Davy Jones - Television Actor, Singer - Biography.com » quotes “I got hate letters from girls all over America because I wouldn't go to the prom with them.” “Justin Bieber stole my haircut. And Axl Rose stole my dance!” Davy Jones Davy Jones - Preview (TV-14; 3:00) The Monkees member Davy Jones will always be the cute singer and tambourine player with stars in his eyes. After The Monkees, he continued to his sing and act. Davy Jones passed away on 2/29/2012. Synopsis The Monkees debuted on television in September 1966, and Davy Jones attracted a lot of attention from fans for his charm, wit, warm sense of humor and boyish good looks. The Monkees soon scored on the music charts with hits like "I'm a Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Daydream Believer"—covers of songs originally released by Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and John Stewart, respectively—and their albums sold millions of copies. Jones later wrote several autobiographies, including 1987's They Made a Monkee Out of Me.

Early Life A member of the Monkees, Davy Jones became a popular teen idol in the late 1960s. He began an acting career at the age of 11, winning a role on the popular British soap opera Coronation Street. Jones trained to become a jockey for a time, but gave up that career path to perform on stage. He played the Artful Dodger in a London production of the musical Oliver!, reprising the role for his Broadway debut in 1963. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance that same year. Jones landed a few television guest appearances and other roles before landing his big break: Along with Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz, he was selected to perform on a new TV series about a rock group modeled after the Beatles. The Monkees debuted in September 1966, with audiences adoring the humorous antics of the manufactured band. Jones especially attracted attention from fans due to his charm and boyish good looks. The Monkees It wasn't long before the Monkees scored on the music charts. Their version of Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville" were their first No. 1 hits.

More successful singles followed, including another Neil Diamond tune, "Little Bit Me, Little Bit You"; Gerry Goffin's and Carole King's "Pleasant Valley Sunday"; and "Daydream Believer" by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio. Their albums sold millions of copies. The Monkees even starred in their own feature film, Head, released in 1968. Unfortunately for the so-called "Pre-Fab Four," the movie was a box-office dued. That same year, their series was canceled and Tork left the group. Jones and the remaining members soldiered on for a while, releasing 1969's Instant Replay before splitting up. Thereafter, Jones continued acting and singing. He released a self-titled album in 1971. That same year, he made a memorable appearance on the hit family sitcom The Brady Bunch, playing himself as well as Marsha Brady's dream date for the prom. Jones had guest roles on a number of other shows, capitalizing on his popularity as a teen idol. Returning to music, Jones teamed up with Dolenz and former Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to work on a new project.

The group released one album together in 1976, which failed to make much of an impression on the music-buying public. There was a renewed interest in the Monkees, however, in the 1980s, when some of the group's original recordings returned to the charts. In 1986, Dolenz, Tork and Jones reunited for a concert tour. That same year, they released a greatest hits collection, Then and Now, featuring a new track, "That Was Then, This Is Now." Reruns of the group's series began airing on MTV in 1987, giving the band even more of a boost. That same year, the Monkees released the album Pool It!. Nesmith returned to the group in the mid-1990s for a successful tour and a new album, 1996's Justus. While the new recording failed to make the charts, the Monkees' previous albums have remained strong sellers over the years. In 2003, The Best of the Monkees reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart. Later Years Outside of his work with the Monkees, Jones continued to act.

He had a cameo in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and appeared on such shows as Boy Meets World, The Single Guy and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. On the London stage, he appeared in Oliver!—this time playing Fagin. He also starred as Jesus in a revival of Godspell. Known for his wit and warm sense of humor, Jones wrote several autobiographies, including 1987's They Made a Monkee Out of Me. He also owned several thoroughbred race horses. Music, however, has remained his main passion. He has recorded several solo albums, including 2001's Just Me. In his later years, Jones spent much of the year on tour with his band. He released a collection of his most requested songs, entitled Incredible Revisited, in 2008. He also made numerous personal appearances to meet up with fans and participated in a number of sporting events for charity. Active until the end, Jones died on February 29, 2012, in Stuart, Florida, after suffering a heart attack.

He was survived by his wife, Jessica; four daughters from previous relationships, Annabel, Talia, Jessica and Sarah; and several grandchildren. Videos Davy Jones, a Singer in the Monkees, Dies at 66 - The New York Times The New York Times Music |Davy Jones, Monkees Singer, Dies at 66 Search Continue reading the main story Photo The Monkees in their heyday: from left, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz. Mr. Jones died on Wednesday at age 66. Credit via Reuters Davy Jones, by long-held public consensus the handsomest and most popular of the Monkees , the collectively young, longhaired, wildly famous and preternaturally buoyant pop group of the 1960s and afterward, died on Wednesday in Indiantown, Fla. He was 66. The apparent cause was a heart attack, his publicist, Helen Kensick, said. Created in 1966, the Monkees comprised Mr. Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork. The group sold millions of records.

