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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Valley Businessman Wrote Last Song for Davy Jones

When children’s TV show “Shushybye Baby” begins airing new episodes on cable television this summer, it will have the last song recorded by former Monkees singer and actor Davy Jones. San Fernando Valley businessman Steve Syatt, the show’s creator, wrote “There’s A Star” toward the end of 2010 and had it recorded by Jones a few months later at a studio in Las Vegas. The session found Jones in a jovial mood and having a good time, Syatt said. “He couldn’t stop talking about the music,” Syatt said. “He said it was amazing for children’s music.” The excitement over having a musical idol record his song turned bittersweet for Syatt after Jones died of a heart attack on Feb. 29 at 66 years old. The episode of the short form “Shushybye Baby” with “There’s A Star” airs in June on cable channel BabyFirstTV and will be dedicated to Jones. A companion CD featuring the song and others written by Syatt and recorded by major artists such as Steve Lawrence, Tommy James and Brian Setzer will be released in the summer. Syatt owns SSA Public Relations in Sherman Oaks and created the Shushybye characters as a side business in 2005. These characters have been brought to children through cable and public television shows, DVDs, CDs, and live stage performances. Syatt connected with Jones through Ron Dante, a lead singer of 1960s group The Archies and a friend of Jones. After hearing a demo of “There’s A Star” Dante thought it reminiscent of “I Wanna Be Free,” a song recorded by The Monkees with Jones on lead vocals. Jones recorded “There’s A Star” in Las Vegas when he was there performing in concert. Syatt said Jones invited him to attend the performance but he declined to return to Los Angeles for a family function. “I missed the concert, which in retrospect is a shame,” Syatt said. “I never got a chance to see him live.” — Mark R. Madler

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