Michael Nesmith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michael Nesmith
Nesmith at a 1966 Monkees photoshoot
Background information
Birth name	Robert Michael Nesmith
Also known as	Michael Blessing Nez Wool Hat Papa Nez
Born	(1942-12-30)December 30, 1942 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died	December 10, 2021(2021-12-10) (aged 78) Carmel Valley, California, U.S.
Genres	Rock pop folk country rock
Occupation(s)	Musician composer author songwriter actor writer director producer owner of Pacific Arts Corporation
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1965–2021

Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021), known to many as Mike Nesmith, was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He became famous as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees. He also starred in their TV show, The Monkees, from 1966 to 1968. Mike wrote many songs, including "Different Drum", which became a big hit for Linda Ronstadt.

After the Monkees, Nesmith continued his music career. He formed a country rock group called the First National Band. They had a top-40 hit song called "Joanne". He also had a successful career as a solo artist. Mike often played a special Gretsch 12-string electric guitar.

In 1974, Nesmith started Pacific Arts, a company that created and shared different types of media. He was a pioneer in making music videos. He even created one of the first American TV shows just for music videos, called PopClips, which aired on Nickelodeon in 1980. He was asked to help create MTV, but he was busy with his own company. In 1981, he won the first ever Grammy Award for Video of the Year for his TV show, Elephant Parts. He also helped produce the movie Repo Man (1984).

Early life and family

Mike Nesmith was born in Houston, Texas, in 1942. He was an only child. His parents divorced when he was four years old. Mike and his mother, Bette, moved to Dallas. His mother worked many temporary jobs. When Mike was 13, his mother invented a special liquid to fix typing mistakes. This product later became famous as Liquid Paper. Over the next 25 years, she built a huge company around Liquid Paper. She sold her company in 1979.

Nesmith went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas. He was involved in singing and drama. In 1960, he joined the U.S. Air Force before finishing high school. He trained as an aircraft mechanic. He earned his high school diploma (GED) and left the Air Force in 1962.

Music career beginnings

After his time in the Air Force, Mike's mother and stepfather gave him a guitar for Christmas. He taught himself to play and performed solo or with bands. He played folk, country, and some rock and roll. He went to San Antonio College, where he met John London and started making music together. They won a talent award for their folk songs and Mike's original music.

Nesmith moved to Los Angeles and began singing in folk clubs. He became the "Hootmaster" for a special Monday night event at The Troubadour, a famous club where new artists performed.

A music publisher named Randy Sparks offered Nesmith a deal for his songs. Mike started recording his own music in 1963. In 1965, he released a single under the name "Michael Blessing". This was on Colpix Records, the same label as Davy Jones, who he would later meet in the Monkees.

Barry Freedman told Mike about auditions for a new TV show called The Monkees. In October 1965, Nesmith got the part as "Mike," the guitar player who always wore a wool hat. The show needed actors who could also write, play instruments, and sing for the Monkees band.

Many of Nesmith's songs became popular. "Mary, Mary" was recorded by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and later by the Monkees themselves. The rap group Run DMC even reworked it in the 1980s. His songs "Different Drum" and "Some of Shelly's Blues" were recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys.

The Monkees

The Monkees in 1966 (Nesmith at bottom right)

From 1965 to early 1970, Nesmith was a member of the Monkees. This pop-rock band was created for their TV show, The Monkees. Many songs Mike wrote for the Monkees, like "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Mary, Mary", and "Listen to the Band", became hits.

Nesmith (center) with the Monkees in 1967

At one point, Nesmith called their second album, More of the Monkees, "probably the worst record in the history of the world." This was partly because it was made very quickly. Fans were surprised to learn that the four Monkees didn't play all the instruments on their first two albums. However, their music still sold very well. Their album Headquarters sold 2 million copies and reached number one on the music charts.

For the later Monkees albums, hired studio musicians and songwriters were used again. But Nesmith, along with Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Davy Jones, still wrote about half of the songs. Nesmith wrote most of these. By the end of the Monkees' time together, Nesmith was saving many of his song ideas for his solo career.

Mike's last commitment with the Monkees was a commercial in April 1970. He asked to leave his contract, even though it cost him a lot of money. He faced financial challenges until 1980, when he received his inheritance from his mother.

Returning to the Monkees

Nesmith did not join the Monkees for their 20th anniversary reunion tour because he had other work commitments. However, he did join the other three Monkees for an encore at the Greek Theatre on September 7, 1986.

Nesmith also appeared in a 1986 "Monkees Christmas Medley" video for MTV. He was dressed as Santa Claus until the end, when he revealed himself.

In 1989, Nesmith reunited with Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. They appeared together on radio shows and performed live at the Universal Amphitheatre. The next day, all four Monkees received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1995, Nesmith joined the Monkees again to record their album Justus, released in 1996. This was the first time all four members had been on an album together since Head. He also wrote and directed a Monkees TV special called Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees. To support the reunion, Nesmith, Jones, Dolenz, and Tork toured the UK in 1997. This was the last time all four Monkees performed together.

In 2012, 2013, and 2014, after Jones's death, Nesmith reunited with Dolenz and Tork for concerts across the United States. They played many songs from The Monkees discography. When asked why he returned, Nesmith said, "I never really left. It is a part of my youth that is always active in my thoughts."

