Davy Jones: Pop culture icon remembered

(CBS News) In the 1960s, Davy Jones won the hearts of millions of young female fans.

As the lead singer of The Monkees, he goofed it up on the band's hit TV show, sold millions of albums and turned out several No. 1 hits.

Jones died of a heart attack in Florida, where he lived, on Wednesday. He was 66 years old.

For people of a certain age, the news that Davy Jones died brought the memories and the songs flooding back. Songs like, "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville," and the theme to the TV show, "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees."

Jones, born in England, was a child actor who had performed on Broadway when, in 1966, he got a role in a TV sitcom about a struggling rock band. The Monkees were blatantly fashioned on the Beatles with Jones given the role of the one all the girls had a crush on.

But Jones had more than looks, according to JD Heyman, executive editor of People magazine. He could act and sing and -- with the other Monkees -- managed to be more than just an imitation of the Beatles.

The TV show ran from 1966 to 1968. At the height of their popularity in 1967, the Monkees sold more records than the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.

Davy Jones of The Monkees dead at 66

To watch John Blackstone's full report on Davy Jones, watch the video in the player above.

John Blackstone

From his base in San Francisco, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone covers breaking stories throughout the West. That often means he is on the scene of wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and rumbling volcanoes. He also reports on the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley and on social and economic trends that frequently begin in the West.