Here's something I stumbled upon this afternoon:


A landmark birthday for former Monkee Davy Jones

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LONDON (KP International) - Following in the ever-slowing footsteps of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ray Davies and Sir Paul McCartney, another British music icon of the Sixties has entered his own sixties. Davy Jones, the diminutive Manchester-born actor/musician, who launched his career at age 16 on the long-running British soap "Coronation Street" and starred in both West End and Broadway productions of "Oliver!" but is best remembered as lead singer for The Monkees, celebrated his 60th birthday on December 30.

I always did like the Monkees. Could you imagine if THEY were still around longetivity-wise, like the Stones? To me, they were a decent enough group. Yes, they weren't the Stones, the Beatles, the Who or even...I don't know...Herman's Hermits (lol), but their music was, imo, enjoyable! Having said that, happy belated birthday Davy and long live the Monkees!!! And no, I'm not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol...I'm just Monkee-ing around...

Davy Jones and David Cassidy were my first crushes ever (is 4 too young to have a crush?)

I always liked The Monkees too. I'll always have a soft spot for that bubble-gum pop from that era. My son and I dance to Sugar Sugar, Tommy Roe, and the Bay City Rollers all the time. That's my dirty little secret. Shhhh!

Wasn't looking too good, but I was feeling real well.

CindyC Wrote:
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> My son and I dance to Sugar Sugar, Tommy Roe,
> and the Bay City Rollers all the time. That's my
> dirty little secret. Shhhh!


Okay Cindy, I won't tell anyone else about your "dirty little secret". lol Hey, the Bay City Rollers were the first "rock group" (can I call them that?) that I ever listened to! Hell, I have Saturday Night and Yesterday's Hero in my computer! Later on I branched out and started listening to AC/DC and David Bowie but the Monkees and the Rollers will always be cool with me!

Don't forget about Rock N Roll Love Letter! That song is great too.

Ok, one more thing I'll admit. At my wedding the song my husband and I danced to was the BCRs "The Way I Feel Tonight". (not his choice, I sprung that on him at the last minute, hehe, you should've seen his face!)

Love Bowie, was listening to the second Sound & Vision most of yesterday. I love that mix of 1984/dodo.


Wasn't looking too good, but I was feeling real well.

Who is this journalist. He should have written Sir Mick Jagger !!!

phd Wrote:
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> Who is this journalist. He should have written Sir
> Mick Jagger !!!


Agreed phd! I saw the Sir Paul part and thought the same thing.

I'm sure many here know the connection between Davy Jones and David Bowie. Bowie's last name is actually Jones, too, but he changed it to Bowie since there already was a Davy Jones.
Also, Jimi Hendrix's first tour was opening for the Monkees!

DGA35 Wrote:
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> I'm sure many here know the connection between
> Davy Jones and David Bowie. Bowie's last name is
> actually Jones, too, but he changed it to Bowie
> since there already was a Davy Jones.
> Also, Jimi Hendrix's first tour was opening for
> the Monkees!


That's the most interesting part DGA, the last name change. I read about that in a book called Stardust: The David Bowie Story. Good read.

I like Last Train To Clarksville and I'm Not Your Stepping Stone. What other Monkees songs are good, you Monkees experts?

ohnonotyouagain Wrote:
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> I like Last Train To Clarksville and I'm Not Your
> Stepping Stone. What other Monkees songs are good,
> you Monkees experts?

The other very well known one is "I'm a Believer"...

Want to start on great "Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs" or Herman's Hermits next ?


"It's just that demon life has got me in it's sway..."

I think the biggest Monkees song was Daydream Believer, sung by Davy. Their management wanted them to record Sugar, Sugar but they passed on it so it was done by The Archies.
For a very brief period in the late 60's, the Monkees were the biggest band on the planet. I've read stories about teen magazines having headlines like Beatles vs. The Monkees! I'm sure that since the Monkees were all actors hired to play the roles, they were in awe of the Beatles.

Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode when Marcia tries desperately to get Davey Jones to sing at her high school prom? And speaking of made-for-TV musical groups, how about Shirley Jones (who is 71 now) in a new movie where she takes up with a guy less than half her age? It's called Grandma's Boy and comes out Jan. 6 in the U.S.

Edith Grove Wrote:
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> Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode when
> Marcia tries desperately to get Davey Jones to
> sing at her high school prom? And speaking of
> made-for-TV musical groups, how about Shirley
> Jones (who is 71 now) in a new movie where she
> takes up with a guy less than half her age? It's
> called Grandma's Boy and comes out Jan. 6 in the
> U.S.


Yeah I've seen commercials for that Edith. Could be interesting to go and see.

Ohnonotyouagain,

Try "Daily Nightly" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" from their Pisces, Aquarius lp. Great tunes! And of course "Porpoise Song" from Head.

Charles Baudelaire
1821-1867

Davy was my first crush also and then Mom and Pop put me into therapy.

Actually, Davy Jones and Mike Mesmith share the same birthday.
Indeed their best album is Pisces Acquaris...
It's sort of a minor psychadelic masterpiece.
Good songs, early use of Moog Synth, and Doug Dillard playing electric banjo.
The Head "soundtrack" is also interesting listening.
Also check out Nesmith's Nashville recordings done in mid 1968
(spread out over the Missing Links 2 and 3 CDs plus the single
Listen To The Band). These recordings are just as important
as Parsons' and the Byrds Sweethart album of the same period
regarding country-rock. In fact, I alwasys have a Nesmith song
in my setlist to this day when I gig. SAw him years ago
at the Paladino and Al Perkins was playing guitar for him. Great show.

little bit me ,little bit u ,thats my fav 1 sung by him ,but my fav monkee track Mary Mary from the dvd , the greatest AIR guitar , drum & keyboard band in the world ,fake fake fake , until their 5th album that is

ohnonotyouagain wrote on January 2, 2006

_I like Last Train To Clarksville and I'm Not Your Stepping Stone. What other Monkees songs are good, you Monkees experts?_

Many are even better than those two you like. I especially like their later material ('68-'70 and the '96 album) which tends to be a bit all over the place.
'Mommy And Daddy", the unedited version, is every bit as good as stuff Jefferson Airplane were putting out in the same strange-hippie-protest vein. Tracks like 'Bye Bye Baby Bye Bye', 'Midnight Train', 'Merry Go Round', 'Listen To The Band', 'Long Title', 'Shorty Blackwell','You And I', 'Circle Sky', 'Goin' Down', 'I Believe You'...just a few of the great songs The Monkees recorded and in these cases also wrote. They are slowly receiving some real credit these days from the serious rock critical establishment who are beginning to understand their influence and significance beyond the early hit material and silly TV show. I just recently saw a reference to the Monkees album _Changes_ in a review for a Can album- not something I would have expected.

Edith Grove Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode when
> Marcia tries desperately to get Davey Jones to
> sing at her high school prom? And speaking of
> made-for-TV musical groups, how about Shirley
> Jones (who is 71 now) in a new movie where she
> takes up with a guy less than half her age? It's
> called Grandma's Boy and comes out Jan. 6 in the
> U.S.


I wonder if he banged her

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

ohnonotyouagain Wrote:
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> I like Last Train To Clarksville and I'm Not Your
> Stepping Stone. What other Monkees songs are good,
> you Monkees experts?

The Monkees catalogue is a very fine one indeed. For a brief period they had some of the best pop songwriters and pop session musicians playing on their albums....good stuff. No apology required.

Another great Monkees album is "Live '67", recorded over the last few nights of their summer '67 tour (the one that had Hendrix as the opening act on a few shows) - pure garage rock at its finest. Great versions of "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Mary, Mary", "Sunny Girlfriend", and an absolutely killer "Steppin' Stone".

Headquarters is probably my favorite Monkees album - it's not as polished as Pisces, Aquarius or Birds & Bees, but it's got that certain something . . . the enthusiasm of the guys getting musical control and playing on record for the first time really comes through.

Oh, and just to tie it in - Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith both sported black armbands in protest of Mick & Keith's incarceration at their Wembley shows in June, '67.

Headquarters is a great album indeed - 'You Told Me' (I think that's the one with the banjo intro, right?), 'You Just May Be The One', 'No Time', 'Randy Scouse Git', 'The Girl I Knew Somewhere'... great songs. 'Daily Nightly' is my favorite, with the great use of Moog, as well as 'Porpoise Song' and the live version of 'Circle Sky'. They were a great band - so what if most of their songs were performed by session musicians?

The Monkees started like the Milli Vanilli of the 60's. Long time before Vanilli was born. Studio musicians played the instruments.
They were a fabricated group that got a quick break through because of their TV-show.
But pretty soon the Monkees learned to handle the instruments and did it very well. They made a lots of great songs and a compilation by them is a must imo.

Hmmm ... I may be coming around to all this monkeeing around. Is there a best of type compilation that's worth getting? So many Best Of collections aren't worth owning because they leave out too much of the good stuff.

J.J.Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Edith Grove Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode when
> > Marcia tries desperately to get Davey Jones
> to
> > sing at her high school prom? And speaking
> of
> > made-for-TV musical groups, how about
> Shirley
> > Jones (who is 71 now) in a new movie where
> she
> > takes up with a guy less than half her age?
> It's
> > called Grandma's Boy and comes out Jan. 6 in
> the
> > U.S.
>
>
> I wonder if he banged her
>
> Marcia, Marcia, Marcia


Lucky bastard if he did! I always had it for Ms. McCormick. Still do. I've seen her a couple of times on VH1 in recent years. She's taken great care of herself.

ONNYA -

If I were you I'd start with "The Monkees Anthology" - it's a 2 CD package. The amazon.com description:

"The first comprehensive Rhino two-disc anthology highlighting The Monkees' overall career, including all the '60s hits and dozens of key album tracks up through the "Justus" album. Containing no unreleased material, this is the ideal package for the new Monkee fan, or for the fan who wants more than the Greatest Hits material but isn't up to buying all the original albums."

Don't worry - there are only 3 or 4 songs from the '80s and '90s. You can get it on amazon used for, like, $15.

JuanTCB Wrote:
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> ONNYA -
>
> If I were you I'd start with "The Monkees
> Anthology" - it's a 2 CD package. The amazon.com
> description:
>
> "The first comprehensive Rhino two-disc anthology
> highlighting The Monkees' overall career,
> including all the '60s hits and dozens of key
> album tracks up through the "Justus" album.
> Containing no unreleased material, this is the
> ideal package for the new Monkee fan, or for the
> fan who wants more than the Greatest Hits material
> but isn't up to buying all the original albums."
>
> Don't worry - there are only 3 or 4 songs from the
> '80s and '90s. You can get it on amazon used for,
> like, $15.

Sounds good. I had no idea they recorded anything in the '80s or '90s.

Edith Grove Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> J.J.Flash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Edith Grove Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode
> when
> > > Marcia tries desperately to get Davey
> Jones
> > to
> > > sing at her high school prom? And
> speaking
> > of
> > > made-for-TV musical groups, how about
> > Shirley
> > > Jones (who is 71 now) in a new movie
> where
> > she
> > > takes up with a guy less than half her
> age?
> > It's
> > > called Grandma's Boy and comes out Jan.
> 6 in
> > the
> > > U.S.
> >
> >
> > I wonder if he banged her
> >
> > Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
>
>
> Lucky bastard if he did! I always had it for Ms.
> McCormick. Still do. I've seen her a couple of
> times on VH1 in recent years. She's taken great
> care of herself.

I'm with you on that! And the woman who played Marcia in the Brady Bunch movies, Christine Taylor, is pretty damn hot as well. She's married to Ben Stiller, another lucky bastard.