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Biography
Use mdy dates|date=August 2011Infobox musical artist | | name = Michael Nesmith| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Robert Michael Nesmith| alias = Michael Blessing, Nez, Wool Hat, Papa Nez| birth_date = birth date and age|1942|12|30| birth_place = Houston , United States| instrument = vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, electric organ, synthesizer, harmonica, pedal steel guitar| genre = Rock music|Rock , pop music|pop , Folk music|folk , Country music|country , pop rock , psychedelic rock | occupation = Author, songwriter, musician, actor, owner of Pacific Arts Corporation | years_active = 1965–present| label =| associated_acts = The Monkees , First National Band | website = Robert Michael Nesmith (born December 30, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name. Nesmith is notable as a songwriter, including " Different Drum " sung by Linda Ronstadt with the Stone Poneys , and as executive producer of the cult film Repo Man (film)|Repo Man . In 1981, Nesmith won the first Grammy Award given for Video of the Year for his hour-long Elephant Parts .
Biography
Nesmith was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston , in 1942. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll? indiv=1& db=TXbirthindex%2c& rank=0& tips=0& gsfn=Robert& gsln=Nesmith& sx=& gs1co=2%2cUSA& gs1pl=46%2cTexas& year=& yearend=& sbo=0& sbor=& ufr=0& wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003& srchb=r& prox=1& ti=0& ti.si=0& gss=angs-d& o_iid=21416& o_lid=21416& o_it=21416& fh=13& recid=11279092& recoff=1+3 Texas Birth Index 1903–97 showing : "Robert Michael Nesmith, born December 30, 1942, Harris County, father Warren Audrey Nesmith, mother Bette Clair McMurray.
He was an only child; his parents, Warren Audrey Nesmith and Bette Nesmith Graham , divorced when their son was four. He and his mother moved to Dallas, to be closer to her parents, sister, aunts and grandmother. Bette took temporary jobs ranging from clerical work to graphics design, and developed very good secretarial skills, including shorthand, and, auspiciously, touch typing. When Nesmith was 13 his mother invented a typewriter correction fluid later known commercially as Liquid Paper . Over the next 25 years she built the Liquid Paper Corporation into a multimillion dollar international company which she finally sold to Gillette in 1980 for US$48 million. She died a few months later at age 56.cite web|url= http://www.women-inventors.com/Bette-Nesmith-Graham.asp |title=Bette Nesmith Graham: Liquid Paper Inventor |publisher=Women-inventors.com |date= |accessdate=2012-04-03
In 1949, Nesmith, at the age of six, was enrolled in the Dallas public school system. An indifferent student, he nevertheless participated in choral and drama activities during his years at Thomas Jefferson High School (Dallas)|Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas . http://monkees.rhino.com/read/mike.lasso The Monkees: Mike Nesmith biography from Rhino Records He began to write verse poetry. When he was 15 he enrolled in the Dallas Theater Center teen program, where he featured in several plays.citation needed|date = March 2012 Before graduating from high school, Nesmith enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1960. He completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, was trained as an aircraft mechanic at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, and then permanently stationed at a Strategic Air Command base near Elk City, Oklahoma . While in the Air Force, Nesmith obtained a GeneralEducational Development|G.E.D. and was discharged under honorable conditions in 1962. He enrolled in San Antonio College , a community college in San Antonio where he met John Kuehne (later to be known as John London ) and began a musical collaboration. The duo won the first San Antonio College talent award performing a mixture of standard folk songs and a few of Nesmith's original songs. He met another SAC student, Phyllis Ann Barbour, whom he later married.National Enquirer, February 26, 2010
While in college Nesmith began to write more songs and poetry and after his marriage to Phyllis in 1963 the two of them decided to move to Los Angeles so Nesmith could pursue his songwriting and singing career. At the time Phyllis was pregnant with their first child Christian Nesmith|Christian DuVal . Nesmith began singing in folk clubs around Los Angeles and had one notable job as the "Hootmaster" for the Monday night hootenanny|hootenannie s at The Troubadour (Los Angeles)|The Troubadour , a West Hollywood night club that featured new artists. Here Nesmith met, socialized, and performed with many different members of the burgeoning new music scene in Los Angeles. Randy Sparks of the New Christy Minstrels fame offered Nesmith a publishing deal for his songs. It was while working at this publishing house that Barry Friedman, also known as the Rev. Frazier Mohawk , brought the ad for Monkees auditions to Nesmith's attention. In 1965, Nesmith landed the role in the Monkees pilot, which was filmed in October 1965.Sandoval, Andrew. Music Box Liner Notes: The True Story of The Monkees , Rhino Records, 2001
