It’s been 25 years since the Monkees lit up The Tonight Show with a rare live performance—and fans still remember it well.
In a newly resurfaced clip posted to the official Monkees YouTube and Instagram pages, band members Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork are seen jamming guitars and singing the 1966 classic “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” with a full band accompanying them—and original bandmate Michael Nesmith noticeably absent.
“Decades after taking the world by storm, The Monkees proved they’ve still got that electric stage presence during this memorable 2001 performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” the caption to the Aug. 13 post read.
The high-energy performance took place on Aug. 21, 2001, on the NBC late-night show. Twenty-five years later, fans had plenty of memories of it.
“That is an awesome clip, Monkees reunited and did a tour, Davy, Peter and Micky played and sang all their hits!” one fan wrote on Instagram,
“They wanted the world to know that they can play instruments,” another fan wrote on YouTube.
“My very first teen band crush ❤️,” a third chimed in.
“Look at them playing their own instruments. Tell me again why they are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?” another fan wanted to know.
“Wow. 25 years ago. Unbelievable to think Mr. Dolenz is the only one left. Cheers to my very first beloved band,” added another.
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Written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, “Steppin’ Stone” was released on Nov. 12, 1966, and became one of The Monkees’ most beloved songs, a B-side that made its way up the charts, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1967.
In a TikTok post in September 2025, Dolenz, the only surviving Monkees band member at age 81, wrote that “'(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’” was one of the first Monkees songs that “really rocked on stage.”
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Following their rockin’ rendition of the song on The Tonight Show 25 years ago, Dolenz, Jones and Tork sat down to talk to Leno. Dolenz cracked jokes about the band members still rocking in their late 50s.
“They don’t throw panties anymore, they throw Depends,” Dolenz cracked of the band’s aging fanbase. “It’s been a long, long time,” he added of the band’s 35-year career. “When we were on tour, they didn’t have gold records, they were wood.”
The trio also recalled Jimi Hendrix as their opening act during a short-lived tour in 1967.
“It was a very interesting show,” Dolenz recalled. “He was incredible, of course, and a great musician but it was kind of strange. He’d be out there going you know, ‘Foxy Lady’ and [the crowd would scream] ‘We want Davy… Monkees, Monkees!’ Very embarrassing to say the least, in retrospect.”
Related: 1967 Monkees Classic Was So Good It Became a TV Show Theme Despite Never Charting