Its recording of “Daydream Believer,” by John Stewart, became a No. 1 single, as did its recording of “Last Train to Clarksville,” by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and its cover of Neil Diamond’s “I’m a Believer.” Though the Monkees officially lasted only until the early ’70s, they reconvened sporadically for decades. For much of that time Mr. Jones also toured as a solo singer-songwriter; among his last performances was one on Feb. 18 at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill in Manhattan. For all the Monkees’ chart-topping acclaim, the group never pretended to be anything other than what it was: a smoke-and-mirrors incarnation of a pop group reminiscent of that mop-topped one from Liverpool, created for a benignly psychedelic American TV sitcom. Continue reading the main story Broadcast on NBC, “The Monkees” lasted just two seasons, from September 1966 to March 1968, and featured Messrs. Jones, Dolenz, Nesmith and Tork as members of a freewheeling, fun-loving, beach-house-dwelling, up-and-coming pop group.

The show won two Emmys in 1967: for outstanding comedy series and, to the director James Frawley, for outstanding directorial achievement in comedy. Advertisement To this day, its theme song is hard-wired into the baby-boomer brain: Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees, and people say we monkey around. But we’re too busy singing to put anybody down. While the four did much of their own singing, they were relatively unbusy playing. Though each played an instrument — growing more proficient with time — most of the instrumentals on their albums were supplied by studio musicians. (On one album, “Headquarters,” released in 1967, the Monkees played their instruments themselves.) The group’s critical reception was not unsurpassed. In 1967, in an article about one of the Monkees’ relatively rare live concerts of the period, at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, The New York Times said: “Frequently during the performance, sound that resembled the lowing of a sick cow hovered over the stadium. This turned out to be one of those horns often heard at Shea Stadium during baseball games.

It didn’t seem to hurt the musical evening.” But the critics could not dim the profuse enthusiasm of fans, who were overwhelmingly young, female and shrieking — tweeners before the word was applied to that demographic. This adulation (and in later years nostalgia) kept the Monkees going, in various incarnations, on and off for decades. Last year three-quarters of the group, absent Mr. Nesmith, briefly toured Britain and the United States before cutting the tour short because of unspecified internal dissension. Photo Davy Jones of the Monkees performed live at the Manchester Apollo last May. Credit Mike Gray/European Pressphoto Agency The group’s frontman and the only actual Englishman of the four, Mr. Jones was inclined to elicit the loudest shrieks of all. An index of his appeal was his guest appearance on a memorable episode of “ The Brady Bunch ” from 1971 entitled “Getting Davy Jones.” In it, Mr. Jones, playing himself, saves Marcia, the family’s eldest daughter, from social ruin by attending her prom. Television and the stage were actually Mr. Jones’s original vocations. David Thomas Jones was born on Dec.

30, 1945, in Manchester, England. A child actor, he appeared on “Coronation Street,” the British soap opera that went on the air in 1960 and is still running, and in the police drama “Z Cars.” After his mother’s death when he was a teenager, he abandoned acting. Slight of build — he stood not much more than 5 feet tall in his prime — he began to train as a jockey. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy Lured back into the theater a few years later, he played the Artful Dodger in the West End musical “Oliver!” When the production moved to Broadway in 1963, he reprised the role (billed as David Jones), earning a Tony nomination as best featured actor in a musical. Appearing with the cast of “Oliver!” on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” Mr. Jones had a transformative moment. After the cast sang, he heard wild cheering. But alas it was not for them: it was for the Beatles, also booked on the show that day.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I thought: Is that what happens when you’re a pop singer?” Mr. Jones told The Palm Beach Post in 2004. “I want to be part of that!” His work on Broadway led to guest roles on a few mid-’60s television shows, including “Ben Casey” and “The Farmer’s Daughter.” He was signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television, which produced “The Monkees.” Mr. Jones, who had homes in Hollywood, Fla., and Beavertown, Pa., spent his later years touring; acting occasionally on television shows like “My Two Dads” and “Boy Meets World”; raising horses; and recording, including the well-received solo album “Just Me” (2001), which featured his original songs. Whatever Monkeedom still attached to him (and it was considerable) did not dismay him. “People ask me if I ever get sick of playing ‘Daydream Believer’ or whatever,” he told The Chicago Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper, in 2006. “But I don’t look at it that way.

