海角大神

British singer Davy Jones, most well known for his lead role in the American TV show, 鈥�The Monkees,鈥� passed away at his Florida home Wednesday聽at the age of 66.

While he was an up-and-coming actor/singer, nabbing a Tony nomination for his role as the Artful Dodger in 鈥�Oliver!鈥� he is known to millions as the heartthrob at the center of the popular TV show that ran聽from 1966 to 1968 and pioneered stylistic techniques that were exploited by other programs for years.

The program itself聽has a place in TV history for giving birth to what Fordham University media professor Paul Levinson聽calls the first musical group that was a complete creation of the television world.聽

鈥淭his was not a group that jammed in a garage or made a demo that somehow made its way to a studio executive,鈥� he聽points out. 鈥淭his was not a bunch of musicians that wrote their own music and hoped to be discovered like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.鈥�

Rather, the show was conceived as a TV pilot, and Mr. Jones, who was under contract to the studio,聽was cast as the lead singer. The remaining members of the band, Mickey Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith were hired after Jones.

Despite being a media creation, points out Professor Levinson, the group sold real records to real fans. 鈥淚t paved the way for all subsequent media creations that moved through the screen and out into the real world,鈥� he says.

The program became a pop culture phenomenon, points out Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular聽Culture at Syracuse University in New York. The fantasy world of聽the four fictional characters 鈥減laying themselves,鈥� hit a chord in the culture and touched millions of people, he points out.

鈥淚f you think of Justin Bieber and multiply that many times,鈥� he says with a laugh, 鈥渢hat was the sort of impact Davy Jones had.鈥�

This was partly due to the nature of popular media of the time. 鈥淚t was not fragmented as it is today,鈥� he says, so that when a singer or group caught on, 鈥渋t became a merchandising-machine dream.鈥� The Monkees logos were virtually everywhere, from comics to聽shirts and, Prof. Thompson points out, 鈥渢hey sold millions of records.鈥�

Part of the show鈥檚 appeal聽came from its ability to ride聽the newly breaking wave of experimental聽creativity with the medium of聽popular television.

While many may not necessarily associate the concept of groundbreaking with the pop-candy music聽of the Monkees 鈥� with such songs as 鈥淚鈥檓 a Believer鈥� 鈥� Thompson says the show pushed the creative envelope for its day. 鈥淚t had all these quick cuts and a narrative that was fundamentally surreal,鈥� says Thompson.聽鈥淭he actors didn鈥檛 even necessarily move in believably聽human ways,鈥� he says, adding that the urge to be 鈥済roovy and hip was helping create a new visual aesthetic.鈥�

These were techniques that would聽be exploited in everything from 鈥渢he Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour鈥� to聽鈥淩owan and Martin鈥檚 Laugh-In,鈥� to 鈥�Sesame Street.鈥�

The stylistic techniques that made 鈥渢he Monkees鈥澛爏uch a distinctive pop culture destination found full flower much later in MTV, which didn鈥檛 debut until 1981, notes Thompson.

While Jones left the group in late 1970, he maintained a place in the heart of young female fans with such iconic moments as his 1971 appearance on聽 鈥�The Brady Bunch,鈥� answering Marcia Brady鈥檚 dream of having the singer appear at her high school dance.

MTV later aired聽鈥淭he Monkees鈥� during the 1980s,聽creating a new generation of fans for the group, which reunited for a tour in the same decade.聽

鈥淭he Monkees鈥� are the only artists to have four No. 1 albums in the same year. The TV show won two Emmys, and the group had 12 Billboard Top 40 singles 鈥� among them 鈥淚'm a Believer,鈥� 鈥淟ast Train to Clarksville,鈥澛犫�淒aydream Believer,鈥� 鈥淪tepping Stone,鈥� and 鈥淚 Wanna Be Free.鈥