# RIP Michael Nesmith, of the Monkees **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, music\ **Created:** [December 10, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845 "2021-12-10T18:17:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/1 "2021-12-10T18:17:44Z")
Singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith, who was a member of the Monkees, and later was a pioneer in the music video industry, died today of natural causes at age 78. As quoted in the _Rolling Stone_ article: > [@](#): > > “With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” his family said in a statement. “We ask that you respect our privacy at this time and we thank you for the love and light that all of you have shown him and us.” As a kid, I loved the Monkees TV show; as an adult, I came to appreciate them as musicians, and their struggle to be able to write and perform their own music. > **[Michael Nesmith, Monkees Singer-Songwriter, Dead at 78](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/monkees-michael-nesmith-dead-1270079/)** > > Monkees singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith has died at age 78, just weeks after the group played their final concert in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/2 "2021-12-10T18:24:20Z")
One little Monkee sitting in a tree… ☹ I too, loved The Monkees when I was little. I have the DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/3 "2021-12-10T18:28:48Z")
He was a hell of a musician in his own right, and his time with The First National Band produced some of my favorite music. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/4 "2021-12-10T18:47:54Z")
Michael is the one with the knit hat? I’ve heard the Monkees hits. Last Train to Clarksville was written by Boyce & Hart. I’m a Believer by Neil Diamond. Very solid material that The Monkees turned into hits. RIP ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/5 "2021-12-10T18:55:48Z")
Great band. RIP, Michael … offspring of the inventor of **[Liquid Paper](https://askinglot.com/open-detail/619965)**. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/6 "2021-12-10T18:59:52Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q5CiOTrRJBw/hqdefault.jpg "Michael Nesmith & the First National Band - Joanne") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5CiOTrRJBw) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/7 "2021-12-10T19:00:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Michael is the one with the knit hat? Yes. The story goes that he rode his motorcycle to his audition for the TV show, and wore the knit cap to keep his long hair out of his eyes; the cap stood out to the show’s producers, and when they called him back, they asked for “the wool cap guy.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/8 "2021-12-10T19:04:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I too, loved The Monkees when I was little. I have the DVDs. I have them too! I still have many of the LPs (reissued in the 1980s) and the CDs ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/9 "2021-12-10T19:05:19Z")
Here’s a bit from Television Parts, a short’lived TV series that ran in the mid 80s. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/itDyAwM9Z0c/hqdefault.jpg "Michael Nesmith - Liquid Paper from Television Parts") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itDyAwM9Z0c) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/10 "2021-12-10T19:05:40Z")
Listening to NPR right now, and they just had a quick story about Nesmith’s passing; according to that story, Nesmith passed away from heart disease. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/11 "2021-12-10T19:06:22Z")
His credits include executive producer of the film Repo Man. RIP ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/12 "2021-12-10T19:08:51Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > His credits include executive producer of the film Repo Man. I had recalled that he had helped to finance a few films; the _Rolling Stone_ article I had shared says that he inherited a fortune when his mother (inventor of Liquid Paper) died in 1980, and used some of that money to back films. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/13 "2021-12-10T19:09:16Z")
Now Micky’s all alone… Mike wasn’t my favourite Monkee (that’d be Micky), but he was close. He also wrote or co-wrote a lot of of my favourite songs by them - Papa Gene’s Blues, Mary Mary, You Just May Be the One, Sweet Young Thing (don’t know whether he, Goffen or King was responsible for the line ‘I’m either feeling very good, or else I’ve gone insane’, but whoever it was deserved an award for it), etc… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/14 "2021-12-10T19:09:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Very solid material that The Monkees turned into hits. And for an ‘innocent’ ‘made-for-TV’ band, some of their hits were a bit subversive; e.g., Pleasant Valley Sunday reveals the banality of Suburbia, (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone is pretty bitter song about a social-climbing girlfriend, Last Train to Clarksville (considering when it came out) makes people think about the war in Vietnam, Randy Scouse Git blasts the recording industry (specifically, EMI). > [@Acsenray](#): > > I have them too! In the ‘portable record player’ boxes? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/15 "2021-12-10T19:10:56Z")
Well since it is almost Christmas, how about a little a cappella music from the Monkees in his memory. [Monkees - Riu Chiu - Offical Video - High Quality - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_hlYgCNFZc) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/16 "2021-12-10T19:12:14Z")
_He know realizes he is in the universe of light,_ _In every direction of thought, everywhere there is light,_ _The darkness is powerless against it_ _Wherever there is darkness, the light destroys it_ Mike Nesmith, intro to “Rays” RIP, thanks for everything, Mike. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/17 "2021-12-10T19:12:38Z")
Mike was always my favorite. An amazing songwriter. RIP, Michael. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/18 "2021-12-10T19:20:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Mike was always my favorite. An amazing songwriter. He wrote _Different Drum_ for Linda Ronstadt. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/19 "2021-12-10T19:22:15Z")
I always wished I were old enough (and talented enough!) to have been in the Monkees. Mike was my role model. There aren’t many celebrities that I care about their passing. RIP Mike. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845/20 "2021-12-10T20:09:02Z")
In the late 80’s while attending college my apartment was broken in and several VCR tapes were stolen. Most were adult but one was Elephant Parts. When telling the police what tapes were taken I remember emphasizing that Elephant Parts was a COMEDY, least they think I had a bestiality fetish. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-michael-nesmith-of-the-monkees/955845.md?page=2)