Michael Nesmith Has Died

Michael Nesmith, guitarist and the most talented of the Monkees, has died at age 78.  Nesmith and the other surviving member of the group (Mickey Dolenz) just completed a farewell tour with their final show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on November 14.

Nesmith wrote "Different Drum" before joining the Monkees.  Since the group didn't want to record it, Michael gave it to Linda Ronstadt, whose group the Stone Poneys turned it into a Top 10 hit.

 

The Monkees formed in 1964 and '65 and hit #1 with their first release, "Last Train To Clarksville", in 1966.

The Monkees were assembled by producer Don Kirshner as America's answer to the Beatles.  

That kind of hype was something the Monkees could never live down.  Kirshner hired musicians to back the group and chose their music from songs others had written, such as Neil Diamond's "I'm A Believer", the group's biggest hit and The #71 Song of the Rock Era*.

But behind the scenes, Nesmith felt frustrated that the group didn't have control of their own albums.  In 1967, he led a rebellion against Kirshner and the Monkees began playing their own instruments and writing and choosing their own songs.

 

The group had their own television series for several years with a theme song they recorded.

 

In 1967, the Monkees scored their second #1 with "Daydream Believer", The #148 Song of the Rock Era*.  

Nesmith left the group in 1970 to pursue a solo career.  Although he never achieved great success, he did achieve a minor hit, one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Hits of the Rock Era*, in 1979 with "Cruisin'".

The Monkees got back together several times before Davy Jones died in 2011 and Peter Tork passed away in 2019.