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Michael Nesmith
Background information
Birth name	Robert Michael Nesmith
Born	December 30, 1942 (1942-12-30) (age 64) Harris County, Texas, U.S.
Genre(s)	Rock
Instrument(s)	vocals, guitars, keyboards, flugel horn
Years active	1965-present
Associated acts	The Monkees

Robert Michael Nesmith, born December 30, 1942 (1942-12-30) (age 64) in Harris County, Texas,^[1] is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, perhaps best known for his time in the musical group The Monkees and on the TV series of the same name.

He has two sons, Christian (born 1964) and Jonathan (born 1968), and a daughter, Jessica (born 1970), by his first wife Phyllis Barbour, and son Jason Nesmith (born 1968) by photographer/socialite Nurit Wilde.

Contents 1 Biography 2 The Monkees 3 Later career 4 Trivia 5 Discography 5.1 U.S. Singles 5.2 U.S. Albums 5.3 U.S. Non-compilation CD Releases 5.4 U.S. Compilation CD-Releases 5.5 Video 6 Bibliography 6.1 Books 6.2 Audio Books 7 References 8 External links

Nesmith was an only child, and his parents, Warren Audrey Nesmith and Bette Nesmith Graham, separated when he was very young. With his father gone, Nesmith's mother worked as a secretary. The jobs did not always pay well, and the pair lived on very little. Their fortunes changed when Bette invented typewriter correction fluid, known commercially as Liquid Paper or Wite-Out. She also remarried, which didn't sit well with her son.

In school, Nesmith was an indifferent student, and in his teen years an occasional prankster. An urban legend told about him is that one such prank with a firecracker went wrong, leaving Nesmith with a hand injury, and that a doctor suggested he learn to play guitar to recover his dexterity. This is, in fact, false.[1] An early accident with a hammer smashed the ring finger on Nesmith's right hand, and he did not learn to play guitar until his twenties. He did, however, participate in choral and drama activities during his years at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas.^[2] He also began to write verse poetry.

After a tour of duty in the Air Force, Nesmith won a singing spot with a band by knowing a number of Chuck Berry's songs. Seeing the chance to make a living with music, he bought a guitar with his parents' help, learning as he went, and joined a series of working bands, performing folk, country, and occasionally rock and roll. His verse poems became the basis for original song lyrics, and after moving to Los Angeles with Phyllis and friend John London, he published a number of his own songs. Nesmith's "Mary, Mary" was recorded by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, while "Different Drum" was recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. "Pretty Little Princess", written in 1965, was recorded by Frankie Laine and released as a single in 1968 on ABC Records. Later, "Some Of Shelly's Blues" and "Propinquity (I've Just Begun To Care)" were made popular by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy in 1970.

Nesmith began his recording career in 1965, with a one-off single released on Edan Records. He followed this with two singles recorded under the name "Michael Blessing", released on Colpix Records – coincidentally also the label of Davy Jones, though they had not yet met.

From 1965 to early 1970, Nesmith and Jones were members of the pop rock band The Monkees, created for the television situation comedy of the same name. The only Monkee to learn of the audition from the famous press advertisement (asking for "four insane boys"), Nesmith won his role largely by appearing blasé when he auditioned, as if he were considering the studio, and not the other way around. He further distinguished himself by carrying a bag of laundry to be done on the way home, and wearing a wool cap to keep his hair out of his eyes, riding his motorcycle to the audition. Producers Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider remembered "Wool Hat", and called Nesmith back. Once he was cast, Screen Gems bought his songs from their publishers, so they could be used in the show. Many of the songs Nesmith wrote for The Monkees, such as "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Mary, Mary", and "Listen to the Band" became minor hits. One song he wrote, "You Just May Be The One," is in mixed meter, interspersing 5/4 bars into an otherwise 4/4 structure.

As with the other Monkees, Nesmith came to be frustrated by the "manufactured image" and role imposed on them by the whole project, and wanted a bigger hand in matters. He was permitted to write and produce two songs per album, and his music was frequently featured in episodes of the series. However, Nesmith wanted a shot at making singles for the band in addition to his album tracks.

While the Monkees did succeed in ousting supervisor Don Kirshner (with Nesmith punching a hole in a wall, to make a point with Kirshner and attorney Herb Moelis), and took control of their records and song choices, sales dipped. The band never overcame the credibility problems they faced when word spread (at Nesmith's instigation, calling the band's first non-studio press conference, where he called More of The Monkees "probably the worst record in the history of the world") that they had not played on their first records. Nesmith also found Monkees concerts dissatisfying as a performer, with audiences made up largely of children and their parents, who expected to hear their hits first and foremost.