When the Monkees show ended in 1968, Nesmith enrolled part time in UCLA and studied American History and Music History. Michael and Phyllis's second son, Jonathan, was born in February 1968. Nesmith's third son, Jason, was born in August 1968 to Nurit Wilde , whom he met while working on the Monkees.Harvey Kubernik, Scott Calamar, Diltz, Henry, Lou Adler, Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon ( Sterling Publishing , 2009), ISBN 978-1-4027-6589-6, p. 95. http://books.google.com/books? id=bANZjtz2qUkC& q=nurit#v=snippet& q=nurit& f=false Excerpts available at Google Books . In 1969, Nesmith formed the group First National Band with Kuehne, John Ware and Red Rhodes. Nesmith wrote most of the songs for the band including a single titled "Joanne" that received some airplay and was a mild chart hit for seven weeks during 1970, rising to number 21 on the Billboard Top 40.Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits , p. 330 (5th ed. 1992). The First National Band has been credited with being among the pioneers of country-rock music.cite web|url= http://uk.real.com/music/artist/Michael_Nesmith/ |title=Michael Nesmith - Country Rock - Rock/Pop - Music - www.real.com |publisher=Uk.real.com |accessdate=May 14, 2010
Phyllis's third child, and Nesmith's fourth, daughter Jessica, was born in September 1970. Circa 1972, Nesmith started the record label Countryside Records with Jac Holzman, the founder of Elektra Records. Also, in 1972, Nesmith and Phyllis were divorced and he moved to Carmel, California. In 1974, Nesmith started Pacific Arts Corporation|Pacific Arts Records and released what he called "a book with a soundtrack" entitled "The Prison" as the company's first release. In 1976, he married Kathryn Bild. In 1988, following the ending of this second marriage, he returned to Los Angeles where he had met Victoria Kennedy. They moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1992 and then returned to Carmel, California, in 2000. They were married in April 2000 in Monterey, California. In 2011, they separated and Kennedy filed for divorce.The Mirror (UK), 5 March 2011
Early career
After a tour of duty in the United States Air Force|Air Force , he was given a guitar as a Christmas present from his mother and stepfather. Learning as he went, he played solo and in a series of working bands, performing folk music|folk , country music|country , and occasionally rock and roll . His verse poems became the basis for song lyrics, and after moving to Los Angeles with Phyllis and friend John London , he signed a publishing deal for his songs. Nesmith's "Mary, Mary" was recorded by the Paul Butterfield|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 1970 album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy .
Nesmith began his recording career in 1963 by releasing a single on the Highness label. Later, in 1965 with a one-off single released on Edan Records before he followed with two singles recorded—one titled "The New Recruit" under the name "Michael Blessing", released on Colpix Records —coincidentally also the label of Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones , though they had not met until The Monkees .
The Monkees
From 1965 to early 1970, Nesmith was a member of the television pop-rock band The Monkees , created for the television The Monkees (TV series)|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. He further distinguished himself by carrying a bag of laundry to be done on the way home, and wearing a tuque|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 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 2/4 bars into an otherwise 4/4 structure.
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 custom-made Gretsch guitar (natural finish 12-string electric guitar) that was frequently cited at that time as being worth $5,000—the equivalent of over $30,000 in 2008 dollars—which was undoubtedly inflated for publicity purposes. He earlier played a customized Gretsch twelve-string, which had originally been a six-string model. Nesmith used this guitar for his appearances on the television series, as well as The Monkees live appearances in 1966 and 1967. Beginning in 1968, Nesmith used a white 6-string Gibson SG for his live appearances with The Monkees. He would use the guitar in their motion picture Head for the live version of "Circle Sky" and also for the final original Monkees tour in 1969 with Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz.
As with the other Monkees, Nesmith came to be frustrated by the manufactured image of the whole project. Although he was permitted to write and produce two songs per album and his music was frequently featured in episodes of the series, Nesmith was the most publically vocal about the Monkees prefabricated image.
The Monkees succeeded 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, but they worked as a four-man group on only one album. The band never overcame the credibility problems they faced when word spread that they had not played on their first records (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"). However, their singles and albums continued to sell well, until the disastrous release of " Head_(film)|Head ".
Nesmith's last Monkees commitment was a commercial for Kool-Aid and Nerf balls, in April 1970 (fittingly, the spot ends with Nesmith frowning and saying, "Enerf's enerf!"). 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, until his inheritance from his mother's Liquid Paper fortune in 1980 eased those concerns. In a 1980 interview with Playboy he said of that time, "I had to start telling little tales to the tax man while they were putting tags on the furniture". Indeed, while Nesmith had continued to produce his compositions with the Monkees, he withheld many of the songs from the final Monkees' albums, only to release them on his post-Monkees solo records.
