I’d be betraying my childhood if I didn’t note with sadness the passing of Davy Jones. I loved The Monkees TV show as a kid–I used to watch it every day after school on WPGH-53 out of Pittsburgh, which showed it in syndication. And the first album I bought with my own money was a Monkees greatest hits collection on cassette.
The show wasn’t just a farce aimed at kids: it had an absurdist, anarchic sensibility reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. And for all the needling The Monkees received as the “Pre-Fab Four,” their music holds up well and compares favorably to a lot of other pop from the era.
R.I.P.
And just for kicks, here’s the Frank Zappa cameo from the TV show:
A Thinking Reed 
I’m a bit older than you 😉 and the first 45 I played on my close-n-play was “I’m a Believer” (I was 4, I think; I had a thing for the Monkees). I either bought the single with my allowance, or one of my dad’s parishioners gave it to me. I was very sad to hear this news today!