Oake will echo my sentiments, as we both always extol the beauty of a well-crafted and well executed pop song. And in the the middle through late 60's - a group known as The Monkees gave the likes of The Beatles and others a bit of a run for the title of Top of the Pops. Much like the guys from Liverpool, the four members of The Monkees had very distinct personalities and looks. And much like Paul McCartney was for The Fab Four - the "cute" Monkee was Davy Jones.

Sadly, Davy died the morning of February 29th after suffering a heart attack. He was 66 years old. He leaves behind his wife, Jessica, and four daughters from previous marriages.

Davy joined The Monkees in 1965, along with Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork, and together they churned out a bunch of hugely popular songs, including three number 1 hits: "Daydream Believer," (a Neil Diamond tune, by the way!) "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer." Although the band was literally created and "manufactured" to make music and a to star in a hugely popular TV show, they later went on to demonstrate that their talents were genuine and real. By the way, another UK singer and performer was on the music scene in the middle 60's, who's name was also Davey Jones. But given the popularity of "Davy" from The Monkees - the other Jones ended up changing his performance name: to David Bowie.

The last time The Monkees played the Twin Cities was just last summer, as a part of the Music In The Zoo concert series. By all accounts the shows were enormously good fun. Sad that I missed them, as I had other stuff going on at the time.

R.I.P., Davy Jones...