Americana Sam | More Than a Daydream Believer: Rediscovering Davy Jones with Glenn Gretlund of 7A Records

On this episode of Vinyl Community Podcasts, host Sam St. John (Americana Sam) welcomes back Glenn Gretlund of 7A Records for a deep dive into the label’s latest Davy Jones release (on CD), Let Me Entertain You—a career-spanning collection that shines a light on a side of the Monkees star that often gets overlooked.

Covering live performances from 1979 through the early 2000s, Let Me Entertain You finds Davy Jones stepping well beyond the familiar hits and love songs. Glenn takes Sam inside the two-year process of assembling the collection, tracking down the best available master tapes and choosing performances that showcase Jones’ versatility as a singer, musician and live entertainer. The result mixes Monkees favorites with solo material, deep cuts and unexpected covers ranging from Van Morrison and Harry Nilsson to Robbie Williams and Ian Dury.

Sam and Glenn discuss Jones’ ability to read a room and change a set on the fly, his underrated musicianship, his devotion to his fans and the remarkable range of venues represented on the collection—from intimate clubs with only a few hundred people to arenas packed with screaming fans in Japan. They also explore how Jones’ post-Monkees career evolved, his enduring popularity overseas and why Glenn believes Davy could sometimes be an even more compelling performer onstage than he was on record.

The conversation also pulls back the curtain on 7A Records itself: working with the Davy Jones estate, locating rare recordings, deciding when imperfect sound quality is worth preserving for historical importance, and the advantages an independent label has when approaching archival releases from the perspective of a fan.

Plus, Glenn offers a glimpse at what may be ahead for 7A Records—including hopes for future Monkees-related projects, additional Davy Jones material, possible work involving the Michael Nesmith archive, and upcoming releases from other artists on the label.

It’s a conversation about Davy Jones, The Monkees, archival music, physical media and the work that goes into making sure important recordings don’t remain scattered, forgotten or unheard. And it's here on Vinyl Community Podcasts, now!

 

Learn more about 7a Records.

For more information on this release:

www.7arecords.com/product/davy-jones-let-me-entertain-you

 

For more information on American Sam: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Americanasam1994

IG: @americanasam94

 

For more information on Vinyl Community Podcasts:

https://vinylcommunitypodcasts.com