Nesmith had fought hard to have his songs featured more prominently, and the Monkees to really play, but years later seemed to discount both: "I wasn't the only musician, and I wasn't much of a musician. What I was able to do was write tunes; I could just sort of pull them out of a hat." He particularly trashed the compilation More Greatest Hits of the Monkees as being "badly recorded, badly sung, marginally played, and they're weak tunes." He did not regret his Monkees days though, for the most part, continued to praise his band-mates (although not always getting along with them), and tended to like the fans that he met.

Nesmith's last Monkees commitment was a Kool-Aid commercial, early in 1970. With the band's fortunes continuing to fall, Nesmith asked to be released from his contract, and had to pay a default: "I had three years left...at $150,000 a year," which he had to pay back. He continued to feel the financial bite for years afterwards, telling Playboy in 1980 "I had to start telling little tales to the tax man while they were putting tags on the furniture."

As he prepared for his exit from The Monkees, Nesmith was approached by John Ware of The Corvettes, a band that featured Nesmith's friend John London (who played on some of the earliest pre-Monkees Nesmith 45s as well as numerous Monkees sessions) and had 45s produced by Nesmith for the Dot label in 1969. Ware wanted Nesmith to put together a band. Nesmith said he would be interested only if noted pedal steel player Orville "Red" Rhodes would be a part of the project, and a long musical partnership was born that would continue until Rhodes' untimely death in 1995. The new band was christened Michael Nesmith and the First National Band and went on to record three albums for RCA Records in 1970.

Nesmith has been considered one of the pioneers of country-rock (along with Gram Parsons) and had moderate commercial success with the First National Band. Their second single, "Joanne," hit #21 on the Billboard chart & #17 on Cashbox, with the follow-up "Silver Moon" making #42 Billboard/#28 Cashbox. Two more singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" #70 Billboard/#73 Cashbox & "Propinquity" #95 Cashbox) and the first two LP's charted in the lower regions of the Billboard album chart. No clear answer has ever been given for the band's breakup, the albums they recorded remain on par with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco and New Riders of the Purple Sage as some of the best country-rock music.

Nesmith followed up with the Second National Band, a band that consisted largely of members of Elvis Presley's band, as well as Jose Feliciano. The album,Tantamount to Treason, Volume I, was a commercial and critical disaster, and Nesmith then decided to cut one of the best albums of his career, featuring only him on guitar and Red Rhodes on pedal steel, And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'.

Around this time, Nesmith got more heavily involved in producing, and was given a label of his own through Elektra Records, Countryside. It featured a number of artists that were produced by Nesmith, including Garland Frady and Red Rhodes. The staff band at Countryside also helped Nesmith on his next, and last, RCA album, Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash.

In the mid-1970s Nesmith briefly collaborated as a songwriter with Linda Hargrove, resulting in the tune "I've Never Loved Anyone More," a hit for Lynn Anderson and recorded by many others, as well as the songs "Winonah" and "If You Will Walk With Me" which were both recorded by Hargrove. Of all three songs, only "Winonah" was recorded by Nesmith himself. During this same period, Nesmith started his multimedia company Pacific Arts, which initially put out audio records, 8-tracks and cassette, followed in 1981 with "video records." Nesmith recorded a number of LPs for his label, and had a moderate worldwide hit in 1977 with his song "Rio", the single taken from the album "From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing". More importantly, Nesmith created a video clip for "Rio" which, in a roundabout way, helped spur Nesmith's creation of a television program called Pop Clips for the Nickelodeon cable network. The concept was sold to Time Warner/Amex, who developed it into the MTV network. His single "Cruisin'" was the first video of the MTV generation. Nesmith also won the first Grammy Award (1981) given for Video of the Year for his hour-long Elephant Parts and also had a short-lived series inspired by the video called "Television Parts".

Pacific Arts Video became a pioneer in the home video market, producing and distributing a wide variety of videotaped programs. Pacific Arts eventually ceased operations after an acrimonious contract dispute with PBS over home video licensing rights and payments for several series, including Ken Burns' The Civil War. On February 3, 1999, a jury awarded Nesmith $46.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages, prompting his widely-quoted comment, "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 the ruling and a settlement was reached with the results kept confidential.

He was the executive producer for the movies Repo Man, Tapeheads, and Timerider, as well as his own solo recording and film projects. In 1998, Nesmith published his first novel, The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora. His new album, Rays was released on April 4, 2006.

Since 1990, Nesmith has hosted the Council on Ideas, a gathering of intellectuals from different fields who are asked to brainstorm solutions to world problems.

In 1995, he reunited with the Monkees to record their last studio album (and first to feature all four since Head) titled Justus, released in 1996. He also wrote and directed a Monkees television special, and briefly toured the UK with the band in 1997. He re-departed when the tour came to America later in the year, following media criticism of his recent stage performances.

Nesmith spent a decade as a board of trustees member and nominating member of the American Film Institute and is currently President and chairman of the board of trustees of the Gihon Foundation.

