Prefab Polymath

No sooner did I post about the passing of a beloved-though-obscure singer-songwriter yesterday than the news came out about Mike Nesmith's death. 

While Mike Nesmith, the son of Liquid Paper inventor Bette Nesmith Graham, is primarily known as a member of made-for-television band The Monkees, he was not only an actor, comedian, and singer, but a songwriter and a video production pioneer. The Monkees were often dismissed as the Prefab Four, brought together by television executives to perform in a television comedy series that would mimic the Beatles' films such as A Hard Day's Night. 

Sure, they were a prefabricated band, but they were made out of some sound components- Davy Jones was meant to appeal to Beatles fans, Peter Tork (an accomplished musician) was a straight man, Micky Dolenz was the zany one, and Mike Nesmith was the country boy, complete with Texas drawl and droll mannerisms. He also was a fine musician in his own right, and wrote several songs for the band, which mainly performed material written by other people... as did many musicians of the era who didn't earn the scorn of critics. I used to watch the Monkees' show in syndication as a kid, and have to note that I am an unabashed fan. I mean, what kind of churl wouldn't like the band (with Dolenz performing lead vocal) goofing around with Julie Newmar to the tune of Mike Nesmith's composition The Girl I Knew Somewhere?

  

As far as vocals went, Mike Nesmith excelled in singing lead on such songs as What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?, which was a sort of non-violent counterpart to the tragic Streets of Laredo, about a 'loudmouth Yankee' who has a tryst with a Mexican girl, and a year later wonders why he isn't riding the train to San Anton' like he should (details are fuzzy, is he regretting staying or leaving?): 

 

Nesmith left the Monkees due to a lack of creative control, and went on to form country rock group First National Band. He was a bit ahead of the times, though, releasing singles such as Joanne before country rock acts blew up into stadium fillers: 

 

Besides his musical output, Mike Nesmith was a video pioneer, forming the Pacific Arts Corporation and pursuing video production as well as music production. His Popclips music video show was a precursor to MTV:

  

In 1981, he released Elephant Parts, an anthology of whacky music videos and comedy sketches. Songs such as Cruisin' perfectly showcased his off-kilter sense of humor: 

  

My favorite clip is the short 'Art by the Pound' bit: 

  

Being a good sport, he also included a self-parody in the compilation: 

  

He followed this up with a short-lived television series called Television Parts, which featured one of my favorite bits by him:

  

Mike Nesmith was also a producer of the punk sci-fi satire Repo Man:

  

He was also involved in home distribution of PBS programs, which ended in an acrimonious lawsuit over royalty payments, which he won: "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." 

In the 21st Century, he founded the Videoranch website, and resumed touring with former bandmates. This year, he went on tour with Micky Dolenz, who wrote a heartfelt tribute:

I’m heartbroken.
I’ve lost a dear friend and partner.
I’m so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best – singing, laughing, and doing shtick.
I’ll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick.
Rest in peace, Nez.
All my love,
Micky pic.twitter.com/xe8i5jmNgL

— Micky Dolenz (@TheMickyDolenz1) December 10, 2021

I decided that I would save my favortie Mike Nesmith song for the coda to this post. He performed Different Drum, written before he joined the Monkees, as a gag in a Monkees episode about a talent competition:

  

The song was recorded by a young Linda Ronstadt, with her band the Stone Poneys, and she made it her own. For the record, it's my second favorite Linda Ronstadt song:

  

Being a low-key, self-effacing guy, he jocularly acknowledged Linda's ownership of his song after a live performance: 

 

Mike Nesmith was a polymath, a true renaissance man who got his big break in the entertainment industry as a member of a 'prefab' band, and the general consensus is that he was a lovely, gracious man. As I noted, I have been an unabashed Monkees fan since I was a kid watching the old episodes in syndication, and my appreciation for Mike Nesmith grew as I learned more about his other endeavors. I'm genuinely saddened by his death, he provided such entertainment with his music, his comedy, and his production work.