He died today.
Here is the group singing one of my favorite songs I’m a Believer. He’s the one with the tambourine.
Incidentally Neil Diamond wrote this song, which had a resurgence when Smash Mouth did a cover (also very good) that was played in the hit film Shrek.
I had a HUGE crush on Davy Jones when I was a little girl…
I thought Davy Jones and the rest of the Monkees were the best, most hilarious thing in the world when I was a young child.
Plus, Jone also appeared in a stage production of The Point!.
I seem to recall that Neil Diamond did not want to give “I’m a Believer” to the Monkees, but was forced to do so by his manager, Don Kirchner, who was also the manager for the Monkees. This shows the importance of having the right manager.
I was never a fan of the Monkees, the TV show being before my time. But they were credible as musicians, which is surprising despite two of them being actors and not singers. The sad thing is they started the trend of “manufactured bands” of which all others since are unlistenable (e.g. Spice Girls, New Kids On The Block, etc.).
Here’s a cover of one of the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer”, by Shonen Knife (one of my ten favourite groups). Shonen Knife have done a number of covers, most notably the cover of “Top Of The World” used by Microsoft, though their best songs are the ones they write themselves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9RAbi2xEvo
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