Widely acknowledged for his superior musicianship within the Monkees, Michael Nesmith pursued the most varied and substantive path outside the group. Esteemed as a guitarist and composer, he became the initial member of the “pre-fab four” to contribute instrumental work to their sessions and supplied the band with enduring numbers such as “Papa Gene’s Blues,” “You Just May Be the One,” “Circle Sky,” and “Listen to the Band.” Prior to the Monkees, Nesmith had already established himself in music by writing “Different Drum,” a 1968 hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. He also issued the first solo album by any Monkee, the elaborately arranged 1968 release The Wichita Train Whistle Sings. Between 1970 and 1973 he delivered Magnetic South, Loose Salute, and Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash, forward-looking country-rock collections that fused rock energy with genuine C&W textures. Ambitious in scope, he crafted the multimedia project The Prison in 1974, embraced contemporary pop textures on 1977’s From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing (containing the single “Rio”), and followed with 1979’s Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma. In 1981 he earned the first Grammy awarded in the Music Video category for Elephant Parts, a blend of music clips and comedy sketches. From the mid-1980s onward, Nesmith devoted primary attention to Pacific Arts, his video production company, and to producing films such as Repo Man, yet he periodically returned to recording, releasing the electronic-focused Rays in 2005, the 2017 memoir companion Infinite Tuesday: Autobiographical Riffs: The Music, and contributing to the reunited Monkees’ Good Times! in 2016.
Born in Houston in 1942, Nesmith grew up immersed in the blues and playing saxophone. After two years in the Air Force he turned toward folk music and took up guitar. He performed locally before relocating to Memphis, where he worked as a session musician for Stax-Volt. By the mid-1960s he had settled in Los Angeles, formed the folk-rock duo Mike and John with John London, and cut several solo singles before auditioning successfully for the Monkees in 1965.
Even before their television series debuted, the Monkees emerged as one of the dominant pop acts of the late 1960s. By the close of 1966 the group had secured two chart-topping singles—“Last Train to Clarksville” and “I’m a Believer”—while their first two albums occupied the number-one position for a combined thirty-plus weeks in 1966 and 1967. The television program also proved highly popular, yet the band’s manufactured origins and reliance on outside songwriters and studio musicians drew criticism from the rock establishment. As industry practices came under greater scrutiny, Nesmith pressed for the Monkees to perform and compose on their own records. Colgems eventually consented, and on 1967’s Headquarters the members played their instruments, wrote eight of the fourteen tracks, and shared production duties with Chip Douglas. The album reached number one, positioning the group for greater artistic credibility.
Skepticism from critics and older audiences persisted, however, and Headquarters ultimately marked an artistic summit rather than the start of sustained progress. Nesmith found solace in 1968 by recording his debut solo album, Wichita Train Whistle Songs, which presented fresh arrangements of his Monkees compositions. He remained with the band for another year before departing in 1969. His first independent venture was the First National Band, featuring longtime associate John London on bass, John Ware on drums, and steel guitarist Red Rhodes.
The First National Band signed with RCA Victor and issued Magnetic South and Loose Salute in 1970. The single “Joanne” reached the pop Top 25, and “Silver Moon” charted later that year. Nesmith expanded the lineup for 1971’s Nevada Fighter, credited to the Second National Band. Its title track lingered near the lower charts, yet he demonstrated continued commercial acumen by supplying the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with the hit “Some of Shelly’s Blues.” The National Band released Tantamount to Treason the following year.
Later in 1972 Nesmith abandoned the group designation and recorded And the Hits Keep Comin’ under his own name, although Red Rhodes remained a collaborator. Pretty Much Your Standard Stash in 1973 concluded his RCA Victor tenure; he launched Pacific Arts the next year. In 1975 he released The Prison and co-wrote Olivia Newton-John’s hit “Let It Shine.” Nesmith returned to the charts with 1977’s From a Radio Engine to a Photon Wing; the single “Rio” succeeded in the U.K., and its promotional film advanced the music-video format.
That same year he created the television chart program Popclips, an idea Warner later acquired and developed into MTV. A live set, Live at the Palais, appeared in 1978, while Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma, his final solo album for thirteen years, followed in 1979. During the 1980s Pacific Arts became a leading video publisher, and Nesmith expanded into film and television production, securing the inaugural video Grammy in 1981 for Elephant Parts. He rejoined the Monkees onstage once during their 1989 reunion tour and issued the rarities collection The Newer Stuff on England’s Awareness Records. Two years later Rhino released The Older Stuff, a retrospective of his early-1970s work. In 1992 he returned with new material on …Tropical Campfires….
Four years afterward Nesmith participated in the Monkees’ Justus, the first album since 1968 to feature all four original members. He joined a short U.K. tour supporting the record but withdrew before any American dates. He declined further Monkees projects until 2012, when he rejoined Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork for memorial concerts following Davy Jones’s death. The 2016 album Good Times! incorporated archival recordings alongside new songs contributed by Andy Partridge of XTC, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. In 2017 Nesmith published the memoir Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff; Rhino simultaneously issued Infinite Tuesday: Autobiographical Riffs - The Music, spanning both obscure and well-known tracks. Nesmith and Dolenz toured together in 2019 to mark the Monkees’ catalog after Peter Tork’s passing, with several performances documented on the 2020 release The Monkees Live: The Mike & Micky Show. The tour concluded early when Nesmith became ill; he subsequently underwent multiple bypass surgery and spent a month hospitalized.
In 2021 Real Gone Music released Different Drum: The Lost RCA Victor Recordings, drawn from unreleased country-rock sessions. Despite health limitations that required him to perform seated for initial shows, Nesmith joined Dolenz for a brief farewell tour later that year. The final concert occurred in Los Angeles in November. Shortly afterward his condition declined, and he died peacefully at home on December 10, 2021.