Do they ask if Tony Bennett is tired of ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’?” Mr. Jones’s first marriage, to Linda Haines, ended in divorce, as did his second, to Anita Pollinger. His survivors include his third wife, Jessica Pacheco; two daughters from his first marriage, Talia Jones and Sarah McFadden; two daughters from his second marriage, Jessica Cramar and Annabel Jones; three sisters, Hazel Wilkinson, Lynda Moore and Beryl Leigh; and three grandchildren. The other three members of the Monkees also survive. Perhaps Mr. Jones’s most enduring legacy takes the form of a name. The name belongs to another English musician, who burst on the scene some years after the Monkees. This man, too, had been born David Jones. But thanks to the Monkees’ renown, he knew he would have to adopt another name entirely if he was to have the hope of a career. So he called himself David Bowie. Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on March 1, 2012, on Page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: Davy Jones Dies at 66; Heartthrob in the Monkees. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Davy Jones, member of the Monkees, dies at 66 - latimes March 01, 2012 |By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times Associated Press (68477252.jpg ) Davy Jones was a promising 18-year-old actor from England when he found himself among the guest performers on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Feb. 9, 1964 — the same night about 75 million people tuned in to catch the American debut of the Beatles. Like so many others who watched the show from near and far, Jones considered it a life-changing experience. Looking on from the wings as hundreds of teenagers, mostly girls, were screaming ecstatically while listening to the four musicians who came from a town only 20 miles away from his own hometown of Manchester, Jones knew then he wanted a career in pop music rather than theater.

A little more than a year later he auditioned for and was accepted as a member of the Monkees, a pop band created for a television show developed in the wake of the success of the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" film. PHOTOS: Davy Jones | 1945-2012 The new group's fame quickly came to rival that of the Fab Four after NBC-TV executives put Jones and bandmates Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork into the living rooms of millions of viewers every Monday night. The show ran from 1966 to 1968. Jones, who died Wednesday at 66 of a heart attack in Martin County, Fla., was the group's counterpart to Beatle Paul McCartney as the Monkees' romantic heartthrob, and his British accent lent the band a dash of international intrigue in songs on which he was the lead singer, including a couple of their biggest hits, "Daydream Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You." "That David has stepped beyond my view causes me the sadness that it does many of you," Nesmith wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

"I will miss him, but I won't abandon him to mortality.… David's spirit and soul live well in my heart." Although initially dismissed in music circles as a television fantasy more than a musical reality, the Monkees charted nearly two dozen singles during a heyday from 1966 to 1970 and became the first, and only, act to score four No. 1 albums on the Billboard chart in the same calendar year. "It's a sad day for me," said filmmaker Bob Rafelson, co-creator of "The Monkees" with Bert Schneider who also produced their avant-garde 1968 film "Head." "Of all the films I've made that have received attention from the Academy Awards, or Cannes [Film Festival] or the New York Film Critics Awards, nothing ever pleased me more than hearing a [radio] announcer say 'Here's Davy Jones singing "Daydream Believer." ' " Although never inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Monkees have long been lauded for the boost they gave many songwriters by recording their compositions, including Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Harry Nilsson, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and John Stewart.

It was Jones who strongly lobbied for the group to record "Cuddly Toy," a song written by Nilsson, who was then supporting himself as a computer programmer for a bank in the San Fernando Valley. Later known as the composer of the Three Dog Night hit "One" and the singer on hits of his own such as "Without You" and "Everybody's Talking," Nilsson's big break came from the Monkees. "Back in 1967 it meant something for them to record one of your songs," said John Scheinfeld, writer and producer of the 2010 documentary "Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?" "In our film, Micky told the story of how Harry and Davy and Harry's publisher Lester Sill were walking out of the studio after the recording session, and Lester turned to Harry and said, 'Well, you can quit your job at the bank now.' It drew a lot of attention to Harry." David Thomas Jones was born Dec. 30, 1945, and gained success in his native country as a child actor with roles in different series shown on the BBC.

At 11, he had an important role in the long-running soap opera "Coronation Street." After a successful run on London's West End as the Artful Dodger in a production of the musical "Oliver!" in his teens, Jones re-created the part on Broadway, landing a Tony Award nomination. It was that production that was highlighted by Sullivan in the same show on which the Beatles appeared for the first time. He also trained to be a jockey — he stood 5 feet 3 — and his passion for horses stayed with him through his life. Rafelson said he and Schneider auditioned 437 actors and musicians, including Stephen Stills, David Crosby, the Lovin' Spoonful and future members of Three Dog Night, before zeroing in on the four who became the Monkees. Some of the band members' desire to be taken seriously musically led to notorious power struggles with TV and music publishing executives. But that wasn't a big concern for Jones.

The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 - CNN.com The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 By Ashley Hayes and Todd Leopold, CNN Updated 7:16 PM ET, Tue December 11, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – British singer and actor Davy Jones poses for a portrait around 1960. Jones, whose charming grin and British accent won the hearts of millions of fans of the 1960s television series "The Monkees," died Wednesday, according to the Martin County, Florida, sheriff's office. He was 66. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – The Monkees -- Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, top, and Davy Jones and Michael Nesmith -- pose for a group portrait in 1967.

