Before he started "Monkeeing around," Micky Dolenz played Corky on the 1950's TV show Circus Boy. Several Circus Boy inside jokes can be found in the Monkees music and shows.

For example, in the song, "Gonna Buy Me a Dog," Micky sings a line that says he can teach a dog to fetch the paper, etc., and Davy responds, "You couldn't teach a dog to do that, you can only train elephants." Micky's partner on Circus Boy was Bimbo the elephant.

Also, in "The Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)," there is a line that says, "Riding the backs of giraffes for laughs is all right for a while," which is also a reference to Mickey's Circus Boy days.

But the most obvious, and (ironically) the most hidden, is in the first episode of the second season, "A Nice Place to Visit," the Monkees travel to Mexico. While they are walking around the Mexican streets, Mike starts to whistle the theme to Circus Boy, and Micky gives him a "knowing" look.