It’s not the first place you think of when it comes to article about oldies – Forbes Magazine. But I’ve found a series of pretty interesting stories about a slew of famous artists, along with some revelations I never knew, from that publication. They're all from a music journalist named Jim Clash. 
 
Among them: the fact that Frank Zappa once asked Micky Dolenz of the Monkees to join the Mothers of Invention. (You can only imagine what that would have looked and sounded like.) So why didn’t it happen?
 
From the article:
 
“[Zappa] called me up one day, and I remember it so clearly. He asked if I would be the drummer for his band, The Mothers Of Invention [laughs]. I had to pick myself off of the floor. Of course, I was incredibly flattered, like "Oh my God!" But, he said that I'd have to get out of my recording contract with RCA, because his band was going to record. So I called the record company, and basically they said, "Absolutely not. You still have two albums to fulfill." So I told Frank, but there was definitely a part of me that was relieved. I don't know if you know Frank Zappa's music, but boy, I'd have been very challenged.”
 
Frank Zappa Asked Monkee Micky Dolenz To Drum For The Mothers Of Invention
 
Then there’s Hilton Valentine, a former member of The Animals, who remembers how he came up with that famous guitar lick that starts off The House Of The Rising Sun.
 
“I wanted to make the song our own, so I just came up with the arpeggio using the same chord sequence as Dylan. When I played that for the band, Alan [Price] spoke up saying, "That's so corny. Can you not play something different?" I told him to stick to his keyboard, and I'd stick to my guitar. If he didn't like it, he could f*#k off. “
 
“Anyway, on the Chuck Berry tour, the song was going down a storm, so we figured we'd better hurry up and record it. We drove down to De Lane Lea Studios, ran through it a couple of times and then recorded it in one take.”
 
House of the Rising Sun in one take? That’s pretty incredible, considering how iconic that song is.
 
Why Did The 60s Group The Animals Break Up At The Height Of Its Popularity? 

And finally, there are a series of stories about Gary Lewis, who explains how he learned to play drums – although he didn’t realize until much later just who his teacher was.
 
“When I was five years old, my dad had this friend who always came over. We had drums set up in a different part of the house, and this guy would say, "Hey kid, come over to the drums with me. Let me show you some stuff." This went on for seven years. Finally, I realized that this friend of my dad's was Buddy Rich. So I had seven years of lessons from Buddy Rich, and never knew who he was [laughs]!”

 Sixties Rock Star Gary Lewis On The Playboys - And His Famous Comedian Dad, Jerry 

 Here are a few other links some here might find worth a quick read:

What Is Micky Dolenz’s Favorite Monkees Song?
 
Guitarist Micky Dolenz Learned To Play Drums For His Role In The Monkees
 
Did Stephen Stills Really Audition For The Monkees?
  
Gary Lewis Discusses His Sixties Hit, This Diamond Ring