The pop group was created to star in an NBC sitcom and capitalize on the Beatles' teenybopper popularity. "The Monkees" TV series premiered in the fall of 1966. Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – The band performs in 1967. In terms of musical popularity, the project succeeded beyond anyone's expectations, with the group notching a handful of No. 1 songs (including "I'm a Believer," Billboard's top song of 1967) and four No. 1 albums. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Jones hangs from a trapeze in 1967. Though the TV show was never a huge ratings hit, its knockabout, Marx Brothers-style comedy -- inspired, to an extent, by the loopier sequences in the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" -- gained fans and followers, reigniting the band's popularity when MTV reran the show in the mid-'80s.

Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Jones buries fellow members of The Monkees in 1967. The diminutive vocalist and actor sang lead on the musical group's hits such as "Daydream Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You." Hide Caption Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Jones gives an interview in 1967. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Jones is caught by the camera leaving London Airport circa 1968. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 01 – The Monkees pose for an early 1970s promotional portrait.

Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Dolenz, from left, Tork and Jones promote their tour in London in 1989. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – The Monkees arrive at Melbourne airport in Australia in 1968. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – The Monkees dressed as "mad scientists" in the early 1970s for their television show. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Band members pose for a promotional photo in the 1970's.

Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Jones speaks at a panel on "60's Pop Rock: My Music" in 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – Tork, from left, Jones and Dolenz pose during a portrait session to announce the band's 45th anniversary tour in London in 2011. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 The Monkees' Davy Jones dead at 66 – A wreath honoring Jones sits by the Monkees' star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Wednesday, February 29.

Hide Caption Davy Jones sang lead on several of The Monkees' hits Source: Jones suffered an apparent heart attack "The Monkees" television series premiered in 1966 and lasted for two seasons Davy Jones, whose charming grin and British accent won the hearts of millions of fans on the 1960s television series "The Monkees," died Wednesday, according to the Martin County, Florida, sheriff's office. He was 66. A witness told authorities he was with Jones in Indiantown, Florida, when Jones "began to complain of not feeling well and having trouble breathing," the sheriff's office said in a statement. Jones was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. A Martin County law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said Jones apparently suffered a heart attack. Laurie Jacobson, whose company Living Legends LTD often booked Jones for Hollywood nostalgia shows, spoke with him two days ago about several new bookings.

JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH Micky Dolenz on the death of Davy Jones 01:59 The diminutive vocalist and actor sang lead on the musical group's hits such as "Daydream Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You." Photos: Fans say goodbye to Davy Jones Photos: Fans say goodbye to Davy Jones Before the Monkees – Gretchen Van Aken became fast friends with Jones in the Broadway cast of "Oliver!" "Davy got away with murder on and off stage, but he would never be fired because he always managed to do his job and he always got standing ovations at the curtain calls." Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Fans say goodbye to Davy Jones Jones in 2012 – Rebecca Anderson and Sara Mullen took this photo with Jones on February 23. Hide Caption 9 of 9 Besides Jones, The Monkees included band members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. The pop group was created to star in an NBC sitcom and capitalize on the Beatles' teenybopper popularity. "The Monkees" TV series premiered in the fall of 1966.

Share your memories of Davy Jones on iReport In terms of musical popularity, the project succeeded beyond anyone's expectations, with the group notching a handful of No. 1 songs (including "I'm a Believer," Billboard's top song of 1967) and four No. 1 albums. The group, which was dubbed the "prefab four" by critics, rebelled against its management in an effort to take control of its musical career. The move worked to an extent -- band members, who had generally been replaced by session men on Monkees recordings, were allowed to play their own instruments and contribute songs -- but coincided with a decline in the Monkees' popularity. NBC canceled the TV series "The Monkees" after just two seasons, and the band lasted for only one more year after that. Though the TV show was never a huge ratings hit, its knockabout, Marx Brothers-style comedy -- inspired, to an extent, by the loopier sequences in the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" -- gained fans and followers, reigniting the band's popularity when MTV reran the show in the mid-'80s. Demand for Jones at nostalgia shows was brisk, Jacobson said.

"He's been really busy," she said. "He's toured with his band, singing as well. He loved to pick up these little autograph shows. He loved the fans, he loved spending time with his fans. He often got on stage and performed at these shows. The lines for him were always out the door." The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said flowers in honor of Jones would be placed on The Monkees' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday afternoon. "That David has stepped beyond my view causes me the sadness that it does many of you," Nesmith posted on his Facebook page Wednesday. "I will miss him, but I won't abandon him to mortality ... David's spirit and soul live well in my heart, among all the lovely people, who remember with me the good times, and the healing times, that were created for so many, including us." "His talent will be much missed; his gifts will be with us always," said fellow Monkee Peter Tork. "My deepest sympathy to Jessica and the rest of his family." Beatle Ringo Starr issued a short statement: "God bless Davy.

