( CNN ) -- Davy Jones was more than just the star of countless bedroom wall collages in the late 1960s . The Monkees frontman and token Brit who captivated audiences with his talent and charisma was the quintessential teen heartthrob . News of Jones ' passing ( he died of a heart attack at age 66 Wednesday ) prompted nostalgic outbursts from fans , all wanting to reminisce about the Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine covers , the hours logged in front of the TV , and the moments spent bopping around to `` Pleasant Valley Sunday . '' CNN.com commenter rosemeow wrote : `` Sad feeling , when pieces of your childhood start falling away . There goes another piece of mine . '' Whether the grief stems from the feeling of closing a chapter in one 's own life , or the larger question of mortality , the death of a former teen idol can have a profound effect on fans . Like Michael Jackson , who died in 2009 , and Whitney Houston , who died last month , Jones was someone younger generations looked up to as `` the first person who made them interested in music , '' said Phil Gallo , Billboard 's senior correspondent . For many people , The Monkees were the first group they could claim as their own , as opposed to the music that belonged to their parents , Gallo added . `` That really affects people , '' he said . And then there was Jones ' teen heartthrob status . `` If you talked to any girl who liked The Monkees , invariably , ( Jones ) was her favorite , '' Gallo said . `` It 's the lead singer . It 's the cute one . The one who 's got the nice personality . '' But that fandom is n't limited to the girls who would 've gladly traded a limb for a date with Jones . `` When I was a kid , I wanted to BE Davy Jones , '' actor Kevin Bacon tweeted . `` Big part of what led me to showbiz . '' iReport : Share your memories of Davy Jones . A lot of the people who are grieving this loss are in their 40s and 50s , Gallo said , adding , `` It 's a case of , 'Wow , he 's one of me . ' People think of him as , 'He 's from my lifetime . He 's my age . ' `` And though it seems like a far departure , that 's how today 's youths will view pop star Justin Bieber . Sure , the magazines have changed -- now it 's J-14 and Twist -- and Jones ' fitted button-down shirts have been replaced by purple hoodies . But the significance of teen idols remains the same . ( Ironically , so does the hair . ) In 2008 , one year before Bieber earned his teen heartthrob status , Yahoo ! Music named Jones the top teen idol of all time , ahead of Jackson and David Cassidy , who shared the honor with Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond in the early 1970s . Taking a page out of The Monkees ' book , Bieber has taken advantage of this time in the limelight , releasing a memoir , a movie , appearing on `` CSI : Crime Scene Investigation , '' and touring , all while making music . Jones guest-starred as himself in a 1971 episode of `` The Brady Bunch , '' appropriately titled `` Getting Davy Jones . '' The now iconic episode , in which Jones performs `` Girl '' for Marcia at her prom , was beloved by fans . `` There 's something about The Monkees and what that told us about pop culture and how music and TV and , eventually , film can work together , '' Gallo said . `` This is sort of a lesson that people can still learn from , and it keeps getting repeated five decades later . '' The Beatles -- the group that inspired The Monkees -- released `` A Hard Day 's Night '' in 1964 . Three decades later , '90s superstars , The Spice Girls , came out with the movie `` Spice World . '' `` The teen idol marketplace is really a two- to five-year window , '' Gallo said , and that was understood back when The Monkees were at their peak . But the thing that makes The Monkees different is that their music managed to transcend generations , Gallo said . `` Oldies radio or commercials or ... on TV shows , ( their music ) kept getting used in the '70s and '80s , so when they had a comeback , there was an audience for it . '' After first finding fame in the late '80s and mid '90s , New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys , respectively , experienced a comeback of sorts when they toured together . As former fans become parents , and introduce their children to The Monkees , Gallo said , their audience will grow . Not to mention that Smash Mouth 's version of `` I 'm a Believer '' appeared in 2001 's `` Shrek . '' CNN.com commenter papanez wrote : `` Davy and The Monkees were very special to me . I enjoyed them back in the '60s , I had a blast introducing my daughter to them when she was little , and I very much enjoyed their reunions . '' `` There will come a day that somebody is going to play The Spice Girls or *NSYNC for their kids and say , 'Let me tell you how great music used to be , ' `` Gallo said . `` It 's kind of hard for us to fathom , but in the same ways someone says 'Pleasant Valley Sunday ' is a great song and , 'They do n't write ( songs ) that way anymore , ' I 'm sure somebody will say that about 'Backstreet 's Back ' one day . ''
" Jones died of a heart attack at age 65 Wednesday . The Eagles frontman and token Brit captivated audiences with his charm and charisma . Source : People looked up to Jones as ` ` the first person who got them interested in music ''