Manchester UK
(This is what my very good friend MaryLee’s son Josh said, when he was about 5 years old , when we asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up)
“BUZZ” Newspaper Article Apr- May 2012 (#14-N)
By: Rik “Dr. Rox” Schwinden aka Mr.Zer0
A Foreword by; Renee Dahring NP
I knew David as a friend for almost 25 years. As a performer he worked hard to do his best, it didn’t matter to him if the audience was in the hundreds or the thousands, he always gave 110%. . His fans knew he could be counted on to stay late, shake hands and sign autographs even when he was exhausted. He told me once “I never want to seem ungrateful”. He was that rare celebrity who believed he had a responsibility to his fans. On a personal level he was a kind and generous man and fiercely loyal to his friends. As a professional, he was a class act. On all levels he will be missed greatly.
Hello fans Mr. Zero here, welcome back to yet another round,
As you may have heard David “Davy” Jones (David Thomas Jones 30 Dec 1945 Manchester, UK) of The Monkees passed away on 29 Feb 2012. Some of you may remember I wrote an article on The Monkees last June (you can re-read this article www.MrZeros.Com in the “Blog” section) for their 2 concert appearance at the Minnesota Zoo last 1-2 July 2011. As some of you may not know I own a “Used Music Shop” Mr. Zero’s in Roseville 55113, as well as you may not realize this shop was named after a Monkees TV Episode #52 “Devil and Peter Tork” from 5 Feb 1968. Monte Landis played “Mr. Zero” (the devil) who owned a pawn shop “Mr. Zero’s”. When we opened the shop I wanted a nondescript name that did not limit what we could sell in the shop, as well as to give homage to the band that got me interested in music to begin with.
“How Did You Start”
According to my Mom The Monkees was one of the first bands & TV shows I liked as a toddler, as I grew older I never stopped liking the music of The Monkees including their off shoots ‘Boyce & Hart’. Many years later when I quit traveling the road as a musician I started working for a music store chain called ‘RecordShop’ in 1986, fortunately for me at the height of The Monkees 20th anniversary reunion tour. Over the years I saw The Monkees in one form or another about 45 times from Indiana to Arizona and all points in between. On those journeys I made some great friends and met some awesome people in my travels, many of them I am still in contact with today, after almost 23 years later, such as Ace, Tim & MaryLee, Crazy Rob, Renee, Aggie, Bill, Jen, Cindy & Bonnie and well the list goes on and on. In addition to these wonderful people I was fortunate enough to meet The Monkees, Boyce & Hart themselves and many of the other people involved in the whole Monkees project, in doing research for my book on The Monkees “Here We Come: the touring history of The Monkees”.
“I Once Did A Job For”
I first met David (he preferred to be called David actually) in Chicago Aug 1990 through photographer Michael G. Bush, I was able to get David to sign a 1966 Vox guitar (in 1966 they had an endorsement with Vox) later on I was able to get Micky, Peter & Boyce & Hart to sign this same guitar (Nez passed on signing this). In Feb 1991 David performed 2 shows down the street from where I was living in Des Moines, Iowa; I had a brief phone conversation with him one morning, and met him both nights after the shows. In March 1992 David contacted our mutual friend Cindy and asked her to ask me to fax to his hotel, some specific research I had compiled for my book. David was requesting a history of his writing and producing credits for The Monkees, as he was seeking to renegotiate his royalty deal with Rhino Records, as the original deal had been set in 1965, and it was almost 30 years later.
“You Have A Contract’
Turns out David had either written or co-written some 16 songs and produced about 22 songs when he was with The Monkees 1965- 1970. True many of his songs were not issued or used at the time, and his music may not be to everyone’s liking, however I myself really enjoy what David coined as “Broadway Rock” some of David’s best originals I feel we’re “You and I” (with Neil Young on Lead Guitar) a song about his fleeting fame a s pop star. “War Games” an anti war song aimed at the Viet Nam war. “The Poster” a tip of the hat to the Beatles “Mr. Kite” and several others like: “Dream World” “I’m Gonna Try” “Smile” and the original theme song for The Monkees movie “Head” which was originally titled “Changes”
“But, He Knows You”
I had met up with David many other times over the years, 1994-95, 96, 97, 1999 etc, one time when Renee and I were attending a Jones concert at the Wisconsin State Fair in July 2003, David invited us backstage, as we were leaving the backstage area, Renee looked at me and said “You know Rik everyone knows Davy Jones” I replied “Yea…?” and Renee followed up with “Davy Jones knows you !!!” It was there and then, I realized how far I had come from a toddler watching Jones on TV to being a major fan, and on to an acquaintance … I really felt I had arrived as a true Monkee’s fan… A couple of years later in Sep 2005 David was asked by Father Charlie to play the Church I attend St. John Neumann in Eagan, MN. It just happened so that VH-1 was filming a special on David and VH-1 covered a book signing at The Brit Pub in downtown Minneapolis. At the filming David and I began talking about various items fans had brought to get signed I was surprised he knew about 90% of what people brought to him to get signed. In between fan autographs David and I started joking around and the producers of the show asked me to sign off and do a small scene with David from the reaction of the people in attendance, apparently we were quite humorous !!! However my scene was cut, hey you can only fit so much in a 45 min segment !!!
