The Monkees were part of many musical firsts for me.They were my first two concerts, both in 1986 on the 20th Anniversary Tour. At one, my cousin Stephanie was able to go back stage at meet Davy - or all three? I forget - and I remember sitting in the car BAWLING my eyes out because I didn't get to meet them. (I was six, give me a break.) Stephanie and I would later see them on the 1996 30th Anniversary Tour, and Todd and I attempted to go to last summer's 45th Anniversary Tour but were shocked to find out both nights in Niagara Falls had sold out. Damn!
Rhino LP reissues of the first few albums were amongst my first records and a series of three cassettes of dubs of the first six albums supplemented by "bonus tracks" recorded from the TV show that my cousin made for me started a tradition of "homemade deluxe editions" on cassette that I would continue well into the 90's. The cassettes are still around somewhere and the records - a bit battered and bruised from overuse at the hands of a six year old - are still on my shelf. A few years later, I'd have my first lesson different record pressings and the differences in stere/mono as I inherited a few Colgems original pressings from my babysitter, also pretty beat up but still on the shelf. The Rhino CD reissues from the mid-90's would be one of the first, if not the first times I rebought a band's discography for bonus tracks and remasterings. (Some of the albums I bought for the first time - I never even knew of the existence of 'Instant Replay' before that campaign. That said, I still have yet to bother with the reissue of 'Changes' because, well, obviously.)
Along with "Weird Al", they were my first favorite band.
Admittedly Davy was never my favorite - I was always a Peter or Mike type of boy - but I grew to appreciate what he brought to the table as I got older. Tracks like "Early Morning Blues and Greens" and "Hard To Believe" that I used to skip over to get to the "good stuff" resonated a bit more as the years went on and I came to see their place in the Monkees' discography. His death today was totally out of nowhere and has had lead me on a fantastic trip down Monkees memory lane. I'm even sadder that I missed the 45th Anniversary Tour now - which got rave reviews from pretty much all who saw it - as it also sadly turned out to be the last hurrah.
Had I to pick, this would be my favorite Davy song:
Thank you for the music.