Peace & love to his family, Ringo." David Thomas Jones was born December 30, 1945, in Manchester, England. He was already famous in his home country when he joined the Monkees. He had starred in the musical "Oliver!" on the London stage as the Artful Dodger and was nominated for a Tony for his performance on Broadway, according to a biography on a Monkees fan site. Indeed, he got a taste of the Beatles' popularity when the "Oliver!" cast appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 9, 1964 -- the date of the Beatles' first appearance. After the Monkees broke up, Jones enjoyed occasional acting roles, including a guest spot on an episode of "The Brady Bunch" and appearances in "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Brady Bunch Movie." When he wasn't singing -- he participated in several Monkees reunions over the years -- he was devoted to owning and racing horses. Jones was married three times. He is survived by his third wife, Jessica Pacheco, and four daughters from his two previous marriages.

He told Britain's Daily Mail last year that he used to be 5 feet 4 inches tall, "but I've lost an inch." He posted photographs of his horses, his grandchildren and himself on his blog, "Keep up with Jones," sometimes also posting messages to fans. "I wrote some time ago that not everyone has dreams and hopes that come true," he wrote in a January 2011 message. "Mine have. "Regrets, yes -- if you don't have them you're a fool. However, I thank all of you -- yeah, you -- for your support and love." Davy Jones obituary | Music | The Guardian Davy Jones obituary Former child actor who became a star with the 60s pop group the Monkees The Monkees with Jones, left, and from left, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork.

Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives Wednesday 29 February 2012 15.44 EST First published on Wednesday 29 February 2012 15.44 EST Share on Messenger Close Despite their obvious debt to the Beatles, the Monkees were one of the most successful and well-loved pop groups of the late 1960s. Their only British member was Davy Jones , a former child actor, who has died after a heart attack, aged 66. The independent producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider came up with the idea of a television series featuring the antics of a pop group that would issue singles and albums in tandem with the show. Auditions were held in Hollywood for "four insane boys", and Jones was one of the first in line. He was eventually chosen, along with three Americans: Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith were accomplished rock guitarists, while Micky Dolenz, like Jones, had been a child actor. Clearly inspired by the Beatles, and in particular their 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, The Monkees quickly climbed the television ratings in the US after the show's launch in 1966.

The misgivings of critics were partly assuaged by the quality of the songs provided for the group by the cream of New York's pop composers, including Neil Diamond and Carole King. Each Monkee was given some personality traits, with Jones playing the cheeky chappie, with an accent that most Americans could mistake for Liverpudlian. The accompanying singles were equally successful and there were six million-sellers in less than two years. Lead vocals were shared, with Jones giving his best performance on Daydream Believer, composed by John Stewart, from the 1967 album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. This was to be the artistic and commercial peak for the group, as the second television series attracted fewer viewers and the Monkees' attempt at artistic freedom, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees (1968) impressed neither critics nor record buyers. The band also toured the US, but their enthusiasm for Jimi Hendrix, whom they invited to open the show, was not shared by their fans, who booed him off stage.

The group made an ambitious anti-war comedy film, Head (1968) , with Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, but soon afterwards they began to fall apart. Both Tork and Nesmith left in 1969, leaving Jones and Dolenz to record the final album, Changes, in 1970. The group was finally dissolved in 1971. Jones was born in Openshaw, Manchester. He showed early talent as an actor and at 14 he was chosen to join the cast of Granada TV's soap opera Coronation Street. Jones played Colin Lomax, the chirpy grandson of the matriarch Ena Sharples. This role led to three small parts in the police series Z-Cars. Jones then pursued a career as an apprentice jockey, but returned to the stage after successfully auditioning to take over the part of the Artful Dodger in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! He was in the cast when the London production transferred to Broadway in 1963. In February 1964 a "Brit" edition of the Ed Sullivan Show included the cast of Oliver! alongside the Beatles.

Jones later told an interviewer that the adulation that greeted the Fab Four gave him the ambition to become a pop star. The Sullivan show led to a contract with Screen Gems, the small-screen subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. Jones appeared in two television series and made an album for the in-house record label before Screen Gems bought in to the concept of the Monkees. In the early 1970s, he continued to perform as a solo singer and in 1975 he briefly formed a new group with Dolenz, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, the composers of the Monkees' theme song. During the following decade he occasionally returned to the stage, playing in a 1977 London production of The Point!, by the singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. He traded on his Monkee heritage with cameo roles in episodes of several US TV series and also appeared in revivals of Oliver!, this time as Fagin. In the years after the demise of the Monkees, demand grew for a reunion. Jones was the most enthusiastic about a new tour, while Nesmith was obdurate in his refusal.

