Why The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork Performed ‘Daydream Believer’ Together After Davy Jones Died
Davy Jones performed vocals on The Monkees‘ “Daydream Believer.” Jones discussed what it was like performing the song decades after its release. In addition, The Monkees’ Peter Tork revealed why he performed the song as a duet with Micky Dolenz after Jones’ death.
What Davy Jones thought about performing The Monkees’ ‘Daydream Believer’ decades after its release
During a 2008 interview with the Herald Tribune, Jones said he loved being in the spotlight. “That’s my job,” he said. “I always get a thrill being on stage.”
Jones enjoyed meeting fans in public. “That’s my reward for being Davy Jones from The Monkees,” he said. “I only have to talk at the airport and people turn around and go, ‘It’s Davy Jones.’ Who wouldn’t love that?”
Jones enjoyed singing “Daydream Believer” and other Monkees hits with his band. “And when we go out and sing ‘Daydream Believer,’ ‘I’m a Believer,’ ‘Last Train to Clarksville,’ ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday,’ ‘Valerie,’ and ‘I Wanna Be Free,’ all these tunes, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork each performed Davy Jones songs on tour
The Monkees continued to perform “Daydream Believer” on tour after Jones’ death in 2012. During a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Tork discussed duetting with Dolenz. “If you stop to think about it, there are six pairs in a quartet,” Tork said. “Micky and I have the closest musical sensibilities of any of the pairs.”
Tork discussed how he and Dolenz divided up songs on the setlist. “On this tour, I’m singing a lot of songs,” he said. “We divide the Davy songs in two, though we’re doing ‘Daydream Believer’ in unison. Interacting with Micky onstage is just a joy.”
How ‘Daydream Believer’ and its parent album performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Daydream Believer” became a massive hit for The Monkees. For four weeks, the track topped the Billboard Hot 100. “Daydream Believer” stayed on the chart for 16 weeks altogether. The band released the song on the album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. It was the group’s first album that didn’t top the chart.
The Official Charts Company reports “Daydream Believer” was a hit in the United Kingdom too. In the 1960s, it reached No. 5 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. In 2012, the song hit No. 69 for one week. Meanwhile, The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees did not chart in the U.K.
“Daydream Believer” is a classic song — and it lived on after Jones’ death.
