During The Monkees’ heyday in the late 1960s, they were both hated and beloved.

Hated by those who derisively described the band as the “Pre-Fab Four” for its obvious attempt to capitalize on The Beatles’ popularity and for its origin as a fictional rock band created for a television comedy series.

And beloved by fans, mostly pre-teen girls, who bought The Monkees’ records and merchandise, making the group’s first two albums some of the best-selling LPs of the decade and its songs into pop classics not only for them, but for their children and grandchildren.

Davy Jones, who died of a heart attack in Florida on Wednesday at age 66, was arguably the most recognizable member of The Monkees, with his British accent, diminutive stature and voice that propelled such hits as “Daydream Believer” and “Valleri” to the top of the charts.

We called on some Mainers with music ties for their reaction to the untimely death of a true ’60s icon:

• Rick Johnson, DJ at Big Hits WYNZ (100.9 FM): “I think The Monkees are underrated. I don’t think they got enough credit for their musical ability. When they first started, Don Kirshner wrote a lot of their songs, and he’s given credit for a lot of their success. But it’s their delivery that really sold those songs…. The Micky Dolenz songs could be angry, like ‘(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone,’ but ‘Daydream Believer’ is a pure romantic pop song. Plus, (Jones) took Marcia Brady to the prom (in a 1971 episode of ‘The Brady Bunch’).”

• Melissa Martin, former owner of CD Authority: “I saw him 10 years ago at the Hatch Shell in Boston with Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, and he was wonderful. He was so animated and such a great showman. And he still had the voice.”

• Chris Brown, head of marketing for the Bull Moose chain: “What I admire most about The Monkees was the fact that they started as this manufactured TV band, the ‘Pre-Fab Four.’ But somewhere along the line, they decided that they wanted to become a real band, and started insisting on writing their own tunes and playing their own instruments. Some people consider the (1968 soundtrack) album ‘Head’ to be a minor psychedelic classic.”

Brown is particularly fond of Jones for another reason. “Personally, as someone who was always the shortest kid in class, I always enjoyed the fact that the shortest Monkee was also the one who always got kissed.”

• Musician Zach Jones (no relation): “I used to watch the TV show when I was a kid, and I didn’t realize it was from the ’60s. I was a big fan of the show, and I related to their wacky personalities as a kid, and even though they were a manufactured band, their music stands up against a lot of the music of that day.”

He also thinks Jones should be remembered for another reason: “I hope Axl Rose credited Davy Jones for his dance moves.”

Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:

aponti@pressherald.com

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