Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith was an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and author who lived from December 30, 1942 until December 10, 2021. He was most known for being a member of the Monkees, a pop rock band, and co-star of the TV series The Monkees (1966–1988). "Different Drum," a hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys, is one of Nesmith's songwriting credits.
Following the Monkees' disbandment, Nesmith maintained his successful songwriting and playing career, first with the legendary country rock band the First National Band, with whom he scored a top-40 hit with "Joanne," and later as a solo artist. He was a 12-string guitar player who performed with the Monkees on a custom-built Gretsch electric guitar and later on several 12-string acoustic variants.
In addition, he was an executive producer on the picture Repo Man (1984). For his hour-long television show, Elephant Parts, Nesmith received the inaugural Grammy Award for Video of the Year in 1981. Heartbroken Mike Nesmith was a very talented creative who did a lot more than just be a member of the Monkees; he produced films, videos, and was an author, and his solo work after the Monkees broke up is underrated; his only top ten hit after the breakup was Joanne, in 1971, and he released a number of albums on RCA and his own Pacific Arts label over the years.
Early years
Nesmith was born in 1942 in Houston, Texas. Warren and Bette Nesmith (née McMurray) divorced when he was four years old, leaving him an only child. In 1962, his mother married Robert Graham, and the two were married until 1975. To be closer to his mother's relatives, Nesmith and his mother relocated to Dallas. She worked in a variety of temporary positions, from secretarial to graphic design, until landing the post of executive secretary at Texas Bank & Trust. Nesmith's mother created Liquid Paper, a typewriter correction fluid, when he was 13 years old. She grew the Liquid Paper Corporation into a multimillion-dollar multinational firm over the following 25 years, selling it to Gillette in 1979 for $48 million. She died at the age of 56 a few months later.
Nesmith was a member of the choral and theatrical groups at Dallas' Thomas Jefferson High School, but he enrolled in the Air Force before graduating in 1960. He finished basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, then went on to Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, to train as an aircraft mechanic before being sent to Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base near Burns Flat, Oklahoma. In 1962, he earned his GED and was honorably discharged from the army. He went to San Antonio College and met John Kuehne, with whom he formed a musical partnership. They performed a combination of traditional folk tunes and a handful of Nesmith's own compositions to win the first San Antonio College talent award. Nesmith continued writing more songs and poems, then relocated to Los Angeles and began performing at local folk clubs. For the Monday night hootenanny, he was the "Hootmaster." at The Troubadour, a West Hollywood nightclub known for showcasing fresh talent.
Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels gave Nesmith a publishing agreement for his songs, and Barry Freedman informed him of approaching tryouts for The Monkees, a new TV series. Nesmith was cast as the wool-hat-wearing guitar player "Mike" in the program in October 1965, which needed real-life musical aptitude for composing, instrument playing, singing, and performing in live performances as part of The Monkees band. The Monkees was a television series that aired from 1966 to 1968 and has since gained a cult following.
Career
Nesmith's mother and stepfather gave him a guitar as a Christmas present after he served in the Air Force. He played alone and in a series of working bands, performing folk, country, and even rock & roll, as he learned as he went. His verse poetry formed the foundation for song lyrics, and he obtained a publishing agreement for his songs after relocating to Los Angeles with Phyllis and friend John London. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band covered Nesmith's "Mary, Mary," while Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys recorded "Different Drum" and "Some of Shelly's Blues." Frankie Laine recorded "Pretty Little Princess" in 1965 and released it as a single on ABC Records in 1968. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1970 album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy popularized "Some of Shelly's Blues" and "Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care)."
In 1963, Nesmith debuted as a recording artist with a song on the Highness label. In 1965, he released a one-off single on Edan Records, followed by two additional singles, one of which was named "The New Recruit" under the name "Michael Blessing" and was issued on Colpix Records, which was also the label of Davy Jones, but the two would not meet until the Monkees formed.
The Monkees
The Monkees are a popular band in the United States.
In 1967, Nesmith (center) was a member of the Monkees.
Nesmith was a member of the television pop-rock band the Monkees, which was founded for the television situation comedy of the same name, from 1965 to early 1970. Nesmith landed the part partly due to his laid-back demeanor during the audition. He arrived at the audition on his motorbike, wearing a wool hat to keep his hair out of his eyes; producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider recognized the "wool hat" person and summoned Nesmith back.
