Remember Davy Jones

[jack c]

I just got home and found out that Davy Jones of the Monkees had died of a heart attack while on tour. "Cheer up sleepy Jean" won't work - he's gone. While I play the guitar and have loved a lot of heavier stuff, my middle school years were peppered with the Monkees' songs and shows. They weren't as real as the Beatles or Byrds or Stones ... but they really did sing the parts, and later on played and wrote some of the music. "Daydream Believer" is one of three songs I can play on piano, practicing Peter's opening riff again and again. I will miss the loss of any future reunion - I went to two of their reunion concerts in PA. Thanks for the music and the laughs, Davy.

[Duncan Edwards]

I recall loving to hate Davy when I was young because he was the one that caused my sisters and all their friends to burst into a chorus of silly girl screams. At that time it wasn't "Stones vs Beatles" but which Monkee you liked. I was a Mike fan.

Later on I recognized that Davy was always the good guy who never seemed to resent being "Davy". He was very cool with being a Monkee and it's great to see the people of your childhood enjoying what you enjoyed watching them do. In all of the Monkees completely listenable hits you could always hear his faintly Beatles like English tenor in there.

He was a good guy, never took himself too seriously, and left some good memories for all of us. That's a nice legacy.

http://youtu.be/5qtW1jAwZgU

[jagfiles]

I remember once he had a cameo role on the Brady Bunch. I remember Marsha being in charge of the Davey Jones fan club at high school.
His work will never be forgotton.

[Nessie]

I grew up watching "The Monkees". 'Twasn't me who was the fan, though, it was another kid in the family. I didn't have a proper appreciation of them as a child. But courtesy of a mud friend who was REALLY into them, I got re-acquainted with many of their songs after I entered online Quicksanderhood!

My favorite Monkees tune: "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", which, actually, sounds a bit like the way they eventually asserted control over their own material, wrestling the control away from their bosses!

Nessie

[newtothis2]

Part of my afterschool routine was to come home and watch The Monkeys. I too grew up with them and also got re-acquainted lately with the reruns on some cable channel, not sure which one. I also heard somewhere today that they were getting ready to go out and do a tour soon?

[pete1672]

The 'Pre-Fab Four' monicker does The Monkees a disservice. It's fair enough as to the band's origin; but the hired actors kind of took the band away from the suits and made The Monkees real.
I watched "The Monkees" as I kid because the show was funny. Their music didn't mean much one way or another to me when it was new; I usually didn't even watch the last 5 minutes or so, because this was always just some early "music video" performance.
The shows were rerun again when I was a teenager; ironically around the same time the 2-LP anthology "Rock & Roll Music" was repopularizing The Beatles with me and my peers. It was then I noticed the edge in the humor underneath the slapstick. Even in the first season episodes, you can see a steady maturation. The comedy takes on a growing satirical tone; the wackiness morphs into surrealism. I also noticed that their music was maturing right along with the "show". I only own two Monkees CDs, a "Best Of" and the "Head" soundtrack (there's a psychedelic movie for ya!), so I was never a "nut" about them the way I've been about other music groups. But I don't recall ever changing the station when they're on the radio.
Gotta concur with Duncan's words about Davy Jones. He seemed to be the most grounded, down to earth regular guy of the bunch. On the shows, you could definitely always tell when Mike Nesmith was not happy about what he was doing, but Davy was always a trooper. He never shied away from being a Monkee, he seemed to embrace it as the ride of a lifetime in must've been.
It's hard to find a better mid-60s pop song than "Daydream Believer", too.

[water_bug_62208]

Sad news indeed.

Like Duncan, I was a Mike fan; however, to me Davy always seemed to be the one who had his act together. I, too, enjoy hearing Davy sing Daydream Believer when it comes across the radio.

I really enjoyed watching the Monkees' TV series. I also recalled watching their movie, Head, when it appeared on TV one night long ago. That movie featured some cool musical pieces. If I recall correctly, the movie featured a solo piece with Davy that I really enjoyed. He sang and was joined by a lovely lady who was danced with him. It was cool how throughout the scene the color of the clothing they wore switch from black to white... same style clothing, just black at one time then white the next.

He will be missed.

[PM2K]

He was a real charmer who clearly was having fun with life and his career, while not taking himself too seriously at the same time. Rare traits for any celebrity, or any one person, either.

Another who left us too soon. RIP Mr. Jones.

[Mynock]

He was waaay before my time, but from what I've read about him in the last few days, he seemed like a hell of a guy. RIP.

[DangerGirl]

"The Monkees" TV show was a staple of my childhood, and Davy was one of my first celebrity crushes. He still looked damned good right up to the day he died.

And Star Trek fans, don't forget that he was the inspiration for Ensign Pavel Chekhov (who was originally envisioned as English).

R.I.P., Davy.