Nesmith's current project is Videoranch 3D, a virtual environment on the internet that hosts live performances at various virtual venues inside the Ranch.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Nesmith was good friends with late author Douglas Adams, whose body of work includes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• The Gretsch guitar company built a one-off natural finish 12-string electric guitar for Nesmith when he was performing with The Monkees (Gretsch had a promotional deal with the group). The instrument was frequently cited at that time as being worth $5,000. While one-off custom instruments are very expensive, $5,000 in 1966 was the equivalent of $31,000 in 2007 money, and the "$5,000" price tag was undoubtedly inflated for publicity purposes. He earlier played a customized Gretsch twelve-string, which had originally been a six-string model.
• Nesmith is an avid archivist of early music videos, the bulk of which comprised the rotation of Video Concert Hall and early MTV.
• The Tragically Hip took their name from a skit in Nesmith's long-form video Elephant Parts.
• Nesmith is also known as "Papa Nez". (Or, simply, "Nez/Nes".)
• The back sleeve of Tantamount to Treason contains the "papa nes home-brew recipe" (for beer). It also contains a warning and a line with the text "autoclaving turns this line brown."
• Nesmith is exactly three years older than fellow Monkee Davy Jones and twelve years younger than fellow First National Band member Orville "Red" Rhodes, who both share his birthday: December 30.
• Nesmith had a cameo appearance as a taxi driver in the Whoopi Goldberg film Burglar.
• An opportunistic lookalike from the US cashed in on his similarity to Nesmith by appearing on talk shows and doing interviews in Australia during the 1980s. The scam was successful, the lookalike being far enough from home to avoid detection as a fraud, as could happen in the US where the real Nesmith has many media and show-business acquaintances. An entertaining interviewee, the impersonator had the last laugh, his charade not being discovered until after he had fled Australia.

Date	Label/Catalog #	Titles (A-side / B-side)	Billboard Top Singles	Cashbox	Billboard Adult Contemp	Notes
1963	Highness HN-13	Wanderin' / Well Well	-	-	-	Credited as "Mike Nesmith." Vanity pressing.
1963	Omnibus 239	How Can You Kiss Me / Just A Little Love	-	-	-	Credited as "Mike, John & Bill." John London is the bassist, later of Nesmith's First National Band. Bill Sleeper is the drummer. (The trio broke up when Sleeper was drafted into the US Army.)
01/1966	Edan 1001	Just A Little Love / Curson Terrace	-	-	-	A-side is same as Omnibus 239. B-side is credited to "Mike & Tony" and has no Nesmith involvement.
10/1965	Colpix CP-787	The New Recruit / A Journey With Michael Blessing	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Blessing."
01/1966	Colpix CP-792	Until It's Time For You To Go / What Seems To Be The Trouble Officer	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Blessing."
04/1966	RCA 47-8807	Do Not Ask For Love / Buttermilk	-	-	-	Credited to "The New Society." A-side has no Nesmith involvement. B-side was verified by Bill Chadwick, member of the group, as having Nesmith as a background vocalist.
07/1968	Dot 45-17152	Tapioca Tundra / Don't Cry Now	-	-	-	Credited to "The Wichita Train Whistle." Group was created and led by Nesmith, though he does not appear on the recordings as either musician or vocalist.
07/1970	RCA 47-9853	Little Red Rider / Rose City Chimes	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
08/1970	RCA 74-0368	Joanne / One Rose	21	17	6	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
11/1970	RCA 74-0399	Silver Moon / Lady of the Valley	42	28	7	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
04/1971	RCA 74-0453	Nevada Fighter / Here I Am	70	73	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Issued with picture sleeve.
06/1971	RCA 74-0491	Texas Morning / Tumbling Tumbleweeds	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Single released as promo with both songs on B-side and "Texas" only on A-side with release #SPS-45-263.
06/1971	RCA 74-0540	I've Just Begun To Care (Propinquity) / One Rose	-	95	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
01/1972	RCA 74-0629	Mama Rocker / Lazy Lady	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the Second National Band." Mix of "Mama Rocker" is edited from LP version.
08/1972	RCA 74-0804	Roll With The Flow / Keep On	-	-	-	Mix of "Roll With The Flow" is edited from LP version.
1976	RCA 447-0868	Joanne / Silver Moon	-	-	-	Reissue credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Early pressings on red label, later pressings on black label.
03/1977	Pacific Arts WIP6373	Rio / Life, The Unsuspecting Captive	-	-	-
06/1978	Pacific Arts PAC-101	Roll With The Flow / I've Just Begun To Care	-	-	-	Live versions taken from "Live at the Palais" album.
1978?	Pacific Arts PAC-104	Rio / Casablanca Moonlight	-	-	-	Issued with picture sleeve.
06/1979	Pacific Arts PAC-106	Magic / Dance	-	-	-
08/1979	Pacific Arts PAC-108	Cruisin' / Horserace	-	-	-
1998	Collectibles COL-4759	Joanne / Silver Moon	-	-	-	Reissue.