Screen Gems bought his songs after he was cast so they could be featured in the program. Many of the songs Nesmith composed for the Monkees became modest singles, including "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," "Mary, Mary," and "Listen to the Band." "You Just May Be the One," a song he created, is in mixed meter, with 5/4 bars interspersed throughout a 4/4 pattern. Screen Gems bought his songs after he was cast so they could be featured in the program. Many of the songs Nesmith composed for the Monkees became modest singles, including "The Girl I Knew Somewhere," "Mary, Mary," and "Listen to the Band." "You Just May Be the One," a song he created, is in mixed meter, with 5/4 bars interspersed throughout a 4/4 pattern.
When Nesmith was playing with the Monkees, Gretsch guitar business produced a one-of-a-kind, natural-finish, 12-string electric guitar for him as part of a promotional contract. The custom-made guitar was widely touted at the time as being worth $5,000 (equivalent to $36,500 in 2018), which was certainly exaggerated for promotional purposes. He used to play a Gretsch 12-string that had been modified from a six-string model. This guitar was used by Nesmith throughout his appearances on the television show, as well as the Monkees' live shows in 1966 and 1967. For his stage appearances with the Monkees, Nesmith began using a white six-string Gibson SG Custom in 1968. He played the guitar in the live performance of "Circle Sky" in the film Head, as well as on the original Monkees' last tour in 1969. Both guitars were stolen in the early 1970s, according to a post on Nesmith's Facebook page in 2011.
Nesmith, like the other Monkees, became dissatisfied with the band's constructed image. The most outspoken Monkee regarding the band's manufactured image was Nesmith.
The Monkees were successful in removing supervisor Don Kirshner and regaining control of their recordings and song selections, although they only worked as a four-man band on one album, Headquarters, released in 1967. Many of Nesmith's songs were left off the final Monkees albums, instead being released on his post-Monkees solo albums. More of The Monkees was dubbed "possibly the worst record in the history of the world" by Nesmith during the band's first autonomous news conference. Fans discovered that the band had not played the instruments on their previous albums, which they looked to be playing, and this damaged the band's reputation at the time. Despite this, sales remained lucrative.
In April 1970, Nesmith's final Monkees contract was a commercial for Kool-Aid and Nerf balls (which concludes with Nesmith frowning and shouting, "Enerf's enerf!"). As the band's popularity waned, Nesmith requested to be freed from his contract, despite the fact that it would cost him $150,000 a year: "I had three years left... at $150,000 [equivalent to $980,940 in 2018]." He was unable to pay his bills until 1980, when he got an inheritance from his mother's estate. "I had to start spinning small yarns to the tax guy while they were putting tags on the furniture," he claimed in a 1980 interview with Playboy.
Let's go back to the Monkees.
Nesmith did not attend the Monkees' 20th anniversary reunion, although he did perform with the other three members at an encore performance at the Greek Theatre on September 7, 1986. Nesmith claimed in a 1987 interview with Nick Rocks, "'We're going out, do you want to go?' Peter remarked when he called. I had a reservation. But if you come to L.A., I'll join you."
Nesmith next joined his fellow Monkees band members for MTV's 1986 "Monkees Christmas Melody" video, acting as Santa Claus throughout until the end, when he revealed his true name - and involvement - to everyone.
In 1989, Nesmith reunited with the rest of the Monkees, including Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. Prior to the official start of The Monkees '89 tour (on July 1 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), all four Monkees gathered in Los Angeles, California, for two live radio appearances (on KLOS-FM: The Mark and Brian Show on June 28 and KIIS Radio on June 30) to promote their reunion concert at the Universal Amphitheatre on July 9. The Monkees received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star the next day (July 10th), and all four band members were in attendance.
In 1995, Nesmith reunited with the Monkees to record their studio album, Justus, which was released in 1996 and was the first to feature all four members since Head. Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees, a Monkees television special, was also written and directed by him. In 1997, Nesmith, Jones, Dolenz, and Tork went on a brief tour of the United Kingdom to promote the reunion. The UK trip was the final time all four Monkees performed together. Following Jones' death in 2012, 2013, and 2014, Nesmith reunited with Dolenz and Tork to play gigs around the United States. The three played 27 songs from The Monkees catalog, backed by a seven-piece band that featured Nesmith's son, Christian[9]. ("Daydream Believer" was sung by the audience.) When asked why he had decided to return to the Monkees, Nesmith remarked, "I never really left. It is a part of my youth that is constantly there in my thoughts and is an important component of my job as an artist. It will be kept in a particular spot."