Finally, in 1987, MTV broadcast the original series, albums were reissued and Jones, Dolenz and Tork played a series of concerts. A new album, Pool It! appeared in 1988 and a further tour took place shortly afterwards. A 45th anniversary reunion tour went ahead last year, and Jones was still happy to be performing: "Wherever I go, people still shout out: 'Hey, hey, we're the Monkees!'," he said. "And I never tire of that." Jones is survived by his third wife, Jessica, and four daughters from his two earlier marriages. • David Thomas Jones, actor, singer and songwriter, born 30 December 1945; died 29 February 2012 The Monkees touch down at Heathrow airport in 1967, to chorus of screaming teenage girls. Published: 1 Mar 2012 The Monkees - Music on Google Play The Monkees About the artist The Monkees are an American-British pop rock band originally active between 1965 and 1971, with subsequent reunion albums and tours in the decades that followed.

They were formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968. The musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork and British actor and singer Davy Jones. The band's music was initially supervised by producer Don Kirshner. Dolenz described the Monkees as initially being "a TV show about an imaginary band ... that wanted to be The Beatles, [but] that was never successful". The actor-musicians, however, soon became a real band. For the first few months of their initial five-year career as "The Monkees", the four actor-musicians were allowed only limited roles in the recording studio. This was due in part to the amount of time required to film the television series. Nonetheless, Nesmith did compose and produce some songs from the beginning, and Peter Tork contributed limited guitar work on the sessions produced by Nesmith. 1 $9.49 Good Times! is the twelfth studio album by The Monkees.

Produced mainly by Adam Schlesinger, the album was recorded to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary. It is the first Monkees studio album ... 1 1 $11.49 Good Times! is the twelfth studio album by The Monkees. Produced mainly by Adam Schlesinger, the album was recorded to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary. It is the first Monkees studio album ... 1 1 $9.49 Justus is the eleventh studio album by The Monkees. The album was recorded in celebration of their 30th anniversary and released on October 15, 1996. This album featured the return of Michael Nesmi... 1 1 $9.49 Pool It!, issued in 1987 by Rhino Records, is the tenth studio release by The Monkees. It was the first "reunion album" by the band after their 1986 rebirth, and it marked the return of Peter Tork ... 1 1 $11.49 Changes is the ninth studio album by The Monkees.

The album was issued after Michael Nesmith's exit from the band, leaving only Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones to fulfill the recording contract they si... 1 $11.49 The Monkees Present is The Monkees' eighth album. By the time recording had begun in earnest for this album, the Monkees had passed their popularity peak, and as Screen Gems cared less and less abo... 1 1 $11.49 Instant Replay is the seventh studio album by The Monkees. Issued six months after the cancellation of the group's NBC television series, it is also the first album released after Peter Tork left t... 1 1 $11.49 The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees is the fifth studio album by The Monkees released in April 1968. It was the first Monkees album not to reach Billboard's number one, peaking at No. 3 in the U.S. c... 1 1 $15.49 Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.

is the fourth album by the Monkees, released on November 6, 1967, when the Monkees were exerting more control over their music and actually playing many of ... 1 Davy Jones 0 David Thomas "Davy" Jones was an English singer-songwriter, musician, actor and businessman best known as a member of the band The Monkees, and for starring in the TV series of the same name. His a... 0 Micky Dolenz 0 George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as the drummer and principal lead singer of the 1960s pop/... 0 Michael Nesmith 0 The comparatively level-headed member of '60s teen sensation the Monkees, Michael Nesmith was the most proficient instrumentalist in the group and wrote their best in-house songs, rootsy pop number... 0 The Beach Boys 0 The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their...

0 0 Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1964. Originally called Herman & The Hermits, they were discovered by Harvey Lisberg, who signed them up to management. Lisberg se... 0 The Turtles 0 The Turtles are an American rock band led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band had several Top 40 hits beginning with their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965. ... 0 The Hollies 0 The Hollies are an English pop/rock group known for their pioneering and distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. The Hollies became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the m... 0 Jan & Dean 0 Jan and Dean were an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence. In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles populariz... 0 The Dave Clark Five 0 The Dave Clark Five was an English pop rock group.

Their single "Glad All Over" knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK Singles Chart in January 1964; it peaked at num... 0 Paul Revere & The Raiders 0 Paul Revere & the Raiders was an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. Among their hits were the songs "Kicks", "Hungry",... 0 The Beatles 0 The Beatles recorded together for a little over seven years. Between October 1962 and May 1970, they released thirteen albums and a number of tracks issued on standalone singles. The catalogue crea... 0 Ringo Starr 0 Richard Starkey, MBE, known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. He occasionally sang lead v... 0 Badfinger 0 Badfinger were a British rock band that, in their most successful lineup, consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. The band evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys t...

0 The Kinks 0 The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, in 1964 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the e... 0 The Association 0 The Association is an American pop band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-of... 0 The Monkees - Biography.com Crime & Scandal The Monkees In 1965, over 400 people responded to an ad seeking young men for a new television show about a rock group called The Monkees. The Monkees - Full Episode (TV-14; 45:10) Hey, hey, it's the Monkees! Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the first of the manufactured bands that shocked the music industry in the 60s by generating a slew of hits. In 1965, over 400 people responded to an ad seeking young men for a new television show about a rock group called The Monkees.

The Monkees, starring Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork premiered on September 12, 1966, and audiences adored the humorous antics of the band. Though made for TV, The Monkees had real-life hits and struggled against their "Pre-Fab Four" image. Some of their best-loved and number one hits included Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer" and "Last Train to Clarksville." More successful singles followed, including another Neil Diamond song, "Little Bit Me, Little Bit You," Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Pleasant Valley Sunday", and "Daydream Believer" by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio. People In This Group Theater Actor, Television Actor, Singer (1945–) Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66 | Music | The Guardian Music Davy Jones of the Monkees dies, aged 66 The singer/actor made his way from Corrie to California, but was forever associated with the TV show about a manufactured band Davy Jones, second left, with the Monkees in their 1968 film, Head.

Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature Wednesday 29 February 2012 13.48 EST First published on Wednesday 29 February 2012 13.48 EST Close This article is 4 years old Davy Jones , the frontman of the 60s pop group the Monkees and singer of classics such as Daydream Believer, has died in Florida of a heart attack. He was 66. The medical examiner's office for Martin County said: "[We] have been informed of the death of Mr Davy Jones. The medical examiner's office will take jurisdiction and a possible autopsy will be performed and evaluation of the circumstances of death and medical information." Jones was born in Manchester in 1945, and was a child actor, appearing in Coronation Street and Z Cars in 1961 and 1962. He found fame, though, after moving to Los Angeles and being cast as the lead singer in The Monkees , for a TV series about a fictional pop group that was put together by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, who later became key figures in the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s.

The Monkees aired for 58 episodes from 1966 to 1968. At first, their music was written and recorded for them, the four members of the Monkees adding only their own voices. Gradually, however, the group asserted their own personalities. Though their 1966 debut album contained none of their own compostions, they were able to steer their music away from the bubblegum pop of the TV series towards the self-mocking psychedelia of their sixth album, Head, the soundtrack to their 1968 movie . Head proved to be the demise of the Monkees as a commercial force. The film was scripted by Rafelson and Jack Nicholson, and deliberately undercut the Monkees' wholesome image. In it, the group sang: "Hey, hey, we are the Monkees/ You know we love to please/ A manufactured image/ With no philosophies." It also featured, however, a recording of Carole King's The Porpoise Song , which came to be regarded as one of pop psychedelia's crowning moments. The film was a massive commercial flop, though it has since become a cult favourite . Nevertheless, Jones remained unhappy about the film.

"They were throwing us to the 'gators at that point," he told the Guardian last year , speaking of Rafelson and Nicholson. Although the group fell apart over the next two years, they secured an afterlife thanks to the widespread syndication of the original TV series, and engaged in periodic reunions. Even last May, they were still able to mobilise sufficient fans to play at the Royal Albert Hall . They came to be regarded with widespread affection The Monkees proved to be the highpoint of Jones's career. Though he acted intermittently on TV in the subsequent years, he never again had a significant role, and could not carve himself out a solo musical career. The Monkees touch down at Heathrow airport in 1967, to chorus of screaming teenage girls.

Published: 1 Mar 2012 Davy Jones, Monkees Singer, Dies at 66 - Google Groups Davy Jones, Monkees Singer, Dies at 66 Showing 1-1 of 1 messages Davy Jones, Monkees Singer, Dies at 66 By MARGALIT FOX Davy Jones, by long-held public consensus the handsomest and most popular of the Monkees, the collectively young, longhaired, wildly famous and preternaturally buoyant pop group of the 1960s and afterward, died on Wednesday in Indiantown, Fla. He was 66. The apparent cause was a heart attack, his publicist, Helen Kensick, said. Created in 1966, the Monkees comprised Mr. Jones, Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork. The group sold millions of records. Its recording of "Daydream Believer," by John Stewart, became a No.

