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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Out There!: "Girl" by Davy Jones

The song I am about to lay on you is one of my Top 10 Songs of all time, regardless of how cheesy it might sound to the average music fan. It's been a part of my life since I was a young child watching reruns of The Brady Bunch in syndication. The song is Girl by former Monkee and 60's teen idol, Davy Jones.

When The Monkees primetime show ended and their critically acclaimed movie Head tanked in the box office in 1968, the band went their separate ways. Davy Jones went solo from 1971 to 1975 when he reunited with Mickey Dolenz and former writers of Monkees tunes, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. In order to gain some attention for his new solo project, he appeared on an episode of The Brady Bunch performing a nice little ballad simply titled "Girl". You have to remember that classic episode. Davy was in the recording studio singing and doing his trademark sway that Axl Rose would steal later on while Marcia Brady watched with glee hoping to speak to him about appearing at her high school dance. Although his appearance on the Brady Bunch was legendary, it did not do much for his solo career. The song was released as a single in 1971, but could not even make it on the charts. Not sure how it failed since it truly fit the AM radio format that was oh so popular back in the early seventies.



Girl is truly a rare gem and a song that was not that easy to add to the collection. Thank God for the internet in which I was able to get the recording from the show as well as the version released on his 1971 self-titled album which is out of print. Otherwise, it would have been a real challenge to find it. The song was on a Davy Jones compilation released in 1996 which is no longer in print and impossible to find. Try and search for the song on itunes and all you get is the updated rock version performed by Davy Jones for The Brady Bunch movie that came out in 1995. Now we know why people head to peer to peer networks to download music.

A few months ago, I met the legend himself and thanked him for singing the classic tune. He didn't say much probably due to embarrassment, but did give us a smile. Although you are probably a fan of his tunes like Daydream Believer and A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You that he sang with The Monkees, you will love Girl so much more. Honestly, if you have a new girlfriend whose name is one syllable, I suggest you serenade her by singing this great ballad. Just insert her name in place of Girl, and I guarantee you are going to get laid tonight!

Ladies and gentlemen... One of my favorite tunes of all time and a real hidden gem, Girl by Davy Jones



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