Nesmith sang and played guitar on the Monkees' 50th anniversary album Good Times! in 2016. He also contributed a song, "I Know What I Know," and was apparently "thrilled" with the album's conclusion. Despite not performing with Dolenz and Tork for the most of the Monkees' 50th anniversary reunion tour in 2016, Nesmith did step in for the sick Peter Tork twice and appeared for the tour's final concert, which featured the three remaining band members (the last show to do so). Nesmith announced his departure from the Monkees at the end of the final gig, vowing never to tour again.
For the first time, Nesmith and Dolenz performed as a pair in 2018 under the name "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show." Due to Nesmith's health difficulties, the tour was curtailed four dates short (he was flown back home and proceeded to have quadruple bypass surgery). He wrote two songs for the Monkees' 13th studio album, Christmas Party (the band's first Christmas album), which was released on October 12, 2018.
In 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz reunited to make up for the tour's missed dates while also adding many more dates, including an upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand. Nesmith and Dolenz have planned a follow-up tour, "An Evening with the Monkees," which will get out in early 2020. However, the trip was postponed because to the COVID-19 epidemic. On May 4, 2021, Nesmith and Dolenz announced that the Monkees will disband after a farewell tour. From September through November, the tour was dubbed "The Monkees Farewell Tour," and it included over 40 concerts in the United States. However, because to limitations imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, they were unable to perform in Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia. The tour concluded on November 14, 2021, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Career as an individual
Nesmith co-founded the First National Band alongside Kuehne, John Ware, and Red Rhodes in 1969. The majority of the songs for the band were written by Nesmith, including the single "Joanne," which gained little exposure and was a modest chart hit for seven weeks in 1970, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Top 40. The First National Band is regarded as one of the forefathers of country-rock music.
As he was preparing to leave The Monkees in 1970, Nesmith was approached by John Ware of The Corvettes, a band that included Nesmith's friend John London, who played on some of the earliest pre-Monkees Nesmith 45s as well as numerous Monkees sessions and had 45s produced by Nesmith for the Dot label in 1969. Ware wanted Nesmith to form a band. Nesmith expressed interest in the project only if famed pedal steel musician Orville "Red" Rhodes was involved; Nesmith's musical connection with Rhodes lasted until Rhodes' death in 1995. Michael Nesmith and the First National Band was formed, and they went on to record three albums for RCA Records in 1970.
Nesmith is regarded as a forefather of country rock. With the First National Band, he also achieved some commercial success. Their second song, "Joanne," peaked at number 21 on the Billboard list, number 17 on Cashbox, and number four in Canada, while their third single, "Silver Moon," peaked at number 42 on the Billboard chart, number 28 on Cashbox, and number 13 in Canada. Two additional singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" reached number 70 Billboard, 73 Cashbox, and 67 Canada, and "Propinquity" reached number 95 Cashbox), while the first two LPs peaked in the bottom tiers of the Billboard album chart. There has never been a definitive explanation for the band's demise.
Nesmith's second album, The Second National Band, included Michael Cohen (keyboards and Moog), Johnny Meeks (of The Strangers) (bass), jazzer Jack Ranelli (drums), and Orville Rhodes (pedal steel), as well as a performance on congas by singer, musician, and songwriter José Feliciano. Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1 was a commercial and critical failure. The next year, Nesmith released And the Hits Just Keep on Comin', which featured solely him on guitar and Red Rhodes on pedal steel.
Nesmith became increasingly active in production, contributing to Iain Matthews' Valley Hi and Bert Jansch's L.A. Turnaround. Nesmith was granted his own label, Countryside, by Elektra Records since Elektra's Jac Holzman was a fan of his. It included a number of Nesmith's artists, including Garland Frady and Red Rhodes. The Countryside staff band also assisted Nesmith on his second and final RCA album, Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash. Countryside collapsed after David Geffen replaced Holzman, since Countryside was no longer needed in Geffen's opinion.
