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TL;DR:

  • The Monkees’ Davy Jones named his three favorite Beatles songs.
  • He also named his favorite track from The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
  • One of Jones’ favorites reached No. 1 in the United States.
The Monkees' Davy Jones in front of a blue curtain
The Monkees’ Davy Jones | CBS Photo Archive / Contributor

The Monkees‘ Davy Jones was a huge fan of The Beatles’ songs. He once discussed how the Fab Four and the Prefab Four would be remembered by future generations. Subsequently, he said three hits were his favorite Beatles songs.

The Monkees’ Davy Jones compared his band and The Beatles to Duran Duran

According to the book A Walk Down Abbey Road, Jones was asked about the way The Beatles and The Monkees would be perceived in the future. “I don’t know if [people will] recognize individuals in years to come,” he replied. “I mean, The Monkees: Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy and The Beatles: John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but [now] you always seem to remember the groups.”

Jones discussed his feelings about groups. “And nothing against them,” he said. “Most of the mums and dads might know of Duran Duran, but they’re not going to know the names of the guys in the band. I’m not putting them down.”

The Monkees’ Davy Jones said 1 Fab Four song ‘rips me up every time I hear it’

Jones was asked to name his favorite Fab Four songs. “I have a couple of them,” he said. “‘Penny Lane,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ and ‘Strawberry Fields [Forever],’ Those three are just monster songs. And then there’s the whole Sgt. Pepper album, with ‘Fixing a Hole’ in particular.

“But then how can you dispute a magnum opus like ‘A Day in the Life?'” Jones continued. “But that era of Beatles songs marks the peak of the Beatle world for me. Especially those three that I mentioned first. ‘Penny Lane’ just rips me up every time I hear it.”

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How those 3 Beatles songs performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

Jones’ three favorite Beatles songs became hits in the United States. “Penny Lane” was No. 1 for one of its 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. “Eleanor Rigby” was a more modest hit, reaching No. 11 and remaining on the chart for eight weeks. The success of “Strawberry Fields Forever” was somewhere in the middle, hitting No. 8 and staying on the chart for nine weeks.

The Official Charts Company reports the songs each had a different reception in the United Kingdom. There, “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” were a double A-Side single that hit No. 2 and lasted 11 weeks on the chart. Meanwhile, “Eleanor Rigby” was No. 1 for four weeks in the U.K., staying on the chart for 13 weeks in total.

“Penny Lane,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” connected with Jones — and they seemed to connect with the public as well.

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