[Vision2020] Monkee Davy Jones Dies at 66

[Tom Hansen]

As the words of "American Pie" by Don McLean so appropriately reflect . . .

"A long, long time ago… 
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile."

Courtesy of today's (March 1, 2012) Spokesman-Review.

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Monkee Davy Jones, 66, dies
Songs, show brought fame to British-born singer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Davy Jones, the diminutive heartthrob who rocketed to the top of the 1960s music charts by beckoning millions of adoring fans with the catchy refrains of The Monkees, died Wednesday. He was 66.

His publicist, Helen Kensick, confirmed that Jones died of a heart attack near his home in Indiantown, Fla. Jones complained of breathing troubles early in the morning and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jones’ moppish long hair, boyish good looks and his British accent endeared him to legions of screaming young fans after “The Monkees” premiered on NBC in 1966 as a made-for-TV band seeking to capitalize on Beatlemania sweeping the world.

Aspirations of Beatles-like fame were never fully achieved, with the TV show lasting just two years. But The Monkees made rock ’n’ roll history as the band garnered a wide American following with love-struck hits such as “Daydream Believer” and “I’m a Believer” that endure to this day.

Born in Manchester, England, on Dec. 30, 1945, Jones became a child star in his native England who appeared on television and stage, including a heralded role as “The Artful Dodger” in the play “Oliver.”

He earned a Tony nomination at 16 when he reprised that role in the show’s Broadway production, a success that brought him to the attention of Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television, which created The Monkees.

“The Monkees” was a band clearly patterned on the Beatle’s film “A Hard Days Night,” chronicling the comic trials and tribulations of a rock group whose four members lived together and traveled to gigs in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz starred with him. Each part was loosely created to resemble one of the Beatles.

At 5-feet-3 inches, Jones was by far the shortest member of the group – a fact often made light of on the show. But he also was its dreamboat, mirroring Paul McCartney’s role in the Beatles. And as the only Briton among the four, Jones was in some ways the Monkees’ direct connection to the Beatlemania still strong in the U.S. when the TV show made its debut.

The band’s first single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” became a No. 1 hit. And the TV show caught on quickly with audiences, featuring fast-paced, helter-skelter comedy inspired as much by the Marx Brothers as the Beatles.

Yet after the show’s launch, The Monkees came under fire from music critics when it was learned that session musicians – and not the group’s members – had played the instruments on their recordings.

In reality, Jones could play the drums and guitar, and although Dolenz learned to play the drums after he joined the group, he also could play guitar, as could Nesmith.

Nesmith also wrote several of The Monkees’ songs, as well as songs for others. Tork, who played bass and keyboards on the TV show, was a multi-instrumentalist.

The group eventually prevailed over the show’s producers, including music director Don Kirchner, and began to play their own instruments.

After two seasons, the TV series had flared out and was canceled after 58 episodes in the summer of 1968. But The Monkees remained a nostalgia act for decades. And Jones maintained that the stage was the only place he truly felt at home.

Jones, who is survived by his wife Jessica Pacheco and four daughters from previous marriages, continued to make appearances on television and stage later.

But it was the fame of The Monkees that pulled him back to that era time and time again.

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Davy Jones in 1967


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"I'm a Believer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfuBREMXxts

"Pleasant Valley Sunday"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUzs5dlLrm0

"Last Train to Clarksville"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGLx4WenGwQ

"Daydream Believer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8urgvC0TR8

Rest well, Davey.

Seeya later, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Post Falls, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown


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