Nesmith briefly collaborated as a songwriter with Linda Hargrove in the mid-1970s, resulting in the song "I've Never Loved Anyone More," which was a hit for Lynn Anderson and was recorded by many others, as well as the songs "Winonah" and "If You Will Walk With Me," both of which were recorded by Hargrove. Only one of these tracks, "Winonah," was recorded by Nesmith himself. During this time, Nesmith founded Pacific Arts, which first released audio records, eight-track tapes, and cassettes before expanding into "video records" in 1981. Nesmith released a number of LPs for his label and had a little international success in 1977 with "Rio," a single off the album From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing. Cruisin', also known as "Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam," was published by Nesmith in 1979. This was successful on AOR rock radio stations as well as in New Zealand Nesmith directed the music video for Lionel Richie's single "All Night Long" in 1983. He directed the music video for Michael Jackson's single "The Way You Make Me Feel" in 1987.
MTV and PopClips, Elephant Parts and Television Parts
During this period, Nesmith developed a video clip for "Rio," which inspired Nesmith to establish PopClips, a television show for the Nickelodeon cable network. PopClips was sold to the Time Warner/Amex partnership in 1980. PopClips was evolved by Time Warner/Amex into the MTV network.
In 1982, Nesmith received the first Grammy Award for (long-form) Music Video for his hour-long Elephant Parts, and he also had a short-lived series on NBC called Michael Nesmith in Television Parts, which was inspired by the video. Many more musicians who were unknown at the time but went on to become huge stars in their own way were featured in Television Parts. Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, Whoopi Goldberg, and Arsenio Hall all rose to prominence after appearing on Nesmith's show.
The show's goal was to have performers turn their stand-up routines into short comedy films akin to Elephant Parts. To develop the program, Nesmith gathered writers Jack Handey, William Martin, John Levenstein, and Michael Kaplan, as well as directors William Dear (who had directed Elephant Parts) and Alan Myerson, and producer Ward Sylvester. The half-hour show aired on NBC Thursday nights in prime time for eight episodes during the summer of 1985.
Pacific Arts and a legal battle
In 1974, Nesmith established the Pacific Arts Corporation, Inc. to oversee and produce media ventures. Pacific Arts Video was a pioneer in the home video market, producing and distributing a wide range of videotaped programs. However, the company eventually ceased operations due to a bitter contract dispute with PBS over home video licensing rights and payments for several series, including Ken Burns' The Civil War. The conflict erupted into a lawsuit, which was tried before a jury in federal court in Los Angeles. A jury awarded Nesmith and his firm Pacific Arts $48.875 million in compensation and punitive damages on February 3, 1999, prompting his well cited response, "It's like discovering your granny has stolen your stereo. You're relieved to have your stereo back, but it's disappointing to learn that your grandma is a thief." PBS filed an appeal, but the case was never heard in court, and a settlement was struck, with the sum paid to Pacific Arts and Nesmith kept private.
Videoranch 3D, a virtual setting on the internet that presented live performances at several virtual locations inside the ranch, was Nesmith's most recent Pacific Arts endeavor. On May 25, 2009, he played live inside Videoranch 3D.
Books and movies
Nesmith served as executive producer on the films Repo Man, Tapeheads, and Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, as well as his own solo recording and cinematic ventures.
The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora, Nesmith's debut novel, was released in 1998. It began as an online initiative before being released as a hardcopy book by St Martin's Press. The America Gene, Nesmith's second novel, was released in July 2009 as an internet download via Videoranch.com.
Recent history
In the early 1980s, Nesmith joined up with humorist P. J. O'Rourke to compete in the annual Baja 1000 off-road competition with his vehicle Timerider. Driving Like Crazy, O'Rourke's 2009 book, details this.
During the 1990s, Nesmith, as trustee and president of the Gihon Foundation, convened the Council on Ideas, a gathering of intellectuals from many areas who were invited to identify and publicize the most significant topics of the day. In 2000, the foundation discontinued the program and launched a new performing arts initiative. Nesmith also served on the American Film Institute's board of trustees, as a nomination committee member, and as vice-chair for a decade.
Nesmith embarked on a concert tour of North America in 1992 to promote the CD release of his RCA solo recordings (although he included the song "Rio" from the album From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing). The tour came to a close at the Britt Festival in Oregon. The 1992 concert was captured on video and CD, both titled Live at the Britt Festival.
