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Friday, December 10, 2021

MICHAEL NESMITH,
1942-2021

Michael Nesmith, the wool cap-wearing guitarist/singer in The Monkees who'd pioneer an early fusion of country music and rock, then create the precursor to MTV, died Friday at the age of 78.

Nesmith had wrapped a two-month farewell tour of Monkees music in November with drummer/singer Mickey Dolenz.

A songwriter whose work had been recorded by Linda Ronstadt (“Different Drum”) and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (“Mary Mary”), his prompt rise to stardom came after he was cast with Dolenz, Davy Jones and Peter Tork in NBC’s 1966-68 series about a Beatles-like band, The Monkees. More than scoring a hit show, they hit #1 with their first two albums, for Colgems, and scored six Top 3 singles in 1966 and ‘67.

Nesmith was the first to resist the label’s use of outside songwriters and musicians, and The Monkees' later albums featured his compositions, including “Mary, Mary,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” “You Told Me” and “You Just May Be the One.”

After the show was canceled, Nesmith founded the First National Band in 1969, credited as a country-rock forerunner of groups like The Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco. They released three albums for RCA, none of which charted, and had a minor hit with the single “Joanne.” He then worked as a producer, and Elektra's Jac Holzman, a fan, gave him an imprint, Countryside.

Nesmith, whose mother famously invented Liquid Paper, moved into video through his company Pacific Arts Corp., winning a Grammy Award for his 1982 video collection Elephant Parts. He would produce and distribute films for several decades.

Perhaps most significantly, Nesmith was behind the creation of Pop Clips, a TV show that aired music videos on Nickelodeon. The program was sold to Time Warner/Amex, which would then turn it into an entire channel, MTV.

Nesmith passed on the first Monkees reunion tour and album, in the mid-1980s, but rejoined the group in 1996 to participate in the recording of Justus, direct a Monkees TV special and tour the U.K.

He carried on with Dolenz and Tork after Jones died in 2012, recording Good Times! (Rhino) in 2016 and Christmas Party two years later in addition to touring. Tork died in 2019.

 
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