Davy Jones Biography

David Thomas Jones was born on December 30, 1945 in Manchester, England. He is the brother of three sisters and son of a railroad fitter and homemaker. Nicknamed "Davy," he acted in his first play, "Tom Sawyer" at a young age. At the age of 11, he starred in the daytime soap opera "Coronation Street," as well as other productions such as "June Evening" and the BBC radio plays, "There Is a Happy Land" & "The Morning Story." After his mother's death in 1960, he lost interest in school and his surroundings and left home to live his dream of becoming a horse racing jockey. While working as an apprentice jockey for Basil Foster, who often suggested Jones become and entertainer, an agent approached Davy about an entertainment career. As a young teenager, Davy played the part of the Artful Dodger in the production, "Oliver!" After playing the part in London, he was moved to Broadway and where he was nominated for a Tony Award at the age of 16. Soon after an appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964 (the same night The Beatles guest starred), Jones signed with Colpix Records/Columbia Pictures. His first solo album, "David Jones" was released in 1965, but didn't chart until 1967 when it placed No. 185 on the Billboard charts. Also in 1965, a single featuring "What Are We Going To Do?" charted at No. 93.

In the fall of 1965, Davy was the first to be selected as a member of the soon-to-be music and TV phenomenon, "The Monkees." By the time "The Monkees" premiered in September 1966, Davy had captured the hearts of millions of teenaged girls with his long hair and charming English accent. After the success of The Monkees had faded away, Jones left the group in late-1970.

Soon after The Monkees, Davy signed with Bell Records to release his second solo record, simply titled "Davy Jones." The 1971 album contained the single, "Rainy Jane" that would end up as a somewhat successful effort, charting at No. 52. Another career landmark in 1971 was David's famous appearance on the "Getting Davy Jones" episode of the popular TV show "The Brady Bunch." On the show, he sang what is now perhaps his most recognized solo recording, "Girl." This particular episode of "The Brady Bunch" is the most re-run episode of any TV show in history. Jones also found time to make guest appearances on other TV programs such as "Love American Style," among others. Between this time and 1973, when Davy signed with MGM, he released a small number of singles and performed numerous solo concerts.

By the time 1975 came around, Davy had joined up with fellow Monkee, Micky Dolenz and Monkees songwriters, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, to form Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart. After DJB&H went their separate ways, Jones traveled to England to star in Harry Nilsson's "The Point" with Micky Dolenz, as well as re-join the production cast of "Oliver!"

The early 1980s brought Davy joining a group called Toast and acting in the play, "Godspell." Then in 1986, The Monkees celebrated their 20th Anniversary with an album and tours that lasted until the end of 1989. During The Monkees reunion, David released a very notable solo album titled, "Incredible." In the early-90s, Jones returned to the theatre by, again acting in "Oliver!" but this time playing the part of Fagin. During this time period, he also joined the stage production of "Grease." After numerous solo tours, Davy once again got together with Micky Dolenz in 1994 and 1995 to travel across the U.S. on their "Together Again" tour. Additionally, David was supposed to provide background vocals on Peter Tork's 1994 solo album "Stranger Things Have Happened," but ended up talking during the recording session and never got to it. In 1995, Davy appeared on "The Brady Bunch Movie" to sing a new, more modern version of "Girl."

From 1996 through the end of 1997, Jones re-joined his band mates for The Monkees' 30th Anniversary Reunion. Still having a passion for horses, David's childhood dream came true in 1996 when he won his first amateur horse race in Lingfield, England with his horse, Digpast. Unfortunately, Digpast died after injuries he sustained during a race in 2001. Throughout the late-90s, Davy found time to make guest appearances on several popular TV shows, such as "The Single Guy," "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch," and "Boy Meets World." Also, in the late-90s Davy released four volumes of his "Just For The Record" series that features his unreleased solo material. In 1998, Jones got together with Bobby Sherman and Peter Noone to travel the country on their successful "Teen Idols Tour." Davy has also written multiple autobiographies about his life such as They Made A Monkee Out Of Me, They Made A Monkee Out Of Me...Again, Mutant Monkees Meet the Masters of the Multi-Media Manipulation Machine!, and Daydream Believin', which also brought a number of book tours.

Now, in the 21st century, Davy has kept busy by releasing a new and long-awaited solo album called, "Just Me." Also, for the third time, he got together with The Monkees for tours and other projects during 2001 and 2002. Just recently, reaching an important landmark in his personal life, Davy became a grandfather for the first time in July 2002. Starting in September 2003, Davy began hosting episodes of A&E's weekly series, "Meet The Royals." New episodes are no longer being aired, but reruns are being shown on the Biography Channel. He released three new CDs in 2004 and looking forward into 2006, Davy has more solo concerts planned.