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Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith | |
|---|---|
 Nesmith at a 1966 Monkees photoshoot | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robert Michael Nesmith |
| Also known as |
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| Born | December 30, 1942 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 2021 (aged 78) Carmel Valley, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1965–2021 |
| Formerly of | |
| Spouses | Phyllis Ann Barbour
(m. 1964; div. 1972)Kathryn Bild
(m. 1976; div. 1988)Victoria Kennedy
(m. 2000; div. 2011) |
Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same name (1966–1968). His songwriting credits with the Monkees include "Mary, Mary", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Circle Sky" and "Listen to the Band". Additionally, his song "Different Drum" became a hit for the Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt.
After leaving the Monkees in 1970, Nesmith continued his successful songwriting and performing career, first with the seminal country rock group the First National Band, with whom he had a top-40 hit, "Joanne" (1970). As a solo artist, he scored an international hit with the song "Rio" (1977). He often played a custom-built Gretsch 12-string electric guitar with the Monkees and afterwards.
In 1974, Nesmith founded Pacific Arts, a multimedia production and distribution company, through which he helped pioneer the music video format, winning the first Grammy Award for Video of the Year for his hour-long comedy/variety program, Elephant Parts (1981).[2] He created one of the first American television programs dedicated to music videos, PopClips, which aired on Nickelodeon in 1980, and was soon after approached to help develop the MTV network, though he declined. Nesmith was also an executive producer of the film Repo Man (1984).
- ^ Dansby, Andrew (December 10, 2021). "Texas native, Monkees great Michael Nesmith dies". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
Nesmith was a musician of multiple dimensions: a thoughtful songwriter too funny to be embraced by hippies and a progressive country music artist too full of angular edges to be embraced by Nashville. His genius was in his totality, which defied easy description.
- ^ "Past Winners Search". The GRAMMYs. April 30, 2017.
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