Nesmith kept recording and releasing his own songs. Rays, his final album, was released in 2006. He returned to producing in 2011, this time with blues vocalist and guitarist Carolyn Wonderland. On her album Peace Meal, Nesmith produced Wonderland's cover of Robert Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom." On March 4, 2011, Wonderland married writer-comedian A. Whitney Brown in a ceremony presided by Nesmith.
Nesmith briefly toured Europe in 2012 before rejoining the Monkees on their US tours. In addition to performing with the Monkees, Nesmith embarked on solo tours around the United States. Unlike his 1992 U.S. tour, which only featured music from his RCA records, Nesmith claimed that his 2013 tour will include songs that he feels to be "thematic, chronological, and most frequently requested by fans." Chris Scruggs, Earl Scruggs' grandson, took over the steel guitar from the late Red Rhodes. The tour was documented on a live CD called Movies Of The Mind.
In 2014, he appeared as the fake father of Portland, Oregon's mayor in season four, episode 9 of the IFC comedy series Portlandia.
Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff, a book and accompanying "soundtrack" record, was released in 2017.
In 2018, he planned a five-city tour in California with a reformed version of The First National Band, including a stop to The Troubadour, where he opened for The Monkees. On February 20, they announced their first tour as a duet, "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show." The two will perform and advertise the tour under the Monkees name, but Nesmith added, "There's no pretension of Micky and I [sic] being the Monkees there. We aren't." Due to Nesmith's "small health concern," the tour was cut short in June 2018, with four gigs remaining unplayed; Dolenz and he rescheduled the unplayed concerts, as well as adding many others, including an Australian tour in 2019.Following his health concern, Michael Nesmith and the First National Band Redux embarked on a tour of the United States with essentially the same lineup and repertoire as the southern California gigs.
In 2019, Nesmith performed in a two-piece formation with pedal steel musician Pete Finney, focused on his 1972 album, And the Hits Just Keep on Comin', for the first time since 1974 with Red Rhodes. On opening night in Seattle, Nesmith was accompanied by special guests Ben Gibbard and Scott McCaughey.
Additional appearances
Nesmith appeared as a taxi driver in Whoopi Goldberg's film Burglar.
He made cameo roles in several of his own films, including Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (Rabbi), Repo Man (Rabbi), and Tapeheads (Water Man).
Nesmith was introduced with a voice-over mocking his Monkees character in a promotional film for Pacific Arts' video release of Tapeheads. The voiceover mocks Nesmith as he approaches the camera to talk, making light of his "lost hat."
During the 1980s, an opportunistic doppelganger from the United States capitalized on his resemblance to Nesmith by appearing on talk shows and giving interviews in Australia. The trick was effective because the doppelganger was far enough away from America to evade discovery as a fraudster (which was more likely in the U.S., where the real Nesmith had made many media and show-business acquaintances). The impersonator's deception was not revealed until after he had departed from the public spotlight, despite being an interesting interviewee. Barry Faulkner, the imposter who had been pulling numerous fraudulent frauds for 40 years, was eventually identified and sentenced to prison in 2009.
Private life
Nesmith at the 2017 Chiller Theatre Expo
Nesmith had three marriages and four children.
In 1964, he met his first wife, Phyllis Ann Barbour, at San Antonio College.
They have three children together: Christian (born in 1965), Jonathan (born in 1968), and Jessica (born in 1970). In 1972, Nesmith and Barbour divorced.
Jason Nesmith was born in August 1968 to Nurit Wilde, whom he met while working on The Monkees.
He married his second wife, Kathryn Bild, in 1976.
He married his third wife, Victoria Kennedy, in 2000, but their marriage ended in divorce in 2011.
After the Monkees' TV show ended in 1968, Nesmith enrolled in a part-time program at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied American history and music history. In 1973, Nesmith co-founded the Countryside Records label with Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. Pacific Arts Records was founded in 1974 by Nesmith, who issued The Prison, a "novel with a soundtrack," as the company's debut release.
Death and health
Due to a "small health crisis," Nesmith was forced to cancel the final four performances of his 2018 tour with Micky Dolenz. In an interview with Rolling Stone published on July 26, same year, Nesmith revealed that he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery and had been hospitalized for more than a month.
Nesmith died of heart failure on December 10, 2021, at the age of 78, at his home in Carmel Valley, California. Dolenz remembered Nesmith as a "dearest friend and collaborator."
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