RIP: MICHAEL NESMITH

The Monkees singer and guitarist Michael Nesmith, whose band exploded in popularity in the 1960s, has died, his manager said Friday.

"It is with deep sadness that I mark the passing of Michael Nesmith. We shared many travels and projects together over the course of 30 years, which culminated in a Monkees farewell tour that wrapped up only a few weeks ago," Andrew Sandoval said on Twitter.

The Monkees grew in popularity after the four-person group was in a TV show "The Monkees" about a rock 'n' roll band.

The band's hits included "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Valerie."

The group split in 1971. Although other members of the group had participated in reunion tours, Nesmith had not up until 2012.

Nesmith said back then of the reunion: "I never really left. It is a part of my youth that is always active in my thought and part of my overall work as an artist. It stays in a special place. But like things in the past it fades in and out in relevance to activities that are current. Getting together with old friends and acquaintances can be very stimulating and fun and even inspiring to me. We did some good work together and I am always interested in the right time and the right place to reconnect and play."

Sandoval also said Friday of Nesmith's passing, “I am positive the brilliance he captured will resonate and offer the love and light towards which he always moved. Nez expressed the highest part of his being through his voice. And you could get no closer to him then through knowing his work. May all those who loved him feel his comfort at this time — just listen and he will be there for you.”

Sandoval then quoted the talented musician’s own lyrics from “I'll Remember You.”

“Thank you for the times you gave me, thank you for the tears you saved me, please take this song as my thanks to you.”

With Nesmith's death Micky Dolenz is now the only surviving member of the pop band. Davy Jones died in 2012 of a heart attack. Peter Tork died of cancer in 2019

He said in a statement Friday: "I’m heartbroken. I’ve lost a dear friend and partner. I’m so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best — singing, laughing, and doing shtick. I’ll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick. Rest in peace, Nez."

Dolenz ended the statement, "All my love, Mick."

RIP: PETER TORK

Peter Tork, the guitarist and wise-cracking character in the 1960s teen-pop sensation the Monkees, died today at the age of 77, a rep for the group confirmed to Variety. Speaking with the Washington Post, Tork’s sister Anne Thorkelson did not specify a cause of death, although the guitarist had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a decade ago.

Tork wrote a blog piece for the Post about his diagnosis with adenoid cystic carcinoma after beginning treatment in 2009. Through most of the 10 years since, he had been able to resume an active musical life, participating in Monkees reunion tours as recently as 2016, and recording his own solo blues albums, the last of which, “Relax Your Mind,” came out early last year.

While the Monkees were a manufactured, television-centric, American version of the Beatles as depicted in “A Hard Day;s Night,” Tork and fellow guitarist Mike Nesmith were serious musicians who paid their dues on the folk and rock scenes of the early 1960s; vocalist Davy Jones and singer/drummer Micky Dolenz were former child actors. Tork played the “Ringo” role in the group, as a charming and goofy comic foil.

While the Monkees enjoyed enormous chart and box-office success in the wake of the television show, which launched in 1966 and was created by producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, the group grew weary of not being taken seriously. They gradually took on the instrumental and songwriting work on their recordings and made a dramatic split with their past on the uneven and very psychedelic 1968 album and film “Head,” which baffled fans and largely failed to introduce them to a new audience. The group split not long after, reuniting periodically over the years. Jones died in 2012...

RIP: DAVY JONES

Baby boomer women will be morning worldwide...

DAVY JONES, STAR OF THE MONKEES HAS DIED
By Associated Press

Davy Jones, the mop-topped leader of 1960s pop band The Monkees, died Wednesday of a massive heart attack. Jones was 66. His publicist, Helen Kensick, said the singer died in Indiantown, Fla., where he lived.

With an infectious smile and easy humor, the diminutive Brit played the Paul McCartney role in the Beatles-inspired quartet, which also included Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith.

Jones sang lead on some of the group's biggest hits, including Daydream Believer. Jones, who like his bandmates had continued to perform, had dates scheduled for March.

Formed in 1966 by Hollywood producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, The Monkees quickly stormed radio and TV airwaves with a string of chart-topping songs that went on to sell an estimated 65 million copies worldwide.

"There were certain indelible images we had of The Monkees, and that was Mike's cap, Micky's goofy looks and Davy's cuteness," says Phil Gallo, senior correspondent at Billboard. "Of all of them, Davy's character was the softest. He was the nice guy, the crowd pleaser."

Gallo recalls being a kid in the 1960s, "collecting Batman cards, then graduating to Monkees cards, way before I got into baseball cards. They were the very first boy band, when you think about it."

Jones was born Dec. 30, 1945, in Manchester, England. His long hair and British accent helped him achieve heartthrob status in the United States.

According to the Monkees website, Monkees.com, he left the band in late 1970. In the summer of 1971, he recorded a solo hit Rainy Jane and made a series of appearances on American variety and television shows, including Love, American Style and The Brady Bunch.

By the mid-1980s, Jones teamed up Tork, Dolenz and promoter David Fishof for a reunion tour. Their popularity prompted MTV to re-air The Monkees series, introducing the group to a new audience.

In 1989, the group received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the late 1990s, the group filmed a special called Hey, Hey, It's The Monkees.

Jones is survived by his wife, Jessica, and four daughters from previous marriages.

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