Getting Davy Jones (From Television Collector Magazine, Fall 1997) Part 2

Davy sings Girl on the Brady Bunch and overhears Marcia pleading to the soundman to have a word with Davy. She gets the boot but we know what happens next!!!

(Continuing my 1997 interview with former teen idol, Davy Jones. This appeared in a small television nostalgia magazine. In this section, we talk about being a pop culture icon and my own interest in the Monkees and how I use the group's songs to teach important life lessons. A couple of students even share their perspectives).

The act. Davy has long been the good will ambassador of the Monkees and for the Monkees. So many stars of old TV shows and bands seem to want to distance themselves from the past and their roots. Not Davy, who basically sings only the oldies at his solo concerts and embraces his Monkee, Brady and yes, even cartoon days.

"The other morning, I left the TV on," Davy recalls. "At three a.m., I heard my voice and I looked up at the TV. I didn't recognize what was going on. But it was a program called Scooby Doo Meets Davy Jones. It was scary. I had done that in the early '70's. And all of a sudden, there was my voice coming out of a character that looked a little bit like me, in a tight top and bell bottoms, walking along with Scooby Doo!"

Well, you can take the guy out of the polyester decade, plop him into the 90's and you still have Marcia Brady's favorite prom date.

"When people see it (Getting Davy Jones), they immediately identify with that image that they're seeing," Davy notes. "So although years have gone by, you're still Dr. Kildare or Ben Casey. That image is still there no matter what. I'm 50 years old now; (recently) at the Melody Tent in Cape Cod, I had nine year old girls come up to me after the show at the autograph session. They threw their arms around me.

"One girl said, 'I just wanted to hug you.' They don't see the lines on my face. They don't see anything but the image they want to see.

"When you become a celebrity and have been in the public eye through television or media, all of a sudden you become more intelligent, better looking, and more opinionated whether you are or not. If you look back through history at people who are revered, you get someone like Eric Clapton, who for the last number of years has been like the flavor of the month.

"Well, the guy in the mid-70's, was lying in the gutter with a needle in his arm. So, that's forgiven and no one remembers that. So just as strong is the clean, wholesome image people have of me that they want to hold on to.

"It doesn't affect their existence now. It doesn't make their husbands jealous. They say to me, 'I always thought I was going to marry you. but now I'm married and I got four kids."

An early 70's Davy solo effort. (Probably around the time of Getting Davy Jones).

Even my own students who appreciated Getting Davy Jones' social messages seemed more fascinated with the adorable British fellow who was the object of Marcia's affection. "How do I feel about Davy Jones?" Jing Jing H. ponders. "He's cute and tender, especially when he sings songs like It's Nice to Be with You. I read he helped an old lady cross a street and he visited a girl after she was in a car accident. A real Prince charming, I'll say!"

I rediscovered the Monkees last year when Micky appeared in a Grease revival on Broadway and when he and Davy gave a free summer concert at the World Trade Center. It was then that I began to listen closely to their song lyrics and began to appreciate the guys for being truly talented musicians.

Then, there I was one of hundreds in line at the Beatles Expo last fall waiting for an autograph and picture with Davy. A "Star Collector?" Not really. I never waited for anyone's autograph before. There was something magical in that brief minute or two spent with Davy. Perhaps it was special to personally encounter an icon from what I have long regarded as a magical time, at least in terms of music and television.

This past year, I brought the most poignant Monkees songs to school to share with my students. We studied the lyrics and shared our reactions. the songs served as launching pads for many creative writing assignments and research projects.

Monkees tunes (including Shades of Gray) teach important life lessons.

 Here are some ten and eleven year old children's reactions to Shades of Gray, a song that reiterates the need to accept others and their different points of view:

"There are always three sides of a disagreement--the two stories and the truth--the gray."

"When blacks and white people clash, they make gray. I think the Monkees are sending a message that since people are discriminating against each other, they can't see anything clearly now."

"It is about people being unable to compromise anymore." You don't know what is going on when you are younger. If your parents tell you to be prejudiced against a certain race, you will do what your parents say."

"Through the eyes of the Monkees we learn that if we compromise, maybe we can work things out. I love the Monkees. When I grow up, I want to look like Davy Jones."