You can see why the girls went wild.
What can you say about the Monkees? Quite a bit, but I’m not going to read or repeat any of the tributes now clogging the ether. They were a mediocre band who benefited from some great songwriting talent. The TV show lasted just a couple of seasons, and looking at it today you can see why. They were going for the youthful, high-energy whimsy of the Beatles in Hard Day’s Night, and came pretty close. Too bad it’s the nature of youthful whimsy to quickly become tiresome. Davy Jones still had a pretty good ride. It was only when the Monkees started taking themselves seriously as musicians that their goofy charm evaporated.
My little sister had a huge crush on Davy Jones, of course. So did my wife. Ten-year-old girls are funny that way. You take an extremely cute guy who appears to be as talented as Paul McCartney, put him on a weekly TV show with three guys of lesser cuteness, and they’re falling all over themselves.
Now’s probably a good time to admit this: I liked him too. I think I liked most that he seemed open to self-mockery, that he was never consumed by any phony artistic angst, and that he was happy beating that tambourine. He never pretended to be anything other than second-tier pop singer. He seemed to love his time in the sun. He may have had his dark side, but I always appreciate when celebrities keep that kind of crap to themselves.
Finally, he’s a contemporary. We share a first name and time called the ’60s. He did a guest shot on “The Brady Bunch.” A guy like that dies, only 66, and it makes you realize that the age comes when anything at all can happen, at any time. Like I needed reminding.
Know these lyrics?
Consider yourself permanently warned
The girls with their summer pom poms
All that pretty water
Beauty is as beauty does
I’ve said it before, but this is one thing I really like about your writing. You avoid the easy, maudlin nostalgia and sentiment for a nuanced appreciation.
The Monkees’ song “I’m a Believer” always takes me back to high school typing class (which I guess would be “keyboarding” class these days). Our teacher would play the 45 rpm single of “I’m a Believer” to try to get us to type with some rhythm. I have no idea how she chose that song (it was always the same song), or why it sticks in my memory so clearly.
Neil Diamond wrote a lot of songs that tend to stick in your head. “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You” is another that tends to get stuck on infinite rotation. Sounds like you had a better typing class than I did …
I, on the other hand, go straight for the maudlin nostalgia. Davy fell in love on every episode of the Monkees, and he always got the girl. I fell in love with him every time, right along with those sappy girls. I didn’t know good music from mediocre – and arguably still don’t – but I remember that silly show as being good fun, and probably the great grand-pappy of the later music video.
I agree it was fun to watch. I never missed an episode on the crappy little black-and-white Zenith we had (the one that required a deft touch on the vertical hold knob …)