The Monkees album coverMarcia Brady’s prized prom date has taken the trip to the big dance in the sky. British actor and musician Davy Jones, most popularly known as lead singer of ‘60s pop stars The Monkees, passed away suddenly Wednesday at the age of 66.

According to the Martin County, Florida’s Medical Examiner’s Office, Jones died after suffering a major heart attack at his home in Indiantown, Fla. He is survived by his wife, Jessica, and four daughters from previous marriages.

First coming to fame in 1965, Jones along with band mates Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and Michael Nesmith were conceived as America’s answer to the Beatles and received their own record deal as well as television series. Though maligned by criticism as a manufactured novelty, the Monkees had a string of hits with such tracks as “Daydream Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.”

Watch Davy Jones meet Marcia Brady in a classic clip from The Brady Bunch here:

After the group disbanded in 1970, Jones continued acting with a variety of cameo appearances in television shows and films. He also continued to sing as evidenced by his involvement with repeated Monkees’ reunions and the recording of the 2006 single “Your Personal Penguin,” which accompanied the children’s book of the same name by author Sandra Boynton.

In 2008, Yahoo music named Jones the number one teen idol of all time.

“I feel good, you know,” he said in a December 2011 interview with the AARP. “If you feel good and you’re really interested in whatever it is you’re doing, age doesn’t matter. Life is very interesting, if you want it to be interesting.”

For more information on Davy Jones and The Monkees please visit www.davyjones.net and www.monkees.net/.

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