A moment ago I was at Youtube and listened to the song there, the one that shows Paul Newman and his wife. (I play that one only for the song, as the sound quality is best.)
It’s such a beautiful song it almost makes me wanna cry. 
Seriously, isn’t it a pretty song?
I’ve always thought Nesmith was a very underrated songwriter. He did some really good stuff with the Monkees and some of his solo work is very, very good.
“Joanne” was probably his biggest (only?) solo hit. It was produced by Felton Jarvis who produced a lot of Elvis’ late '60s material.
I love this song! Mike Nesmith is the only one of the Monkees who has a genuine gift for music, and this is one of his best efforts. If you like Mike, be sure to see Elephant Parts. Sheer genius.
Well I’m intrigued enough I’d give it a listen - how about a link for those who haven’t heard it?
One of me favs
Then the woman that she was
Drove her on with desperation
And I saw as she went
A most hopeless situation
For Joanne and the man
And the time that made them both run
He also wrote Ronstadt’s Different Drum and Nitty Gritty’s Some of Shelley’s Blues.
Thank you for that link! I love Paul and Joanne, and I’ve always loved that song (I’m an old Monkees fan). This brought tears to my eyes.
Peter Tork has a genuine gift for music too, but hasn’t had the solo career Nesmith had.
Nice song, but the lyrics don’t fit all to a montage of Mr. & Mrs. Newman.
Plus it was Mikes mother who invented whiteout. I think he is comfy.
Thanks All for the comments!
Thanks for the link! (I still haven’t figured out how to do that on this Apple, thus I always have to do that whole, big thing with all those numbers and letters. ^sigh^)
I would love to get a copy of Elephant but the $31 seems a bit steep.
Didn’t know the man wrote Different Drummer, another very nice song!
Did know that his mom created White Out. (Wish I could come up with something simple to get my impoverished self on Easy Street.
I love that song, too. His only other charting records were “Silver Moon” (#42, 1970) and “Nevada Fighter” (#70, 1971). I have the first one, but I’ve never heard the other. I still have to see “Elephant Parts.” Does anyone know if it can be rented?
Speaking of Elephant Parts, man, I have always dug Cruisin’. Sunset Sam looked like he was really groovin’ on life, heh.
My boss recently brought me in to her office to check out an email that is making the rounds. It’s a recent picture of Mike, with the caption: Who is this person? The choices, besides ex-rock star, were something like “Corporate CEO”, and “Ambassador to Peru” (or something like that).
Don’t give short shrift to Davy and Micky, either. Being Monkees might have been their claim to fame, but they weren’t just some guys off the street.
Check out his music video for “Rio”. You just don’t see that kind of fun much anymore.
Mike is a damn fine songwriter. He also wrote and sang my favorite Monkees song: You Just May Be the One (YouTube clip).
I loved, loved, loved Elephant Parts!!! I can’t believe it’s been over twenty years since I’ve seen it! Thanks everyone for the video links.
(And btw, does anyone else wonder if Nesmith’s recording career would have been more successful had his albums not been saddled with the names Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma and From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing? My brother, his wife and I were huge Nesmith fans and we loved Elephant Parts and watched it over and over again. Still, we found ourselves rolling our eyes and wishing that Nesmith wasn’t quite so…ahem…humorous when naming his albums and felt that these names likely doomed them from the start.)
Also should mention that he wrote Different Drum, the song that really got things started for Linda Ronstadt.
Thanks for that link - that was my favorite, too…
VCNJ~
I liked the end of side one of the original lp, Loose Salute (I think) where he says, ‘We’ll be right back, just as soon as you turn the record over!’
Classic!
Live at the Palais used to be one of my favourite live lps…
I’ve always enjoyed Mike Nesmith’s songwriting. I’ve Just Begun To Care (Propinquity), which was also recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, is my favorite, followed by Joanne.