Return to the Monkees
For the Monkees 20th anniversary in 1986, Nesmith did not participate in the reunion. However, he did appear during an encore with the other three members at the Greek Theatre (Los Angeles)|Greek Theatre on September 7, 1986. In a 1987 interview for Nick Rocks , Nesmith stated, “When Peter called up and said we’re going to go out, do you want to go? I was booked. But, if you get to L.A….I’ll play.”Nick Rocks, January 1987 Profile of Michael NesmithQuote box |quote = “The questions I am most often asked is ‘how does it feel to be up with the guys after all this time? ’ Well, it’s a mixture of feelings and all of them are good. But the one that comes to mind is the feeling of profound gratitude.” |source = Michael Nesmith , speaking about being part of The Monkees at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star award in 1989. |width = 35% |align = left Nesmith would appear again in 1989 with Micky, Peter, and Davy when the Monkees received a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.
In 1995, Nesmith was again reunited with the Monkees to record their last studio album (and first to feature all four since Head (The Monkees album)|Head ) titled Justus (album)|Justus , released in 1996. He also wrote and directed a Monkees television special entitled '' Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees . To support the reunion, Nesmith, along with Davy Jones (musician)|Jones , Micky Dolenz|Dolenz , and Peter Tork|Tork , briefly toured the United Kingdom|UK in 1997.
Solo career
As he prepared for his exit from The Monkees in 1970, 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 Records|Dot label in 1969. Ware wanted Nesmith to put together a band. Nesmith said he would be interested only if noted pedal steel guitar|pedal steel player Red Rhodes|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 . Liner notes from the CD Hillbilly Fever, Volume 5 released by Rhino Entertainment in 1995. He also had moderate commercial success with the First National Band. Their second single, Joanne (song)|Joanne hit No.& nbsp;21 on the Billboard chart & No.& nbsp;17 on Cashbox, with the follow-up "Silver Moon" making No.& nbsp;42 Billboard/#28 Cashbox. Two more singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" No.& nbsp;70 Billboard/#73 Cashbox & "Propinquity" No.& nbsp;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.
Nesmith followed up with First National Band|The Second National Band , a band that besides Nesmith, consisted of Michael Cohen (keyboards and Moog synthesizer|Moog ), Johnny Meeks (bass), jazzer Jack Ranelli (drums) and the always present Orville Rhodes (pedal steel), as well as an appearance by singer, musician, and songwriter José Feliciano on congas. The album, Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1 , was a commercial and critical disaster. Nesmith then recorded And the Hits Just Keep On Comin , featuring only him on guitar and Red Rhodes on pedal steel.
Nesmith got more heavily involved in producing, working with Iain Matthews on his "Valley Hi" album as well as Bert Jansch 's "L.A. Turnaround." Nesmith was given a label of his own through Elektra Records, Countryside, as Elektra's Jac Holzman was a fan of Nesmith's. 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 . Countryside folded when David Geffen replaced Holzman, rendering Countryside unnecessary in Geffen's eyes.
In the mid-1970s, Nesmith briefly collaborated as a songwriter with Linda Hargrove (songwriter)|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-track tape|8-track s and cassettes, 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 . In 1983, Nesmith produced the music video for Lionel Richie 's single All Night Long (All Night)|All Night Long . In 1987, he produced the music video for Michael Jackson 's single The Way You Make Me Feel .
Pop clips and MTV, Elephant Parts and Television Parts
further2| Pop Clips During this time, 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 (TV channel)|Nickelodeon cable network. In 1980, Nesmith's Pop Clips was sold to Time Warner / American Express|Amex consortium. Time Warner/Amex developed Pop Clips into the MTV network. Nesmith won the first-ever Grammy Award for Video of the Year|Grammy Award given for (Long-form) Grammy Award for Video of the Year|Music-Video in 1982, for his hour-long Elephant Parts and also had a short-lived series on NBC inspired by the video called " Television Parts|Michael Nesmith in Television Parts ". Television Parts concept however included many other artists who were unknown at the time but who went on to become major stars in their own right. Jay Leno , Jerry Seinfeld , Garry Shandling , Whoopi Goldberg , Arsenio Hall all became well known artists after their appearances on Nesmith's show. The basic concept of the show was to have comics render their stand-up routines into short comedy films much like the ones in Elephant Parts. Nesmith assembled writers Jack Handey , William Martin , John Levenstein, and Michael Kaplan; Directors William Dear (who had directed Elephant Parts ) and Alan Myerson, and Producer Ward Sylvester to create the show. The half hour show show ran for 8 episodes in the summer of 1985 on NBC Thursday nights in prime time.
