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I was 12 years old when The Monkees TV Show debuted in 1966. I loved their quirky style. I was quickly hooked on the television show and the group. I still think their opening production number Hey, Hey We're The Monkees is one of the most memorable ever. Every girl I knew was either a Davy Jones girl or a Mickey Dolenz girl. I was instantly in love with the diminutive Davy. He was cute and sweet and dreamy.
It was at about the same time that Tiger Beat magazine was first published. I waited impatiently for every issue so I could get every new picture of Davy. I must have driven my mother crazy asking her to buy me a new Tiger Beat every time we went to the grocery store. I immediately started collecting them and thumb tacking ALL the pictures of Davy to my bedroom wall. We lived in a rent house and were not supposed to put holes in the wall, so my father forbade me from tacking them up. So, I came up with the brilliant idea of gluing them together at the corners to form a collage that would only be tacked at the corners. What I didn't realize was that every spot of glue was going all the way through and sticking each and every picture to the wall. I got in so much trouble, but it was well worth it. I spent many happy hours in my top bunk bed dreaming of Davy.
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I knew all the words to songs like Daydream Believer, Last Train to Clarksville, I'm A Believer, and Pleasant Valley Sunday. Truth be told, I can still sing along with them and I still have the albums.
I was thrilled a few years later when Davy appeared on the Brady Bunch. Showing up for Marcia's school dance seemed like just the sweet kind of thing he would really do.
I was also delighted in the 1980's when my daughter discovered The Monkees thanks to MTV. She found my old albums and played them over and over again. It did my heart so much good.
I have often heard The Monkees referred to as a "made up" group who didn't have any talent. But I must disagree strongly. They may have been the first of the boy bands, put together by a promoter as America's answer to The Beatles, but they also had real talent. A lot of people don't know that Davy Jones played The Artful Dodger in both London and Broadway productions of Oliver! He was nominated for a Tony award for his Broadway performance.
Rest in peace Davy Jones. I'll always be a Daydream Believer.
