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As the Monkees were to the Beatles — a silly, enduring knockoff made for post-British Invasion America — Davy Jones was to Paul McCartney, the Cute One 2.0, a wee faux Fab who made Marcia Brady swoon and lie.
Jones, 66, died in southeastern Florida in a Martin County hospital Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack. The singer had a home in Indiantown and bred horses nearby. A testament to the band's lasting popularity — not to mention a songbook that's underrated and a sitcom still in syndication 40-plus years later — the Monkees sold out Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall in June 2011.
With Jones' passing, three Monkees remain in the group that has sold more than 65 million records worldwide: Peter Tork (the shy one), Micky Dolenz (the goofy one) and Michael Nesmith (the one whose mom invented Liquid Paper). Nesmith hasn't toured with the band in years, so Jones' passing could put the Monkees' future in jeopardy.
It all started a few years after Beatlemania swept U.S. shores, when American filmmakers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider whipped up a TV-ready quartet for American kiddos. Jones was the lone Brit in the slapstick-strong group, a saucer-eyed, brown-haired theater cutie from Manchester, England.
The sitcom The Monkees ran 1966-68 on CBS and was dumb fun, with herky-jerky editing, pun-heavy humor, lots of screaming girls and a couple of songs an episode, which drove further sales and tours. If you're thinking Glee and American Idol right now, you're absolutely right. The Monkees also spawned scores of other TV-made bands and musicians — The Partridge Family, Josie and the Pussycats, even The Brady Bunch in later years — with musicianship being far less important than looks and marketing.
Although Dolenz was the lead vocalist on most of the Monkees' biggest hits — Pleasant Valley Sunday, Last Train to Clarksville — Jones was the group's top singer and, more importantly, best defense when critics took cynical shots at the group's thin musical chops (even though their live tour opener was once Jimi Hendrix). Jones most famously cooed the lead puppy-dog vocals on No. 1 hit Daydream Believer.
In a 2008 top-25 list on Yahoo, Jones was voted the No. 1 teen idol of all time. A good reason for that was his now pop-culturally iconic cameo on a 1971 Brady Bunch episode titled "Getting Davy Jones," in which oldest Brady girl Marcia lies about getting the Monkees to play the school dance. A happy ending ensues, of course, but not without good lessons learned and Jones singing Girl ("Girl, look what you've done to me ...").
On Wednesday, both Tork and Dolenz released statements remembering Jones. On his Facebook fan page, Tork said he'll miss his longtime friend and fellow-adventurer, bidding "Adios, to the Manchester Cowboy." Dolenz said he was in shock: "He was the brother I never had and this leaves a gigantic hole in my heart."
In a 2011 interview, Jones spoke of his health. "I feel good, you know? If you feel good and you're really interested in whatever it is you're doing, age doesn't matter," he told AARP. "Life is very interesting, if you want it to be interesting."
Information from Times wires and staff was used in this report. Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@tampabay.com. Follow @seandalypoplife on Twitter.
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