Date	Label/Catalog #	Title	Highest Billboard Position	Notes
07/1968	Dot 3861 (mono) / 25861 (stereo)	The Wichita Train Whistle Sings	144	Nesmith does not appear on this album vocally or instrumentally. Album is credited to "The Wichita Train Whistle." Mono release is promo-only.
07/1970	RCA LSP-4371	Magnetic South	143	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band." Some copies came with a "Joanne" sticker on the shrink wrap.
11/1970	RCA LSP-4415	Loose Salute	159	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band." Some copies came with a circular sticker on the shrink wrap saying "Contains the hit single 'Silver Moon.'"
05/1971	RCA LSP-4497	Nevada Fighter	-	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band."
02/1972	RCA LSP-4563	Tantamount to Treason, Vol. I	-	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The Second National Band."
08/1972	RCA LSP-4695	And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'	-
10/1973	RCA ALPI-0164	Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash	-
03/1975	Pacific Arts PAC-101	The Prison	-	Issued with 48-page book to be read while the LP is playing, allowing for a "soundtrack" to the story. Original copies issued in a box cover, while later copies came in a cardboard slip jacket. Some of these later copies had two stickers on the shrink, one saying "Michael Nesmith" and the other "Contains Record and 48-page Full Color Illustrated Book." Record was also sold in book stores.
02/1977	Pacific Arts PAC7-106	Compilation	-
03/1977	Pacific Arts PAC7-107 / Pacific Arts ILPA-9184	From A Radio Engine to the Photon Wing	-	Early pressings utilized the overseas catalog # ILPA-9184 used by Island Records.
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-113	The Wichita Train Whistle Sings	-	Reissue of 1968 Dot release with new album jacket design.
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-116	And The Hits Just Keep On Comin'	-	Reissue of 1972 RCA release with standard jacket (RCA release had gatefold jacket).
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-117	Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash	-	Reissue of 1973 RCA release with standard jacket (RCA release had gatefold jacket).
08/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-118	Live At The Palais	-	Some copies came with a 3" circular sticker on the cover itself proclaiming "Contains the hit single 'Roll With The Flow.'"
05/1979	Pacific Arts PAC7-130	Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma	151
06/1979	Pacific Arts PAC7-1300	The Michael Nesmith Radio Special	-	Promotional LP featuring all the tracks from "Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma" as well as interview snippets
??/1989	Rhino R1-70168	The Newer Stuff	-	Contains five new tracks and five tracks from "Photon Wing" and "Infinite Rider." CD release featured additional tracks from the LP release.

• "...tropical campfire's..." (Pacific Arts/Island), (1992)
• The Garden (Rio), (1994)
• Timerider: The Adventure Of Lyle Swann [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Rio), (2000)
• Rays (Rio) (2006)

• Compilation (Pacific Arts/Island), (1978)
• Complete (Pacific Arts/Island), (1993) (the first three "First National Band" albums)
• 16 Original Classics (Collectables Records), (1999) (reissue of Magnet South with "bonus tracks")

• Rio and Cruisin' (1981)
• Elephant Parts (1981) (released on DVD 2003)
• The Television Parts Home Companion (1985)
• Dr. Duck's Super-Secret All-Purpose Sauce (1986)
• Nezmusic (1989)
• Live At The Britt Festival (1992) (released on DVD 1999)

• • n.b. books proper - not including The Prison and The Garden
• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (1998)

• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (2004) (with Michael reading the story)

• Videoranch 3D, a Mike Nesmith company
• Michael Nesmith at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Nesmith record price guide & discography by Joe Alterio
• Article in Wired magazine about Michael Nesmith and the Council on Ideas
• Michael Nesmith biography
• Michael Nesmith - The Interactive Monkey by Michael Dare
• (Unofficial) Michael Nesmith Home Page
• SWINDLE Magazine Interview

v • d • e The Monkees
Micky Dolenz · Davy Jones · Michael Nesmith · Peter Tork
Production & Management	Don Kirshner · Bob Rafelson · Bert Schneider · Ward Sylvester · Raybert Productions
Studio albums	The Monkees · More of the Monkees · Headquarters · Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. · The Birds, The Bees & the Monkees · Head · Instant Replay · The Monkees Present · Changes · Pool It! · Justus
Principal Film/Television Appearances	Episode list · Head · 33⅓ Revolutions Per Monkee · Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees
Miscellaneous	The New Monkees · The Monkeemobile

Persondata
NAME	Nesmith, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	musician, songwriter, actor
DATE OF BIRTH	December 30, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH	Houston, Texas
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH