I'M A BEREAVER

MY PAL FREDDY CALLED ME WITH THE NEWS YESTERDAY MORNING. HE TOLD ME THAT ONE OF THE MONKEES HAD DIED. 

"PETER?", I GUESSED. I GUESSED PETER BECAUSE I KNEW HE HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER.

"NO", HE REPLIED.

"MIKE?", I GUESSED AGAIN. MIKE ALWAYS LOOKED THE OLDEST (PETER IS ACTUALLY ALMOST A YEAR OLDER THAN MIKE) AND HE ALWAYS SEEMED LIKE THE OLDER BROTHER TO THE OTHER THREE MONKEES.

"NO", HE ANSWERED.

O.K., SO THAT LEFT DAVY AND MICKY, THE TWO I LEAST WOULD HAVE EXPECTED TO DIE SO YOUNG (I KNEW THEY WERE THE TWO YOUNGEST MONKEES. THEY ALSO SEEMED THE MOST VITAL, THE MOST "FULL OF LIFE" MEMBERS OF THE BAND.) I NEXT GUESSED , MICKY AND THE REPLY WAS AGAIN - NO.

 

OMG, DAVY JONES!!!!! ?????? YOU MUST BE KIDDING! HE ALWAYS SEEMED SO YOUNG, ETERNALLY SO. HE WAS THE SHORTEST MONKEE, THE LITTLE GUY- HE WAS, LITERALLY, MY LAST GUESS. HE ALSO SEEMED LIKE THE MOST DOWN TO EARTH MEMBER OF THE GROUP, THE SANEST (A LITTLE USED ADJECTIVE IN THE WORLD OF SHOW BUSINESS).

 

I IMMEDIATELY WENT AND WATCHED A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE MONKEES SINGING MY FAVORITE MONKEES SONG - PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY. POOR DAVY WAS "PLAYING" (AND I USE THE TERM LOOSELY) A BIG, OBVIOUSLY, PROP BASS GUITAR. HE "PLAYS" IT LIKE A BIG CARDBOARD CUTOUT.

THE SHOTS OF DAVY AND HIS FAKE BASS SEEMED TO SYMBOLIZE WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT THE MONKEES. THEY WERE "FAKE", "PHONEY", "NOT A REAL GROUP". I MEAN, COME ON, DAVY USUALLY PLAYED THE FRIGGING MARACAS!! SOMETIMES HE GOT VERSATILE AND PLAYED THE TAMBOURINE.

O.K., LET'S JUST SAY ERIC CLAPTON WASN'T LOSING ANY SLEEP OVER THE COMPETITION - POINT TAKEN, THEY WERE ACTORS IN A TV SHOW "PLAYING" A ROCK GROUP. 


THE MONKEES STORY IS, IN ITSELF, ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE. THEY DID START AS ACTORS ON A TV SHOW, BUT THESE GUYS MADE SOME GREAT, AWESOME RECORDS.

THEY SOLD 50 MILLION RECORDS.

THEY SET A LITTLE-KNOWN RECORD IN 1967 WHEN THEY HAD FOUR NUMBER ONE ALBUMS IN THE SAME YEAR.

THE MONKEES GAVE OVER 200 LIVE CONCERTS AS AN ACTUAL "INSTRUMENT PLAYING" BAND.

JIMI HENDRIX (NO KIDDING!!!) ACTUALLY TOURED WITH THEM IN 1967. HE ONLY LASTED FIVE GIGS. THE TEENAGE GIRLS BOOED HIM OFF THE STAGE, CHANTING "FOXY DAVY!" MICKY, AND TO A LESSER EXTENT, DAVY, HAD GREAT SINGING VOICES, BETTER THAN MANY ACTUAL "ROCK SINGERS".

 

BY A STRANGE COINCIDENCE, DAVY ACTUALLY APPEARED ON THAT HISTORIC FEB. 9, 1964 ED SULLIVAN SHOW WITH THE BEATLES - THEIR FIRST EVER OFFICIAL AMERICAN TV APPEARANCE.

 

AFTER WATCHING THE GIRLS IN THE CROWD GO BANANAS OVER THE BEATLES, DAVY SAID, "I SAW THE GIRLS IN THE AUDIENCE GOING CRAZY AND DECIDED I WANT A PIECE OF THAT".

 

I REMEMBER THAT ALL THE GIRLS HAD A CRUSH ON DAVY - MY GOD, EVEN OUR RABBI'S DAUGHTER HAD A CRUSH ON HIM. HE WAS THE PAUL McCARTNEY OF THE MONKEES - THE GROUP'S HEARTTHROB.

 

AS A KID, FOR THAT ONE YEAR, "THE MONKEES" WAS MY FAVORITE TV SHOW. IT WAS A CLEVER, ORIGINAL, AHEAD OF IT'S TIME SHOW.   IT WON TWO EMMYS IN IT'S FIRST YEAR (1966-67), ONE FOR "BEST COMEDY SERIES". JOHN LENNON HIMSELF WAS A FAN OF THE SHOW AND SAID HE "NEVER MISSED AN EPISODE". 

DAVY WASN'T A HUGE HERO OF MINE, NOT IN THE SENSE OF THE BEATLES OR ELVIS, BUT THE MONKEES BROUGHT A LOT OF HAPPINESS INTO MY LIFE, AND WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, ISN'T THAT WHAT WE SAY ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WE LOVE?

 

HAVE A GOOD JOURNEY, DAVY. MAY YOUR FUTURE BE FILLED WITH JOY, FUN, LAUGHTER AND HAPPINESS.

 

ALL THE BEST, A HUGE MONKEES FAN,

 

- EDDIE