DAVY JONES Before they Made A Monkee Out of Him!

Davy Jones passed away this morning of a heart attack. He was 66. When I read that he died, I didn’t think,” What a coincidence, I was just thinking of The Monkees this morning.” I didn’t think that, because I think of The Monkees every day. I have a framed Monkees drum skin, with that great Monkees logo silk screened onto it, and the autographs of all four Monkees, hanging in my bedroom right next to my light switch. Miraculously, a few years ago when my house was seriously damaged in a flood, that drum skin, which I foolishly had setting on the floor, propped up against a wall, came out of the disaster in mint condition. Anyway, every time I walk into or out of the bedroom or flick on the light, The Monkees flash across my mind for a few seconds.

Back in the late sixties, when it was revealed to the public that the Monkees did not play the instruments on their first two albums, the gross stereotype was cast – that the Monkees had no talent, no experience, had not paid their dues, and were just handed multi-millionaire superstardom on a silver platter. In reality, all four of them had previous, professional show business, and professional musical credentials.

In mid 1960, after appearing in various school and church plays throughout the 1950s, Davy landed a role in the BBC television play June Evening. In 1961 he played a major part in the BBC radio play There Is a Happy Land. He appeared in the Granada television production A Man And His Dog. He was interested in pursuing a career as a jockey, but his mentor in the racing world encouraged him to pursue acting instead. Most impressively, he landed a job on the long running British soap opera Coronation Street. In 1962, he played Michael in a touring company of Peter Pan. He made his musical debut as The Artful Dodger in Oliver! in London. By November, he was set to be incorporated into the Broadway production of the show.

In April, 1963, Davy attended the 17^th Annual Tony Awards. He was nominated for best supporting actor, but did not win. In July, he appeared on CBS Televisons The Talent Scouts, singing a medley of “Consider Yourself” and “Where Is Love?”.

 In 1964, Davy met with Ward Sylvester of Columbia Pictures to discuss a Hollywood contract for the young actor. Sunday, February 9^th, 1964, Davy appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show as part of the Oliver! cast. Another promising young British act, The Beatles, made their debut on this episode of the show as well. 73 million people viewed the broadcast. In September, Hollywood Reporter reported that Davy Jones had signed a long – term contract to Screen Gems. “It will include a TV series, a recording contract for the company’s Colpix label, and feature films for Columbia Pictures.”

In 1965, Jones began touring with Pickwick, the follow up to Oliver!  Dream Girl / Take Me To Paradise, Davy’s first single, was released in February, following an elaborate, running promotional campaign in Billboard Magazine. According to the ad, Davy’s fan club already numbered in the thousands, and articles about him appear regularly in Tiger Beat and other teen mags. October saw the release of another solo Davy single “The Girl From Chelsea / Theme for A New Love”. That same month, Davy appeared on the show The Farmer’s Daughter, and surprisingly, sings I’m Gonna Buy Me a Dog, a novelty song later associated with The Monkees.

He shot a screen test for The Monkees on The Farmer’s Daughter set, apparently between takes. Some twenty years later, Davy would reveal that he was originally to have his own solo show, but the phenomena of The Beatles dictated a show about a quartet of rockers instead.

Before the end of the year, he appeared to promote his solo single on Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is and Shindig!. He also appeared as a glue sniffing wife – beater (our Davy!?!?!?!) on the medical drama Ben Casey.  

He recorded an entire album’s worth of material during the sessions that produced his singles. It would be released as David Jones in March of 1967.