Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Dean is 'responsible' for The Green Hornet's 'Black Beauty'. Earned his early bones as one of the future iconic '50s So. Cal pinstripers, car painters, and caricature artists, along with Von Dutch, Ed Roth, Mouse, Larry Watson, et al. http://books.google.com/books?id=szk...beauty&f=false = http://books.google.com/books?id=0Tb...0mouse&f=false
These were some of the guys I grew up around.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Here's a photo of the Monkeemobile (built by George Barris, of course)

There were two cars built for the show; Dean Jeffries built them both, and Barris bought one of them later and did major restoration on it - but he did not build the originals.

I have seen information that states Jeffries styled the cars, but Barris built them. Might be a matter of semantics, but accuracy is important to me, to the point where I must admit I was wrong and LikaNui's post was correct. Sorry about that.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Rolling Stone has had a number of online features about The Monkees since Jones' death. Here is an interview with Nesmith, with his memories of Jones.

And here is a recent readers' survey of the top ten Monkees songs, with videos of each. I was pleasantly surprised at a couple of the selections on the list, which was as follows:
10. 'A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You'
9. 'Listen to the Band'
8. 'She'
7. 'Valleri'
6. 'Porpoise Song'
5. '(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone'
4. 'Pleasant Valley Sunday'
3. 'Last Train to Clarksville'
2. 'I'm a Believer'
1. 'Daydream Believer'

While this is the tale of country music journalist Alanna Nash's "date" with Jones, when she was 17.

The magazine also reports: Micky Dolenz and the other surviving members of the Monkees will not attend Davy Jones' funeral out of respect to the singer's family. "My understanding is they want to avoid a media circus and the family wants to keep it very, very low-key and very, very private," Dolenz told Billboard. "You can imagine as soon as one or two or any of us were to show up, it would very quickly be degraded into something that I don't think his immediate family would want to deal with," he said. "So I'm kind of [respecting] their wishes, whatever their wishes may be." Instead, Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith are planning to take part in a series of public memorials for Jones in New York and England, though no dates have been set. "It's pretty early days, you know, to be making too many plans," says Dolenz. "I'm still in shock."

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Monkee Davey Jones gone

There really hadn't been anything on American television quite like it; the structure was inspired by Richard Lester's Beatles film, "A Hard Day's Night." Music video continued to be a major piece of one ex-Monkee's life.

Monkees co-creator Bob Rafelson corrects the oft-reported assumption that “The Monkees,” focusing on the antics of four likable rock musicians, was inspired by the Beatles’ hit film “A Hard Day’s Night.”

“This was a show I had written six years before the Beatles existed, and the pilot was based on my own life as an itinerant musician when I was 17 years old,” Rafelson said. “What the Beatles did was to create a kind of permission for any rock ‘n’ roll to be a popular subject for television.”

On the passing of Davy Jones: "“Davy Jones deserves a lot of credit, let me tell you,” Rafelson, 79, said from his home outside Aspen, Colo. “He may not have lived as long as we wanted him to, but he survived about seven lifetimes, including being perhaps the biggest rock star of his time.”

In auditioning 437 actors and musicians for the four spots in the band, Rafelson said there had been no prerequisite that any of them would be British.

“It was his talent and his incredible charm” that landed Jones the role as the group’s heartthrob. “He went through the same audition process many of the others did, and that meant about 15 screen tests. David made that cut and, of course, survived after that as well.”

It did help, however, that Jones had begun developing a public profile before the show started shooting. “David was one of the few anybody recognized,” Rafelson said. “Somebody in the family of one of the producers had seen him perform as the Artful Dodger” in the early 1960s Broadway production of the musical “Oliver!”

As for what landed Jones one of the four spots in the group, Rafelson said, “Davy was sort of a legit showbiz guy more than he was a rock ‘n’ roll kind of singer. I wasn’t sure he’d be able to switch, both in terms of the performance as an actor and the sensibility needed as a singer — or even if he would truly want to. He had his thing going as a Broadway and London stage performer.

“But as soon as we started working together, everything changed. I just thought he would blend well with Micky and Mike and Peter,” he added, referring to Monkees bandmates Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.

“David had certain qualities just sitting in a room that I was interested in,” he said. “He was witty, his goals in life were not to be a show-business star. He was a jockey at this point, and he returned to being a jockey before he resumed his show business career. That interested me.”

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLaJMKwXZGg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-lyW33lddU

A couple of the less well-known Jones-led Monkees tracks, which I feel highlighted his vocals nicely.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Getting the discussion back to Davy Jones,....

(Oop - geez, yeah. I took the video comment and went way off the track there, sorry.)

The other three Monkees have shared their feelings on Jones' passing.

