I remember the day that The Monkees Greatest Hits came out on compact disc (and cassette tape, but I was rocking a discman pretty early on). It was October of 1995. I was in fifth grade, and the only person I knew who lost their cool over 60s bands. I made my dad rush me over to Best Buy to get the CD and listened to it nonstop for months. I was quite sure I was born in the wrong decade when I was growing up; I still feel that way sometimes. I think my attitude is very modern, but my soul belongs to the 60s.
In 1996, in music class in middle school, I chose to write about The Monkees for a term paper. Everyone else wanted to talk about Tu-Pac (who can blame them, seeing as he was killed in September of that year) but I absolutely had to write about The Monkees. Interesting to look back on that year, knowing that The Beatles Anthology was being released at that time, that I chose to write about The Monkees instead.
I remember a certain feeling of disappointment that most of The Monkees songs were not ones they wrote themselves. But then I realized that wasn't the point. They were a band made for TV, a band made to entertain. And probably the greatest entertainer of them all was Davy Jones.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Davy Jones"]
[/caption]
Mickey could sing, Mike could play, and Peter could goof, but Davy could dance. I mean, really dance. And that accent! And how he totally rocked that tambourine. He was so dynamic on the screen. His face was always so expressive, so happy, his eyes bright and wide open, his body language comfortable and open. He was made to be an entertainer. And he certainly was.
Even when he wasn't the lead on a song, he was the one to watch.
The way he moved, the way he was always conscious of the space around him and when the camera was nearby. Showmanship being translated to the small screen, something that was still very new in the 60s. The Monkees were an experiment in tv entertainment and Davy knew how to be dynamic.
His death today was quite a shock. For someone so charming, so active, so fun to watch, to die of a heart attack at such a young age is so sad. While all four men in the group were truly, equally important, Davy really was the face of the group. Because who could turn their eye from such an engaging performer?
Rest in peace, Davy Jones. You're already sorely missed. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking up videos on YouTube and eager to run home and watch Head in his honor.
ek
In 1996, in music class in middle school, I chose to write about The Monkees for a term paper. Everyone else wanted to talk about Tu-Pac (who can blame them, seeing as he was killed in September of that year) but I absolutely had to write about The Monkees. Interesting to look back on that year, knowing that The Beatles Anthology was being released at that time, that I chose to write about The Monkees instead.
I remember a certain feeling of disappointment that most of The Monkees songs were not ones they wrote themselves. But then I realized that wasn't the point. They were a band made for TV, a band made to entertain. And probably the greatest entertainer of them all was Davy Jones.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Davy Jones"]
[/caption]Mickey could sing, Mike could play, and Peter could goof, but Davy could dance. I mean, really dance. And that accent! And how he totally rocked that tambourine. He was so dynamic on the screen. His face was always so expressive, so happy, his eyes bright and wide open, his body language comfortable and open. He was made to be an entertainer. And he certainly was.
Even when he wasn't the lead on a song, he was the one to watch.
The way he moved, the way he was always conscious of the space around him and when the camera was nearby. Showmanship being translated to the small screen, something that was still very new in the 60s. The Monkees were an experiment in tv entertainment and Davy knew how to be dynamic.
His death today was quite a shock. For someone so charming, so active, so fun to watch, to die of a heart attack at such a young age is so sad. While all four men in the group were truly, equally important, Davy really was the face of the group. Because who could turn their eye from such an engaging performer?
Rest in peace, Davy Jones. You're already sorely missed. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking up videos on YouTube and eager to run home and watch Head in his honor.
ek
Write a comment
Post a Comment