Hey, Hey we’re the Monkees,
And people say we Monkee around,
But we’re too busy singing,
To put anybody down
If you’re my age (yes, admit it, we’re old) you couldn’t get that jingle out of your head yesterday afternoon.
That’s because Davy Jones died. He was the Brit heartthrob who served as the lead singer and front man of The Monkees.
I was reminded of just how old I am when I waltzed out to the newsroom and asked for a show of hands of who remembers The Monkees.
Just what you might expect, people of my age all wanted to know why. Our younger staff members looked a bit perplexed.
The Monkees were the first made-for-TV pop music act.
In a way, you could call them the forerunner of MTV.
Jones, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz answered a casting call for the TV show about a rock band.
It was 1966. The Beatles had already conquered America, and the Rolling Stones were busy sullying it, or at least that was the fear of many parents.
The Monkees were ready for prime time. They also were clean cut, something that was still important back then, when a lot of adults were beginning to cast a wary eye on the music that had so captivated their kids.
All I know is that you can forget the great car, a souped-up GTO called the Monkeemobile. And you can have the trademark double-breasted shirts and belts with the huge buckle. You can even keep Nesmith’s blue wool hat, which became standard fare for a lot of kids.
For me it will always be about the music. These guys were actors, but backed by some of the best writers in the world, they created a string of pop standards that still bring a smile to your face.
“Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” “Daydream Believer” all are flat-out great songs.
It’s funny that back then, when rock ‘n’ roll started to turn to the darker side in the late '60s and early '70s, how a lot of teens, me included, started to look down our nose at acts like the Monkees. But more than four decades later, the songs are what you remember, and what make you smile.
These guys may have been the Prefab Four, as they sometimes were mocked as a classic ripoff of the Beatles. But the music was solid gold. As were the voices of Davy Jones Jones and Mickey Dolenz.
They say you can’t go back again. That’s what’s great about music. It allows us to remember another time, another era.
Davy Jones died yesterday at 66. The music he and his pals created is ageless.
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