Peter Tork and Davy Jones may have had personal differences throughout their years as members of The Monkees. However, neither could deny the other’s musical gifts. Peter defended Davy in the press and to fellow musicians who dismissed the singer as having no musical skills. He said Davy “just knew” how to do more than just front the group.
Peter Tork and Davy Jones had a rocky relationship
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Peter Tork discussed a tense event between him and Davy Jones. Their rocky relationship once came to blows.
Peter admits, “Yeah, I hit him once.” He joked, “My conscience was stricken for years.” Peter followed that statement with, “Of course, the little sucker hit me first.”
He continued, “He hit me in the jaw with his forehead. Davy did this thing called a nutter, which is a soccer hooligan maneuver. You use your forehead.” Peter reportedly followed up Davy’s strike by defending himself.
However they handled their issues, Peter regularly stood up for Davy and castmates Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz to other musicians who tried to dismiss The Monkees’ musical competency.
Peter Tork defended Davy Jones’ musical skills to other musicians
Peter Tork discussed Davy Jones’ music skills, such as those of Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz, in a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone. He defended his bandmate to a reporter who discussed a dig at The Monkees by the Byrds in their 1967 hit “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star.”
“No. Nobody ever said anything like that to me. I took it at face value. Maybe they thought about The Monkees,’” he said
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Peter said all of the band members had plenty of music talent. “I’d been playing music of one sort or another time I was nine. Michael played continuously for several years before that; he was a folkie,” Peter continued. He spoke of The Monkees drummer Micky and his music skills, including “folk guitar, fireside guitar, you gave him a guitar, and he could play anything,” Peter shared.
Then, Peter defended Davy. He admitted his bandmate didn’t officially play any instruments. However, he “had been on Broadway. He was the American original Artful Dodger in Oliver, and that’s not nothing as musical ability.”
He continued, “When we said, ‘We need a bass player for this,’ he said, ‘How do I play bass?’ We said, ‘You put your finger here and pluck this string here.’ He was onstage with us, playing bass within five minutes. Davy just knew and was among the most fabulously musically adept minds I have ever met. That’s not nothing.”
The bassist revealed the ‘best natural musician’ of The Monkees
Happy Birthday Peter Tork! The consummate musician, Peter played guitar, bass, banjo and keyboards on the Monkees’ recordings & was the first among them to be allowed to participate in this process beginning with their debut album. pic.twitter.com/Z6puyDme8c
— The Monkees (@TheMonkees) February 13, 2023
In an interview with Guitar World, Peter Tork named Davy Jones the “best natural musician” of The Monkees. This compliment came after a discussion in the piece about Tork’s many musical skills, which include guitar, bass, keyboards, banjo, and other instruments.
Tork assessed, “The best natural musician in the bunch was Davy. He never hit a bad note. My pitch is not as certain, and Micky’s isn’t as secure. Mike’s is, but he doesn’t have the emotional range Davy had.”
He continued to praise Jones’ talents. “Davy could sing Broadway, ballads, and rock. He could do anything. What I am, among these guys, is the best trained, the only one who could read and write music.”
