Davy Jones: Monkee Heartthrob Dies

As tributes to Davy Jones pile up today following his sudden death from an apparent heart attack, we can be certain that none of them will tout his “musical contribution” or his rank in the stratosphere of “artists”.

That said, he WAS very talented—and was a nice guy to boot.

I had the opportunity to interview Davy Jones back in the 80’s—it was a phone interview in advance of a concert tour as the Monkees reunion was underway. Having grown up with The Monkees on TV, I must admit that I was more than a bit nervous.

I needn’t have been. Davy was a true gentleman and put me at ease immediately. Maybe he sensed that I was a young DJ, no doubt asking stupid questions he’d answered a thousand times before. The interview went great, Davy was terrific and I looked like a hero.

While everyone knows that the musical group The Monkees was put together expressly for the TV show of the same name, it should be noted for fairness sake that the producers did seek out some measure of talent.

Davy Jones got noticed following his stint as the Artful Dodger in the 1960’s production of “Oliver!” , for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Here is Davy—back in 1964, doing a song from that show--you'll have to click on the link as embedding has been disabled:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-fLLuQgIss

Young, talented, good looking and British (a definite asset considering the Monkees were modeled after The Beatles), Davy Jones immediately became the heartthrob of the group, with Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and Mike Nesmith filling out the foursome. The Monkees would parlay a TV show into actual chart success, with a number of Top 40 hits, including “Daydream Believer”, “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday”.

Of course, the song we remember most is the opening theme to the TV show itself-“Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees!” Check it out once again:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxPppXaPonY

They were too busy singing to put anybody down. Say what you want about The Monkees---they were a huge part of pop culture and entertained millions.

Davy Jones, dead at the age of 66---Rest in Peace!

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