John Stewart is best known as a folk singer-songwriter. He was a mainstay in the Kingston Trio for years. After embarking on a solo career, he wrote Daydream Believer for The Monkees. Hey, hey.

This post is dedicated to my friend and Monkees superfan Kyle the drummer. Uh oh, I just admitted to having a drummer friend. It was a momentary lapse of reason. I never claimed to be reasonable, after all.

We begin at the beginning with the Monkees. Hey, hey.

Here’s a more subdued version from the songwriter, John Stewart:

Four Tops brought some Motown soul to the proceedings. What’s not to love about Levi Stubbs’ voice?

Anne Murray had a hit with Daydream Believer in 1979. The Monkees still own the song. Hey, hey.

For some reason there are a shit ton of covers by Japanese artists. This is the punkiest one of all.

What would the Friday Cocktail Hour be without an instrumental version of the week’s tune? This, time Lord Sitar. I am not making this up.

That’s it for this week. I propose a toast to the late John Stewart and Davy Jones who sang this beautiful song with such feeling. It’s what Daryl and Todd would want. Never argue with them.