Pacific Arts and legal dispute
further2| Pacific Arts Corporation Pacific Arts Video became a pioneer in the home video market, producing and distributing a wide variety of videotaped programs. Pacific Arts Video 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 (documentary)|The Civil War . The dispute escalated into a law suit that went to jury trial in Federal Court in Los Angeles. On February 3, 1999, a jury awarded Nesmith and his company Pacific Arts $48.875& nbsp;million in compensatory damages|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, but the appeal never reached the court, and a settlement was reached with the amount paid to Pacific Arts and Nesmith results kept confidential.
Nesmith's current Pacific Arts project is Videoranch 3D, a virtual environment on the internet that hosts live performances at various virtual venues inside the Ranch. He performed live inside Videoranch 3D on May 25, 2009.
Movies and books
Nesmith was the executive producer for the films Repo Man (1984 film)|Repo Man , Tapeheads , and Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann , as well as his own solo recording and film projects.
In 1998, Nesmith published his first novel, The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora . It was developed originally as an online project and was later published as a hard cover book by St Martin's Press. Nesmith's second novel The America Gene was released in July, 2009 as an online download from Videoranch.com.
Recent history
In the early 1980s, Nesmith teamed up with satirist P.J. O'Rourke to ride his vehicle Timerider in the annual Baja 1000 roadrace. This is chronicled in O'Rourke's 2009 book Driving Like Crazy .
During the 1990s, Nesmith, as Trustee and President of the Gihon foundation, hosted the Council on Ideas, a gathering of intellectuals from different fields who were asked to identify the most important issues of their day and publish the result. The Gihon ceased the program in 2000 and started a new Program for the Performing Arts. Nesmith also spent a decade as a board of trustees member, nominating member and vice-chair of the American Film Institute .
In 1992, Nesmith undertook a concert tour of North America to promote the CD release of his RCA solo albums (although he included the song "Rio", from the album From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing ). The concert tour ended at the Britt Festival in Oregon. A video, Live at the Britt Festival , and a CD, Live at the Britt Festival were released capturing the 1992 concert. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll? p=amg& sql=Aktkbikzhbb89 allmusic ((( Live at the Britt Festival Video/DVD& #93; > Overview )))
Nesmith continued to record and release his own music. His last album, Rays (Michael Nesmith album)|Rays , was released on April 4, 2006. In 2011, Nesmith returned to producing, working with blues singer/guitarist Carolyn Wonderland . Nesmith produced Wonderland's version of Elmore James ' "Dust My Broom" on her album "Peace Meal." Wonderland married writer-comedian A. Whitney Brown on March 4, 2011, in a ceremony officiated by Nesmith.
Other appearances
Nesmith had a cameo appearance as a taxi driver in the Whoopi Goldberg film Burglar (film)|Burglar .
Nesmith had cameo appearances in his own films including Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (Race Official) and Tapeheads (Water Man).
In a promotional video to support Pacific Arts ' video release of Tapeheads , Nesmith was introduced with a voice-over making fun of his Monkees persona. The narration teases Nesmith, who approaches the camera to speak, poking fun at his "missing hat".
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 America to avoid detection as a fraud (which is less likely in the US, where the real Nesmith has made many media and show-business acquaintances). An entertaining interviewee, the impersonator's charade was not discovered until after he had vanished from the public eye. The imposter, Barry Faulkner, who had pulled various fraudulent scams for 40 years, was finally apprehended and sent to jail in 2009.cite web|url= http://gulfnews.com/news/world/australia/master-imposter-finally-goes-to-jail-1.58807 |title=Master imposter finally goes to jail |publisher=gulfnews |date= |accessdate=2012-03-01cite web|last=John |first=Katelyn |url= http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,25215645-1242,00.html |title=No sentence discount for master conman Barry John Faulkner |publisher=News.com.au |date=March 20, 2009 |accessdate=May 14, 2010
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 = DEFAULTSORT:Nesmith, Michael Category:Living people Category:1942 births Category:Actors from Houston, Texas
Category:American film producers Category:American male singers Category:American novelists Category:American philanthropists Category:American rock guitarists Category:Businesspeople from Texas Category:Country musicians from Texas Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Musicians from Dallas, Texas Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:The Monkees members Category:United States Air Force airmen Category:Writers from Texas
