Monkees Singer Davy Jones Dead at 66

The teen idol, along with fellow band mates, The Monkees, not only left an indelible mark on pop culture, but forged a path (and an audience) for future manufactured bands. Whether it was on the Broadway stage or on TV screens, the Brit icon's smile, voice and boyish charm melted hearts.

David Thomas "Davy" Jones (30 December 1945 – 29 February 2012) was an English singer-songwriter and actor best known as a member of The Monkees.

Davy Jones was born at 20 Leamington Street, Openshaw, Manchester, Lancashire, England. Aged 11 he began his acting career, appearing on the British television soap opera Coronation Street, which was produced at Granada Studios by Granada Television in Manchester. In 1961 Jones played Ena Sharples' grandson, Colin Lomax, the year Coronation Street was first broadcast. He also appeared in the BBC police series Z-Cars. However, after the death of his mother from emphysema when he was 14 years old, he left acting and trained as a jockey with Basil Foster.

Monkees

From 1965 to 1971, Jones was a member of The Monkees, a pop-rock group formed expressly for a television show of the same name. With Screen Gems producing the series, Jones was shortlisted for auditions, as he was the only Monkee who was signed to a deal with the studio, but still had to meet producers Bob Rafelson's and Bert Schneider's standards. Jones sang lead vocals on many of the Monkees' recordings, including "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer". Jones met Laramy Smith in 1967, introduced by Eirik Wangberg (then a producer and co-owner of Sound Records), and they co-produced The Children, an Austin, Texas group Jones discovered while on tour with the Monkees. A single was released on Laramie Records entitled "Picture Me", which reached Billboard at number 2 with a bullet.

After the television series went off the air, The Monkees disbanded. However, Jones continued to perform solo, while later joining with fellow Monkee Micky Dolenz and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as a short-lived group called Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. He also toured throughout the years with other members as various incarnations of the Monkees.

In February 2011, Jones mentioned rumours of another Monkees reunion. "There's even talk of putting the Monkees back together again in the next year or so for a U.S. and UK tour," he told Disney's Backstage Pass newsletter. "You're always hearing all those great songs on the radio, in commercials, movies, almost everywhere." The tour came to fruition entitled, "An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour."

Death

The Martin County Sheriff's Office stated that Jones had complained of breathing difficulties on the morning of 29 February 2012, in Indiantown, Florida, and had been transported to Martin Memorial South Hospital in Stuart, where he was pronounced dead. Jones is survived by his widow, Jessica, and four daughters.

The outpouring of grief in response to Jones' death was immediate and profound. Jones' Monkees bandmates led the tributes following his death; guitarist Mike Nesmith stated that Jones' "spirit and soul live well in my heart among all the lovely people", bassist Peter Tork said, "Adios to the Manchester Cowboy", and speaking to CNN, drummer/singer Micky Dolenz said, "He was the brother I never had and this leaves a gigantic hole in my heart".

Yahoo! Music, who named Jones the #1 teen idol of all time in 2008, commented that Jones' death "hit so many people so hard" because "Monkees nostalgia cuts across generations: from the people who discovered the band during their original 1960s run; to the kids who came of age watching 1970s reruns; to the twenty- and thirtysomethings who discovered the Monkees when MTV (a network that ironically owes so much to the Monkees' influence) began airing old episodes in 1986."

When commenting on Jones' death, Time magazine contributor James Poniewozik praised the classic sitcom, and Jones in particular, saying "even if the show never meant to be more than entertainment and a hit-single generator, we shouldn’t sell The Monkees short. It was far better television than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure. Whatever Jones and The Monkees were meant to be, they became creative artists in their own right, and Jones' chipper Brit-pop presence was a big reason they were able to produce work that was commercial, wholesome and yet impressively weird."

Daydream Believer

Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings

Of the bluebird as she sings.

The six o'clock alarm would never ring,

But six rings and I rise;

Wipe the sleep out of my eyes.

My shavin' razor's cold and it stings.

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.

Oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer

And a homecoming queen?

You once thought of me

As a white knight on his steed.

Now you know how happy I can be.

Oh, and our good times start and end

Without dollar one to spend,

But how much, baby, do we really need?

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.

Oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer

And a homecoming queen?

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.

Oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer

And a homecoming queen?

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.

Oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer

And a homecoming queen?

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean.

Oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer

And a homecoming queen?