When Davy Jones of the Monkees died on February 29th,
all types of people, regardless of age, background or musical preference, posted
loving childhood memories, historical appreciations or Monkees videos on their
social media pages or blogs.
But here it is a week later and there are fresh postings
underneath many Monkees Youtube videos and under news stories about Davy’s passing.
Every time a celebrity dies, there’s a flurry of activity on Facebook, a combination of heartfelt remembrances, simple
R.I.P. postings and the occasional troll insults, i.e. “crack is whack” referring to Whitney
Houston. Usually, the virtual grieving lasts a day or two and then it’s
business as usual. But Davy’s death has touched a lot of people across several
generations beyond that usual first twinge of shock. There was a joy and sense
of fun to the Monkees music and TV show that appealed to kids who discovered
them through MTV in the 1980s and syndicated reruns as well as original
viewers.
Maybe that’s why a week later,
people are still posting memories and condolences about Davy while the media has long
since moved on to its bread and butter - mindless Kardashian news and political
bickering. Outside of entertainment, Whitney Houston was known mainly
for her drug scandals and bad behavior. That's one of the reasons her death and its aftermath are still in the news weeks later.The mainstream media pays more attention to Whitney
because she was younger and more familiar to a generation weaned on MTV. Most
members of today’s news organizations came of age when she was popular – Davy
Jones was just some guy on an old TV show to them. Plus, her lifestyle made for
better copy. You can get a lot of press mileage out of a drug addict; a nice
guy, not so much.
I was in kindergarten when the
Monkees premiered. The Monkees - Davy,
Micky, Mike and Peter - were the perfect “starter” rock group for a generation
too young to appreciate Sergeant Pepper - era Beatles or the raunchy Rolling
Stones. Davy was just clean-cut and cuddly enough that Mom could like him,
too. Every Monday night, we waited for
the new episode, which always ended too soon. Most of the first album purchases
for kids in the neighborhood were Monkees albums. We were very dedicated
to the boys, and made a point to be home on Monday nights. God forbid, there
was a delay in getting home before the show.
Once we were a few blocks from home after eating dinner at Bonanza
Family Steakhouse. The car brushed an 18-wheeler (no one was hurt) and one of
the truck’s wheels flew off. Luckily, all matters were resolved and we got home
in time to see the show. This was later referred to as the “I don’t care if we
hit a train, I wanna see the Monkees” incident.
Davy was the Monkees’ heartthrob, but he was more than just
cute. He was a great dancer. My friends and I tried unsuccessfully to imitate
his famous sashay dance. (Axl Rose misappropriated this move years later.) And
he was as funny as he was cute. There was no such thing as the “funny” Monkee –
they were all hilarious in their own way. Davy had funny catchphrases,
mannerisms and memorable lines. “You
must be joking.” “It’s cuz I’m short, I know.” were two of the most popular. And who could forget that cute little hiccup
sound he made when the boys were in a scary situation, right before they escaped
some harebrained villain. To this day, I repeat Monkees dialogue as part of my daily routine. Naturally, 99.9 per cent of the people around me have no idea of
their origin. (“What a great-looking cardboard box!” Quick! What episode is that
from ?)
When people ask me how I developed my non-sequitur,
smartass sense of humor, I say “The
Monkees.” I don’t remember much about
the first season. As the music became more varied -and the humor turned weirder
and more random during the second season, my interest grew. I loved the way the
guys would break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience. So cute. I
didn’t know, of course, that pot-smoking and whatnot fueled much of it.
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia…
When we were in high school, my friend Mary Beth
occasionally brought out her Monkees albums and we’d dance around her bedroom
and reminisce, singing along with lesser-known songs like Cuddly Toy (written by Harry Nilsson) and Star Collector (Goffin-King).
“Wait a second!,” Mary Beth exclaimed. These songs are about WHOOREEES! We were
listening to dirty songs as kids and didn’t even know it! “Of course, she was
exaggerating. The songs were more about flirtatious types than sluts, but then
again, mainstream songwriters had to be very subtle back then, lest
the censors confront them with a long list of changes. In the mid-1970s, Davy
toured with Micky and songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart as Dolenz, Jones,Boyce and Hart. .It was fun to see Davy
grown-up but cute as ever and Micky, grown-up and manic as ever, on the Mike Douglas Show and ironically, former
Monkees Svengali Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert.
Davy’s passing is more than saying good-bye to a beloved
entertainer. It leads to other memories of a 1960s ( or ‘70s or ‘80s) childhood
that are long gone. It’s ironic that Pleasant
Valley Sunday was originally written as a swipe at suburbia. Now that song
brings back wonderful memories of lazy summer nights catching fireflies in
bottles or swimming in our above-ground pools while music blared from our
transistor radios. “Rows
of houses that are all the same and no one seems to care”. Those brick homes and their neatly-manicured lawns are
now replaced by boarded up buildings defaced by graffiti, at least in my old
neighborhood. The comfy JC Penny and Sears Roebuck-equipped
house of my youth now resembles a graffiti-laden respite for gang members.
Davy's vocals rarely faltered. His pitch was always spot on.
Even in later years he always hit the notes in concert. He had a good rapport
with his fans, he never seemed to have a bad day or a complaint from his admirers. How rare is that
in the celebrity world? As Micky said in a Associated Press interview last week
“What you saw is what you got. He was very much a song-and-dance man, life of
the party, always telling jokes, always on, an entertainer and just a great guy
to be around.”
Some Davy trivia - He originally
trained to be a jockey before moving to America to perform in Oliver on Broadway Davy and other actors from Oliver performed on the Ed Sullivan Show
in 1964, the same day as the Beatles’ first appearance. Who could have guessed
that cute little kid would be the lead singer of a band that would outsell the
Beatles and the Stones a few years later?
Davy was adorable til the end. Sure, he gained some weight
and often sported the standard uniform of aging Baby Boomer guys – shorts and
Hawaiian shirts, but his indefatigable spirit always shone through. He last
performed in mid-February in Oklahoma and seemed fine, his
normal perky self.
He was married three times, most recently to Jessica Pacheco - Jones, a Telemundo presenter 30 years his junior. She performed as a dancer on the Monkees last reunion tour in 2011. He had four adult daughters from his first two marriages. One of them, Annabel, is a recording artist in her own right with the band Lady and the Lost Boys. Public memorials are planned in New York and Davy's hometown of Manchester, England.
Rest in peace, Manchester Cowboy. We will miss you.
"Listen to the band!
Now weren't they good, they made me happy.
I think I can make it alone."
