DAVID BURKE
Remembering Davy Jones
David Burke | Posted: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 12:44 pm
In 20-plus years of interviewing celebrities, none have ever died within months of our conversation -- until today.
The Monkees' Davy Jones' death from a heart attack at age 66 was especially affecting, since I had interviewed him in October for a November date at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center. I had previously interviewed him in 1993.
Both times he struck me as a personable guy, and in last fall's interview was especially talkative. He was ready to go surf at a friend's beach house and was eagerly talking about his racing horses and other subjects as well as the Monkees.
He talked about attending the TV Land Awards a few years earlier, and was awestruck at all of the yesteryear stars that he had seen, listing off name after name like it was his first time meeting a celebrity.
In the first interview in '93, I was warned by his assistant that "Mr. Jones" would only be available to speak for 10 minutes. I was ready to wrap it up when he gave me a "what's the hurry?" type of reply and we talked fr at least 10 more.
I faintly remember watching "The Monkees" in daytime reruns as a kid, and was in college when the TV series made its comeback thanks to MTV. (I believe I shut myself from the outside world to catch all the episodes.) Obviously owing a lot to the Beatles' "Hard Days' Night," there was some pretty smart word play and visual gags in the series. It's on Antenna TV, WQAD's digital channel 8.2, on weekends if you want to see for yourself.
In our last chat, he gave some heft to the Monkees' career, listing songwriters such as Neil Diamond, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, all of whom had songs recorded by the Monkees.
I got to see his show at the Waterfront last November, and saw quite a few friends in their 40s and 50s there as well. He started with the classic "Orange Colored Sky" and then launched into a night of mostly Monkees hits, as well as "Girl," from his appearance on "The Brady Bunch."
I believe he said something similar to this that night, but I know it was mentioned in my interview. It concluded the story:
“When I perform, that’s my prize, my reward ... Remember me the way you hoped I’d be, that guy from The Monkees.”
Read more
In 20-plus years of interviewing celebrities, none have ever died within months of our conversation -- until today.
The Monkees' Davy Jones' death from a heart attack at age 66 was especially affecting, since I had interviewed him in October for a November date at the Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center. I had previously interviewed him in 1993.
Both times he struck me as a personable guy, and in last fall's interview was especially talkative. He was ready to go surf at a friend's beach house and was eagerly talking about his racing horses and other subjects as well as the Monkees.
He talked about attending the TV Land Awards a few years earlier, and was awestruck at all of the yesteryear stars that he had seen, listing off name after name like it was his first time meeting a celebrity.
In the first interview in '93, I was warned by his assistant that "Mr. Jones" would only be available to speak for 10 minutes. I was ready to wrap it up when he gave me a "what's the hurry?" type of reply and we talked fr at least 10 more.
I faintly remember watching "The Monkees" in daytime reruns as a kid, and was in college when the TV series made its comeback thanks to MTV. (I believe I shut myself from the outside world to catch all the episodes.) Obviously owing a lot to the Beatles' "Hard Days' Night," there was some pretty smart word play and visual gags in the series. It's on Antenna TV, WQAD's digital channel 8.2, on weekends if you want to see for yourself.
In our last chat, he gave some heft to the Monkees' career, listing songwriters such as Neil Diamond, Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, all of whom had songs recorded by the Monkees.
I got to see his show at the Waterfront last November, and saw quite a few friends in their 40s and 50s there as well. He started with the classic "Orange Colored Sky" and then launched into a night of mostly Monkees hits, as well as "Girl," from his appearance on "The Brady Bunch."
I believe he said something similar to this that night, but I know it was mentioned in my interview. It concluded the story:
“When I perform, that’s my prize, my reward ... Remember me the way you hoped I’d be, that guy from The Monkees.”
Read more