Micky Dolenz: "I am in a state of shock. Davy and I grew up together and shared in the unique success of what became The Monkees phenomena. The time we worked together and had together is something I'll never forget. ... He was the brother I never had and this leaves a gigantic hole in my heart. The memories have and will last a lifetime. My condolences go out to his family."

Peter Tork: "It is with great sadness that I reflect on the sudden passing of my long-time friend and fellow-adventurer, David Jones. His talent will be much missed; his gifts will be with us always. My deepest sympathy to Jessica and the rest of his family. Adios, to the Manchester Cowboy. Peace and love, Peter T."

Michael Nesmith: "All the lovely people. Where do they all come from?

So many lovely and heartfelt messages of condolence and sympathy, I don’t know what to say, except my sincere thank you to all. I share and appreciate your feelings.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

While it is jarring, and sometimes seems unjust, or strange, this transition we call dying and death is a constant in the mortal experience that we know almost nothing about. I am of the mind that it is a transition and I carry with me a certainty of the continuity of existence. While I don’t exactly know what happens in these times, there is an ongoing sense of life that reaches in my mind out far beyond the near horizons of mortality and into the reaches of infinity.

That David has stepped beyond my view causes me the sadness that it does many of you. I will miss him, but I won’t abandon him to mortality. I will think of him as existing within the animating life that insures existence. I will think of him and his family with that gentle regard in spite of all the contrary appearances on the mortal plane.

David’s spirit and soul live well in my heart, among all the lovely people, who remember with me the good times, and the healing times, that were created for so many, including us.

I have fond memories. I wish him safe travels."

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Scary foreshadowing department ---

A few years back, when Jones, Dolenz & Tork were doing the media rounds on another reunion tour, one of the standard quips they would make with interviewers went something along these lines...

Tork (pointing at Jones): "You know, he used to be a heartthrob..."
Jones (picking up the cue): "Yeah, but now I'm just a coronary."


Ouch.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

Getting the discussion back to Davy Jones,....

The man had a measure of success as a child actor on both TV and on the stage, prior to the superstar fame that was bestowed upon him for being one of the Monkees. But it was one of those strange coincidences of fate that the then-18 year old British entertainer would happen to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show (playing the role of the Artful Dodger as part of the Broadway cast of Oliver!) the very same night that the Beatles made their US television debut. Who woulda' thunk it that only a couple of years later, Davy would successfully follow their footsteps of being a musical teen idol.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Monkee Davey Jones gone

The Monkee's tv show was innovative with its music videos and fast cutaways in their sitcom.

There really hadn't been anything on American television quite like it; the structure was inspired by Richard Lester's Beatles film, "A Hard Day's Night." Music video continued to be a major piece of one ex-Monkee's life.

As a post-Monkees solo artist, Michael Nesmith was asked (by the UK distributor of his music) to provide promotional videos of his songs. Not being familiar with the concert-style videos that were being created at the time, he instead devised little story-concept films (the first being "Rio" and "Cruisin'"); these were such an innovative idea, he ended up developing a music-video program for Warner Cable's fledgling Nickelodeon network, titled "Pop Clips." Warner decided to create a 24-hour service of such films, and thus MTV was born.

He also created a long-form video project, combining music clips and comedy sketches, titled "Elephant Parts"; it won the first Grammy Award in the Music Video category. That led to a short-lived NBC series titled "Television Parts," as well as a couple more long-form videos that provided major exposure to several lesser-known comics at the time, including Bobcat Goldthwait, Ed Begley, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Garry Shandling, and musicians Jimmy Buffett and Rosanne Cash.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Monkee Davey Jones gone

Davey was cool. (Guess without the 'E')
I wasn't an avid fan of 'The Monkees' but had laughed with a few tv shows.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Monkee Davey Jones gone

The Monkee's tv show was innovative with its music videos and fast cutaways in their sitcom.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Monkee Davey Jones gone

He actually spelled his name "Davy" (no e).

Yet another '60s icon passing away. Startin' to feel old.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

RIP, Davy.
Here's a photo of the Monkeemobile (built by George Barris, of course)

There were two cars built for the show; Dean Jeffries built them both, and Barris bought one of them later and did major restoration on it - but he did not build the originals. (They are both in the hands of private collectors now.) At least two replicas have been made in later years, both by associates of Jeffries.

[LikaNui]

Re: Davy Jones of The Monkees: R.I.P.

RIP, Davy.
Here's a photo of the Monkeemobile (built by George Barris, of course) and of Davy signing the hood, taken two years ago:

[Ron Whitfield]

Monkee Davey Jones gone

Passed away today @ 66 yrs. from a heart attack, leaving an eternal legacy in music.