Classic Rant #691 (March 8, 2012): Davy's Final Resting Place

A private funeral was held in Florida yesterday for Davy Jones, the Monkees heartthrob who passed away on Feb. 29. Reports are that he was cremated.

It was only for immediate family members. Reports are that the three surviving Monkees--Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz--would like to hold a memorial concert, or at least attend the public celebrations of Jones' life that are planned for New York and England.

They stayed away from the funeral so as not to cause a media stampede, but there weren't any clear reports that they were actually invited. No slight here, this was just for family members.

Plans are still sketchy on all of these memorials, but Tork said that any continuation of the group "doesn't seem very likely, does it?" But he isn't ruling it out entirely.

"It's not absolutely impossible," Tork told Billboard.com. "The Monkees have gone out as a threesome for most of the past 20-some years. But there are no plans, no discussion. This is way too early to begin to think about that."

Tork added that "certainly if there's some kind of concert in his honor, I think we would all attend if we could arrange it."

Although the surviving threesome will always be known as Monkees, each has carved out a somewhat impressive career away from the band.

Tork currently tours with his band Shoe Suede Blues, a blues-pop band that generally plays smaller venues. He is a cancer survivor, and the oldest Monkee.

Dolenz also tours as a solo act, and once again, he will be on the "Happy Together" tour with the Turtles and other acts this summer. He has also carved out a niche as a director and an actor, and has also been a DJ on WCBS-FM.

Nesmith, the most reclusive of the bunch, has had a successful career as a solo artist, producer, writer, and record company owner. He oversees Videoranch, a site where all facets of his career can be explored.

The three have never toured together since the Monkees' prime period in the mid to late 1960s, and never as a threesome. Nesmith did join the Monkees, including Jones, for a few concerts over the years, but generally swears off such things. He has performed solo a few times during the past year.

Tork and Dolenz have appeared in concert together numerous times over the years, both in the U.S. and overseas.

Will the threesome ever get together again? I kind of agree with Tork, it is pretty senseless without Jones, because even though each one of the foursome brought something else to the Monkees, Jones pretty much WAS the Monkees.

Without Davy, there really is no Monkees.

On a lesser level, it pretty much compares with the situation of John Lennon. With all the ballyhoo in the 1970s of the Beatles reforming for "just" one concert to save humanity, when Lennon passed in 1980, that was the end of the dream.

Without Lennon, there is no Beatles, and without Jones, there is no Monkees.

(And happy birthday to Micky Dolenz today. He hits No. 67 on this day, It must be a bittersweet celebration this year, but whatever it is, happy birthday, George Michael Dolenz!)