees song, the book is actually “Good Clean Fun.”
At over 300 pages including photos and illustrations, The Book of Top 10 Horror Lists has been published in hardcover and trade softcover by BearManor Media, and is available on Amazon and from the website www.BookOfTop10HorrorLists.com.
Autographed copies are available directly from the author by emailing BookOfTop10HorrorLists@gmail.com, or by phoning (203) 795-4737.
Freddy Pop! 