Michael Nesmith, Monkees singer and guitarist, dies at 78

By John Rogers and Brian Melley | Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Michael Nesmith, the singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and entrepreneur who volition apt beryllium champion remembered arsenic the wool-hatted, guitar-strumming subordinate of the made-for-television stone set The Monkees, has died astatine 78.

Nesmith, who had undergone quadruple bypass country successful 2018, died astatine location Friday of earthy causes, his household said successful a statement.

Nesmith was a struggling singer-songwriter successful September 1966 erstwhile “The Monkees” tv debut turned him and chap set members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and David Jones into overnight stone stars.

After the radical broke up successful 1970, Nesmith moved connected to a agelong and originative career, not lone arsenic a instrumentalist but arsenic a writer, shaper and manager of films, writer of respective books, caput of a media arts institution and creator of a euphony video format that led to the instauration of MTV.

Nesmith was moving “hoot nights” astatine the fashionable West Hollywood nightclub The Troubadour erstwhile helium saw a commercialized work advertisement seeking “four insane boys” to play stone musicians successful a set modeled aft the Beatles.

The Monkees — clockwise from apical left, Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones — had a TV amusement that aired from 1965 to 1968. The radical toured for years aft the amusement ended.

The amusement featured the comical misadventures of a quartet that tooled astir Los Angeles successful a tricked-out Pontiac GTO called the MonkeeMobile and, erstwhile they weren’t chasing girls, pursued euphony stardom.

Each occurrence rolled retired 2 oregon 3 caller Monkees songs, six of which became Top 10 Billboard hits during the show’s two-year run. Three others, “I’m a Believer,” ″Daydream Believer” and “Last Train to Clarksville,” reached No. 1.

Jones, with his British accent and boyish bully looks, was the group’s cute pb singer. Dolenz became the wacky drummer, though helium had to larn to play the drums arsenic the amusement went along. Tork, a folk-rock musician, portrayed the comically clueless bass player. Nesmith, with his twangy Texas accent and the wool chapeau he’d worn to his audition, became the superior but naive pb guitarist.

A prankster by nature, he’d arrived astatine the audition carrying a guitar and container of soiled laundry helium said helium planned to lavation instantly afterward. With a harmonica astir his neck, helium stormed into a casting office, banging the doorway loudly. After pausing to regard astatine a coating arsenic if it were a mirror, helium sat down and instantly enactment his feet up connected a desk.

He got the job.

But helium rebelled astir instantly erstwhile producers told him they were going to telephone his quality “Wool Hat.” He demanded they usage his existent name, arsenic they did with the different actors.

It would beryllium the archetypal of galore confrontations Nesmith would person with producers during a tumultuous two-year tally successful which “The Monkees” won the 1967 Emmy for champion drama series.

Nesmith and Tork, the group’s 2 astir accomplished musicians, railed against the program’s refusal to let them to play their ain instruments astatine signaling sessions. But erstwhile Nesmith revealed that information to reporters, euphony critics rapidly turned connected “The Monkees,” dismissing the amusement arsenic a fraud and the set arsenic the “Prefab Four,” a mocking notation to the Beatles’ nickname, Fab Four.

Nesmith, meanwhile, had written respective songs helium hoped to debut connected the show, but astir each were dismissed by euphony shaper Don Kirshner, arsenic sounding excessively country.

Among them was “Different Drum,” which Linda Ronstadt recorded successful 1967 for her archetypal deed single, validating to Nesmith his sentiment that Kirshner, hailed by the popular euphony manufacture arsenic “The Man With The Golden Ear,” didn’t cognize what helium was talking about.

Things came to a caput erstwhile each 4 Monkees demanded they instrumentality power of the music. They were warned they would beryllium sued for breach of contract.

At that, Nesmith roseate from his spot and smashed his fist done a wall, telling Kirshner it could person been his face.

For years Nesmith would garbage to corroborate oregon contradict the incident, adjacent arsenic the different 3 gleefully recounted it to reporters. In his 2017 memoir, “Infinite Tuesday,” helium did admit it, saying he’d mislaid his temper erstwhile helium felt his integrity was being questioned.

“It was an absurd infinitesimal successful truthful galore ways,” helium wrote.

It did springiness the Monkees power implicit their music, however, opening with the group’s 3rd album, “Headquarters.”

After the amusement concluded successful 1968 the set embarked connected a lengthy performance circuit wherever members sang galore of their ain songs and played their ain instruments earlier crowds of adoring fans. Jimi Hendrix was sometimes their opening act.

Following the band’s breakup Nesmith seldom rejoined the others for reunion tours, starring galore to judge helium disliked the set and the show, thing helium steadfastly denied.

“I truly enjoyed being successful the show. I truly enjoyed moving with Davy and Micky and Peter,” helium told Australian Musician mag successful 2019.

It was, helium would often say, that helium was simply excessively engaged doing different things.

Over the years helium recorded much than a twelve albums and toured with the First National Band, the country-rock-folk radical helium assembled.

He wrote scores of songs, including “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” You Just May Be the One” and “The Girl That I knew Somewhere” that helium performed with the Monkees. Others, performed with the First National Band, included “Joanne,” “Propinquity (I’ve Just Begun to Care)” and “Different Drum.”

For the Monkees’ 30th day helium induced the others to reunite to grounds a caller album, “Justus,” for which each 4 composed the songs and played the instruments. He besides rejoined the others for a little circuit and wrote and directed their 1997 TV reunion film, “Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees.”

Nesmith besides wrote and produced the 1982 science-fiction movie “Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann” and earned enforcement shaper credits connected “Repo Man,” “Tape Heads” and different films.

His 1981 comedy-music video “Elephant Parts” won a Grammy and led to “PopClips,” a bid of euphony videos broadcast connected the Nickelodeon cablegram web that successful crook led to the instauration of MTV.

Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork of The Monkees execute astatine The Greek Theatre successful 2012 successful Los Angeles. The set continued to circuit agelong aft the TV amusement went disconnected the air.

Nesmith adjacent published 2 good received novels, 1998’s “The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora” and 2009’s “The America Gene.”

In 1999 helium prevailed successful a bitter courtroom conflict with the Public Broadcasting System implicit royalties from a home-video woody his media company, Pacific Arts, had struck with PBS. A national assemblage awarded him $48 million, concluding the fashionable purveyor of children’s shows and documentaries had defrauded him.

Nesmith, showing helium hadn’t mislaid his Monkees consciousness of humor, said afterward: “It’s similar catching your grandma stealing your stereo. You’re gladsome to get your stereo back, but you’re bittersweet to find retired that Grandma’s a thief.”

Both sides agreed connected an undisclosed colony and Nesmith founded different company, Videoranch.

After Jones died successful 2012 helium began to rejoin the Monkees much frequently, their concerts present earning glowing reviews from critics. He attributed that to astir of the group’s archetypal critics having died oregon retired.

Following Tork’s decease successful 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz took connected the sanction The Monkees Mike & Micky.

Robert Michael Nesmith was calved Dec. 30, 1942, successful Houston, Texas, the lone kid of Warren and Bette Nesmith.

His parents divorced erstwhile helium was 4 and his parent often worked 2 jobs, arsenic a caput and painter, to enactment her lad and herself. It was that second occupation that inspired her to whip up a typewriter correction fluid called Liquid Paper successful her room blender. By the mid-1970s it had made her a fortune, which she yet near to her lad and to nonprofit foundations she endowed to beforehand women successful concern and the arts.

Her son, who was joined and divorced 3 times, is survived by 4 children, Christian, Jason, Jessica and Jonathan.