Davy Jones
Before The Monkees
David Jones was born on December 30th, 1945 to parents Harry and Doris in Manchester, England. When Davy’s mother passed away in 1959, school held no further interest for him and he looked into becoming an apprentice jockey. By the following year, Davy found work at Basil Foster’s New Market Stables. Simultaneously, Davy received some acting offers and during 1960 took part in a BBC television play called June Evening.
In 1961, Davy traveled to Leeds to tape a BBC radio play, There Is A Happy Land. Following this, a television appearance as Colin on the television soap opera Coronation Street led Davy to pursue acting fulltime. But it was the stage (rather than the screen) that Jones initially conquered. Through boss Basil Foster, Davy Jones acquired several theatrical contacts and in 1962 landed the part of Michael in a touring company of Peter Pan. During this show’s six-week run, co-star Jane Asher (later the companion of Paul McCartney) coached Jones on his accent in preparation for his next big role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!
On May 7th, 1962, Davy opened as the Dodger at London’s New Theatre. By November, Producer David Merrick had decided to integrate Davy into the Broadway production of Oliver! Davy made his Broadway debut on December 17th at New York City’s Imperial Theatre. This run became a runaway success and the following year, Davy snagged a Tony Award nomination for his role in Oliver!
Davy’s work in Oliver! continued throughout 1964 and early ’65 (including a legendary promotional appearance alongside the Beatles on television’s Ed Sullivan Show). After his Broadway run, Davy took his role on the road with stops in Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. By year’s end, Davy signed a recording contract with Colpix Records (a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures). His first recording session for Colpix took place the week before Christmas. Produced by Jack Lewis in New York, Davy cut “Dream Girl” and “Take Me To Paradise” (which both appeared on his Colpix debut single in early ’65).
Soon after leaving Oliver!, Jones joined the cast of Pickwick and also signed a deal with Columbia-Screen Gems for film and television work. “One of the pilots they offered me was great and who knows, I might yet do it,” recalled Davy at the time. “It’s about a policeman and a leprechaun. Only the policeman can see the leprechaun. He gets into situations and I get him out of them sort of like Bewitched. Then they shelved that for awhile and decided that the thing to do was to write a brand new series idea.”
When Pickwick hit Los Angeles’ Music Center in mid-’65, Jones further pursued his recording career, taping an album for Colpix called David Jones. This long player spawned a minor hit single, “What Are We Going To Do?,” which reached the charts in August and set Jones up for a pilot then called The Monkeys. Already contracted to Columbia Pictures-Screen Gems (the production entity for the show), the script was written around Davy and soon after, three other actor/musicians were cast to fill the remaining roles.
After The Monkees
“First of all, Peter Tork wasn’t with us when we toured and then all of a sudden Mike Nesmith wasn’t with us and Micky and I were together,” recalled Davy of the group’s shifting line-up in the late ’60s/early ’70s. “Then, ’Hey, hey I’m a Monkee,’ you know? That’s the way it’s been ever since Davy Jones formerly of The Monkees. Davy Jones from the Monkees. I sign autographs now and I say ’Davy Jones’ and I put ’the Monkees’ under that and most of the fans say, ’You don’t have to put that. We know who you are.’”
Indeed, Davy was the best-known band member of the Monkees, but he also had the best chance of post-Monkees success. In the summer of ’71, he enjoyed a solo hit called “Rainy Jane,” as well as a steady stream of personal appearances and guest shots on television (including The Brady Bunch, Love American Style, Make Room for Granddaddy, as well as voice work on The New Scooby Doo Movies, Treasure Island and Oliver Twist).
In 1975, Davy put his solo work on hold to reunite with Micky and former Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. Dubbed Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart, this foursome mounted a number of extremely successful concert tours, as well as taping 1976 studio album for Capitol, a live set in Japan, and a television special (directed by Micky Dolenz).
By 1977, Micky and Davy had struck out on their own for a series of club dates and tandem stage roles in Tom Sawyer and Harry Nilsson’s The Point. The following year Jones resumed his solo recording career with a Warner Bros. single called “Hey Ra Ra Ra, Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse” and a role in British television’s Horse in the House.
After several years of extensive stage and concert work, Davy was approached by promoter David Fishof and former bandmate Peter Tork to put the Monkees back together for a reunion tour. From 1986 1989, Davy (alongside Micky and Peter) performed hundreds of record-setting shows helped in large part to the re-airing of The Monkees series by MTV. By November 1986, seven Monkees albums were on the Billboard charts.
In 1987, Davy, Micky and Peter recorded a new album together, Pool It! (for Rhino) and two years later the entire group (including Michael) reunited to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. During this period, Davy published his first autobiography: They Made A Monkee Out Of Me and launched his own series of record releases and publications. Jones also returned to the small screen with appearances in My Two Dads, Sledge Hammer!, The New Love American Style, Boy Meets World, Herman's Head, The Single Guy, Trainer, Hitz, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and an ABC Afterschool Special featuring former Monkees songwriter Carole King.
After several stints in the stage production of The Real Live Brady Bunch, Davy made another big splash in 1995’s big screen spoof The Brady Bunch Movie. The following year, he was back with the Monkees for a tour and a new album called Justus. The group came back to prime time with a 1997 special called Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees and toured British concert arenas as a four-piece.
More recently, Davy was the host of Meet the Royals, rode a winner on his prized horse Digpast and starred in an episode of the series Living In TV Land. You can read all about his fascinating career in his new autobiography Davy Jones: Daydream Believin' and keep up with the Joneses at his official website www.davyjones.net