[1][2] Aside from his work on The Monkees TV show, Jones's acting credits include a Tony-nominated performance as the Artful Dodger in the original London and Broadway productions of Oliver!

Following the death of his mother, Jones rejected acting in favour of becoming a jockey, commencing an apprenticeship with Newmarket trainer Basil Foster.

Even though Foster believed Jones would be successful as a jockey, he encouraged his young protégé to take a role as the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver!

[8] On 9 February 1964, Jones appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show with Georgia Brown, who was playing Nancy in the Broadway production of Oliver!.

Following his Ed Sullivan appearance, Jones signed a contract with Ward Sylvester of Screen Gems (at that time the television division of Columbia Pictures).

A pair of U.S. television appearances followed, as Jones received screen time in episodes of Ben Casey and The Farmer's Daughter.

[12] Jones sang lead vocals on many of the Monkees' recordings, including "I Wanna Be Free" and "Daydream Believer".

[13] Although the single sold poorly, the popularity of Jones' appearance on the show resulted in "Girl" becoming his best-remembered solo hit, even though it was not included in the album.

[citation needed] Dolenz and Jones took advantage of this, joining ex-Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart to tour the United States.

"), they successfully performed in smaller venues such as state fairs and amusement parks as well as making stops in Japan, Thailand, and Singapore (although they were forbidden from using the "Monkees" name, as it was owned by Screen Gems at the time).

Glenn A. Baker, author of Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees, commented in 1986 that "for an artist as versatile and confident as (Davy) Jones, the relative failure of his post-Monkees activities is puzzling.

For all his cocky predictions to the press about his future plans, Davy fell into a directionless heap when left to his own devices.

The show was considered so good that it was planned to be revived again in 1979 but it proved cost prohibitive (source CD booklet "Harry Nilsson's The Point").

[13] A Monkees television show marathon ("Pleasant Valley Sunday") broadcast on 23 February 1986 by MTV resulted in a wave of Monkeemania not seen since the band's heyday.

Jones sang his signature solo hit "Girl", with a grunge band providing backing,[12] this time with middle-aged women swooning over him.

[12] On 2 August 1996, while The Monkees were on their 30th-anniversary tour in New England, Jones was interviewed on the "Sports Break" radio show on WBPS 890-AM in Boston by host Roland Regan about his early days as a jockey and amateur boxer back in England as a youth, and now how he stays in shape by jogging and playing in celebrity tennis tournaments.

[16][17] On 21 June 1997, during a concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Jones joined U2's The Edge onstage for a karaoke performance of "Daydream Believer", which had become a fixture of the band's set during that year's PopMart Tour.

[20][21] In April 2006, Jones recorded the single "Your Personal Penguin",[22] written by children's author Sandra Boynton, as a companion piece to her new board book of the same title.

"There's even talk of putting the Monkees back together again in the next year or so for a U.S. and UK tour," he told Disney's Backstage Pass newsletter.

[28] In 1967, Jones opened his first store, called Zilch, at 217 Thompson Street in the Greenwich Village section of New York City.

[13] He also collaborated with musical director Doug Trevor on a one-hour ABC television special titled Pop Goes Davy Jones, which featured new artists The Jackson 5 and the Osmonds.

He held an amateur rider's licence, and rode in his first race at Newbury in Berkshire for renowned trainer Toby Balding.

On 1 February 1996, Jones won his first race, on Digpast, in the one-mile Ontario Amateur Riders Handicap at Lingfield in Surrey.

His oldest daughter, whom he named his executrix, was granted by the court the unusual request that her father's will be sealed, on the basis that "planning documents and financial affairs as public opinion could have a material effect on his copyrights, royalties and ongoing goodwill".

[42] Jones' wife and daughters travelled to England to join his relatives based there for the service, and placed his ashes on his parents' graves for a time.

The news of Jones' death triggered a surge of Internet traffic, causing sales of the Monkees' music to increase dramatically.

"[43] Bassist Peter Tork said, "Adios to the Manchester Cowboy", and speaking to CNN, drummer/singer Micky Dolenz said, "He was the brother I never had and this leaves a gigantic hole in my heart.

"[49] Brady Bunch co-star Maureen McCormick commented that "Davy was a beautiful soul," and that he "spread love and goodness around the world.

It was far better television than it had to be; during an era of formulaic domestic sitcoms and wacky comedies, it was a stylistically ambitious show, with a distinctive visual style, absurdist sense of humor and unusual story structure.

"[52] Mediaite columnist Paul Levinson noted, "The Monkees were the first example of something created in a medium – in this case, a rock band on television – that jumped off the screen to have big impact in the real world.