In 2016, Nesmith sang and played on the Monkees' 50th anniversary album Good Times!. He also contributed a song called "I Know What I Know". He filled in for Peter Tork a couple of times and appeared at the final show of the tour. At the end of that show, Nesmith announced he would not tour with the Monkees again.

In 2018, Nesmith and Dolenz toured together as a duo called "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show". The tour was cut short because Nesmith had health issues and needed quadruple bypass surgery (heart surgery). He also contributed two songs to the Monkees' Christmas album, Christmas Party.

In 2019, Nesmith and Dolenz reunited to finish their cancelled tour dates and add more. They announced another tour for 2020, but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 4, 2021, Nesmith and Dolenz announced that the Monkees would stop touring after a farewell tour. The final show was on November 14, 2021, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Solo career and other projects

As he prepared to leave the Monkees, Nesmith formed a new band called Michael Nesmith and the First National Band. This band is now seen as a pioneer of country-rock music. Nesmith wrote most of their songs and is considered one of the first artists in this style. Their song "Joanne" reached number 21 on the Billboard chart. Another single, "Silver Moon," also did well.

Nesmith then formed The Second National Band. After that, he recorded And the Hits Just Keep on Comin', which featured only him on guitar and Red Rhodes on pedal steel guitar.

Nesmith became more involved in producing music for other artists. He also started his own record label called Countryside. In the mid-1970s, Nesmith started his multimedia company, Pacific Arts. This company first released music and then, in 1981, started releasing "video records." Nesmith recorded several albums for his label. His song "Rio" became a worldwide hit in 1977. In 1983, Nesmith produced the music video for Lionel Richie's song "All Night Long". In 1987, he produced the music video for Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel".

Music videos and TV shows

Nesmith created a music video for his song "Rio". This helped him create a TV show called PopClips for the Nickelodeon cable network. In 1980, PopClips was sold to a company that developed it into the MTV network.

Nesmith won the first Grammy Award for Music Video in 1982 for his hour-long show Elephant Parts. He also had a short TV series (1984-1985) on NBC called Michael Nesmith in Television Parts. This show featured many artists who later became famous, like Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Whoopi Goldberg, and Arsenio Hall. The idea was to turn stand-up comedy routines into short comedy films, similar to those in Elephant Parts.

Pacific Arts and legal issues

Nesmith started the Pacific Arts Corporation, Inc. in 1974 to manage his media projects. Pacific Arts Video became a leader in the home video market. They produced and shared many video programs. However, the company eventually stopped working after a big disagreement with PBS over video rights for some TV series, including Ken Burns' The Civil War. This led to a lawsuit. In 1999, a jury awarded Nesmith and Pacific Arts a large sum of money. Nesmith famously said, "It's like finding your grandmother stealing your stereo. You're happy to get your stereo back, but it's sad to find out your grandmother is a thief." PBS appealed, but they reached a private agreement.

Nesmith's last Pacific Arts project was Videoranch 3D, an online virtual world where he hosted live performances.

Movies and books

Nesmith was an executive producer for the films Repo Man, Tapeheads, and Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann.

In 1998, Nesmith published his first novel, The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora. His second novel, The America Gene, was released online in 2009. In 2017, he released a memoir (a book about his own life) called Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff.

Recent activities

In the 1990s, Nesmith was involved with the Gihon Foundation. This foundation brought together smart people from different fields to discuss important issues. Nesmith also spent ten years on the board of the American Film Institute.

In 1992, Nesmith went on a concert tour in North America. He played songs from his solo albums. A video and CD called Live at the Britt Festival were released from this concert.

Nesmith continued to record his own music. His last album, Rays, was released in 2006. In 2011, he produced music for blues singer Carolyn Wonderland.

In 2012, Nesmith toured Europe briefly before rejoining the Monkees for their tours. He also did solo tours in the U.S. In 2014, he appeared in an episode of the TV comedy series Portlandia.

In 2018, he announced a tour with a new version of The First National Band. He also toured with Micky Dolenz as "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show." This tour was cut short due to Nesmith's health issues, but they later rescheduled the shows.

In 2019, Nesmith toured with just a pedal steel player, focusing on his 1972 album, And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'.

Personal life

Nesmith at the Chiller Theatre Expo 2017

Nesmith was married three times and had four children. He met his first wife, Phyllis Ann Barbour, in 1964. They had three children: Christian, Jonathan, and Jessica. They divorced in 1972. Nesmith also had a son, Jason, born in 1968. He married Kathryn Bild in 1976 and Victoria Kennedy in 2000. His marriage to Victoria ended in 2011.

After the Monkees' TV series ended in 1968, Nesmith studied American history and music history part-time at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1974, Nesmith started Pacific Arts Records.

Health and death

Nesmith had to cancel the last few dates of his 2018 tour with Micky Dolenz due to a "minor health scare." He later shared that he had quadruple bypass heart surgery and was in the hospital for over a month.

Michael Nesmith died from heart failure at his home in Carmel Valley, California, on December 10, 2021. He was 78 years old. Micky Dolenz remembered Nesmith as "a dear friend and partner."

Discography

Source:

Filmography

Television

Films

Home video

Books

• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (1998)
• The America Gene (2009)
• Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff (2017)

Audiobooks

• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (2004) (read by Nesmith)
• Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff (2017) (narrated by Nesmith)

See also

In Spanish: Michael Nesmith para niños