“The Last Time”
I last spoke with David at the Minnesota Zoo last summer, and I am so glad I was able to see both shows (thanks Tina & Todd) and I am so grateful I was able to. In closing I would like to convey this message I had be in contact with David about a dozen times over the last 20 years, and of all the Pop- Rock Stars I have met, and there have been many, Jones was one of the best. He knew ‘Which side his bread was buttered on’, this something he once said about himself and his fans, and there are a couple of photos (1 in 1991 the other in 1997) of David and I joking around about this statement. He was always good to his fans and grateful for his fame. He will be missed by many.
“What Else Did He Do”
As a life long fan it has always bothered me when people would say or ask “What has Davy done lately ?” The rest of this article will cover some of the many things David did over the years when we was not a Monkee. I am here to tell you, Jones was always working, whether it be music, musicals or acting he was always out there performing. He once said “My passport says ‘Entertainer” When he wasn’t with The Monkees, Jones performed many “Solo Tours” here are some of the years he was out on the road touring solo:
Solo Tours: 1971, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
David released 1 LP and 4 Singles before The Monkees and 14 albums, a 5-CD Boxset and 13 singles after he was in The Monkees, the list is as follows:
“David Jones” 1965 Colpix CP-493 (LP & now on CD)
“Davy Jones” 1971 Bell # 6067 (LP on CD: 24 Apr 2012)
“Davy Jones Live” 1981 JAL-1003 (LP)
“Hello Davy” 1982 Pioneer K-10025 (LP & Laserdisc)
“Davy Jones Sings” 1983 K-Tel NA-587 (LP & Cass)
“Incredible” 1989 (cassette)
“It’s Christmas Time Again” 1991 (Cass & CD)
“Don’t Go” 1996 Hercules (CD)
“Just For The Record Volumes 1-4” Hercules #9539
(5 Cass 1995 or CD 1999 BoxSet from 1963- 1996)
“Teen Idols 1998 Tour” 1998 (CD)
“Just Me” 1999 Hercules (CD)
“Just Me 2” 2004 Hercules CJAM-7775 (CD)
“Daydream Believin” 2004 Hercules CJAM-7776 (CD)
“Live” 2004 Hercules CJAM-7777 (CD)
“Incredible Revisited” 2008 DavidTJones (CD)
“Let Them Be Little” 200? (CD)
“She” 2008 (CD)
“Monkees: Davy Jones The Works Retrospective” 2012 (CD)
Unofficial:
“David Jones: The 45 Singles” (1996 Cass & CD 1999)
“David T. Jones: Manchester Cowboy Rarities” (CD 2005)
1965 four 45 Singles on Colpix
1971- 72 four 45 singles on Bell
1972 -73 two 45 Singles on MGM
1978 a 45 Single for Disney on WB
1981 two 45 Singles on JAL
1982 a 45 Single on Pioneer
1984 a 45 Single on JJ
1987 a 45 Single on Powderworks
2006 “Your Personal Penguin” (CD)
TV: “An Evening with David Jones””Pop Goes Davy Jones” “Here Comes the Brides” “Make Room for Grandaddy” “Love American Style” “Brady Bunch””Scooby- Doo” “Merv Griffin” “Steel Pier Show” “Sledgehammer” “My Two Dads” “The Single Guy” “ABC After School Special” “Country Kitchen” “Herman’s Head” “Boy Meets World” “Lush Life” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”
Movies: “Star Spangled Girl” “Bluegrass Special” “Brady Bunch Movie”
Musicals: “Oliver” 1964 (Artful Dodger) “The Point” 1977 (Oblio) “Jack and the Beanstalk” “Puss In Boots” “Dick Whittington” “Cinderella” 1984 “Godspell” 1985 “Oliver” 1988 (Fagen) “Godspell” 1991 (Jesus) “Oliver!” 1993 (Fagin) “Rock and Roll Pom Pom Show” 1994 “Real Live Brady Bunch” 1994 (Himself) “Grease!” 1994 (Vince Fontaine) “Cinderella” 2006 (Buttons)
(Thanks to: Bonnie Borgh for filling in the gaps for me)
I realize this particular article has been a bit self indulgent, my apologies, however I have followed and listened to and made this band a part of my life for more than 40 years. As a kid in Sioux City all I wanted was to have a pop band, with 3 close friends and make some fun music like The Monkees did… in many ways, that dream came true… Thank you, David, Micky, Peter, Michael, Tommy & Bobby.
R.L.Schwinden of “Mr. Zero’s” Roseville, MN. 55113
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