1 single, as did its recording of "Last Train to Clarksville," by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, and its cover of Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer." Though the Monkees officially lasted only until the early '70s, they reconvened sporadically for decades. For much of that time Mr. Jones also toured as a solo singer-songwriter; among his last performances was one on Feb. 18 at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill in Manhattan. For all the Monkees' chart-topping acclaim, the group never pretended to be anything other than what it was: a smoke-and-mirrors incarnation of a pop group reminiscent of that mop-topped one from Liverpool, created for a benignly psychedelic American TV sitcom. Broadcast on NBC, "The Monkees" lasted just two seasons, from September 1966 to March 1968, and featured Messrs. Jones, Dolenz, Nesmith and Tork as members of a freewheeling, fun-loving, beach-house-dwelling, up-and-coming pop group.

The show won two Emmys in 1967: for outstanding comedy series and, to the director James Frawley, for outstanding directorial achievement in comedy. To this day, its theme song is hard-wired into the baby-boomer brain: Hey, hey, we're the Monkees, and people say we monkey around. But we're too busy singing to put anybody down. While the four did much of their own singing, they were relatively unbusy playing. Though each played an instrument - growing more proficient with time - most of the instrumentals on their albums were supplied by studio musicians. (On one album, "Headquarters," released in 1967, the Monkees played their instruments themselves.) The group's critical reception was not unsurpassed. In 1967, in an article about one of the Monkees' relatively rare live concerts of the period, at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, The New York Times said: "Frequently during the performance, sound that resembled the lowing of a sick cow hovered over the stadium. This turned out to be one of those horns often heard at Shea Stadium during baseball games.

It didn't seem to hurt the musical evening." But the critics could not dim the profuse enthusiasm of fans, who were overwhelmingly young, female and shrieking - tweeners before the word was applied to that demographic. This adulation (and in later years nostalgia) kept the Monkees going, in various incarnations, on and off for decades. Last year three-quarters of the group, absent Mr. Nesmith, briefly toured Britain and the United States before cutting the tour short because of unspecified internal dissension. The group's frontman and the only actual Englishman of the four, Mr. Jones was inclined to elicit the loudest shrieks of all. An index of his appeal was his guest appearance on a memorable episode of "The Brady Bunch" from 1971 entitled "Getting Davy Jones." In it, Mr. Jones, playing himself, saves Marcia, the family's eldest daughter, from social ruin by attending her prom. Television and the stage were actually Mr. Jones's original vocations. David Thomas Jones was born on Dec. 30, 1945, in Manchester, England.

A child actor, he appeared on "Coronation Street," the British soap opera that went on the air in 1960 and is still running, and in the police drama "Z Cars." After his mother's death when he was a teenager, he abandoned acting. Slight of build - he stood not much more than 5 feet tall in his prime - he began to train as a jockey. Lured back into the theater a few years later, he played the Artful Dodger in the West End musical "Oliver!" When the production moved to Broadway in 1963, he reprised the role (billed as David Jones), earning a Tony nomination as best featured actor in a musical. Appearing with the cast of "Oliver!" on "The Ed Sullivan Show," Mr. Jones had a transformative moment. After the cast sang, he heard wild cheering. But alas it was not for them: it was for the Beatles, also booked on the show that day. "I thought: Is that what happens when you're a pop singer?" Mr. Jones told The Palm Beach Post in 2004.

"I want to be part of that!" His work on Broadway led to guest roles on a few mid-'60s television shows, including "Ben Casey" and "The Farmer's Daughter." He was signed to a contract with Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems Television, which produced "The Monkees." Mr. Jones, who had homes in Hollywood, Fla., and Beavertown, Pa., spent his later years touring; acting occasionally on television shows like "My Two Dads" and "Boy Meets World"; raising horses; and recording, including the well-received solo album "Just Me" (2001), which featured his original songs. Whatever Monkeedom still attached to him (and it was considerable) did not dismay him. "People ask me if I ever get sick of playing 'Daydream Believer' or whatever," he told The Chicago Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper, in 2006. "But I don't look at it that way. Do they ask if Tony Bennett is tired of 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco'?" Mr. Jones's first marriage, to Linda Haines, ended in divorce, as did his second, to Anita Pollinger.

His survivors include his third wife, Jessica Pacheco; two daughters from his first marriage, Talia Jones and Sarah McFadden; two daughters from his second marriage, Jessica Cramar and Annabel Jones; three sisters, Hazel Wilkinson, Lynda Moore and Beryl Leigh; and three grandchildren. The other three members of the Monkees also survive. Perhaps Mr. Jones's most enduring legacy takes the form of a name. The name belongs to another English musician, who burst on the scene some years after the Monkees. This man, too, had been born David Jones. But thanks to the Monkees' renown, he knew he would have to adopt another name entirely if he was to have the hope of a career. So he called himself David Bowie. Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

Question: Which British actor and singer was a member of the Monkees pop group?
Answer: Davy Jones