Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith (born December 30, 1942 in Houston , Texas - † December 10, 2021 in Carmel Valley Village , California ) was an American record producer , writer , singer , multi-instrumentalist and actor .
He became known in the 1960s as a member of the cast pop rock band The Monkees . In addition, he provided the basic idea for the music channel MTV and appeared as the producer of the cult film Repoman by Alex Cox .
Life
Michael Nesmith was the son of Bette Nesmith Graham , the inventor of Liquid Paper (comparable to Tipp-Ex ), a liquid for correcting typos.
He started his career under the name Michael Blessing . Under this name he released some less successful records, but wrote some songs for other performers. Different Drum of the Stone Poneys (feat. Linda Ronstadt ) should be the best known work. Nesmith became known in 1966 as a member of the pop group The Monkees, which also included Davy Jones , Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork . Nesmith left the pop group in 1970.
He then founded other bands and produced songs himself until he founded the Pacific Arts Corporation and published his first own production with it in 1975. A year later, the album From a Radio Engine to a Photon Wing followed with the hit single Rio . At the beginning of 1971, the German version Silvermoon Baby of the Nesmith title Silver Moon, sung by the German singer Randolph Rose , was in the top 20 of the German charts for eight weeks. In April 1971, the piece reached number 5 as the highest ranking.
Nesmith developed a format for broadcasting video clips , called Pop Clips , for cable broadcaster Nickelodeon , which sold it on to Time Warner , ultimately leading to the creation of the music broadcaster MTV. In 1997 he made a revival television film called Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees , which shows the original band members in their television roles after 30 years still looking for success. In 1998 he published a novel called The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora .
Michael Nesmith died 20 days before he would turn 79 in December 2021.
Awards
- 1982: Grammy Award for the video production Elephant Parts
- 1983: Fantafestival, "Best Screenplay" award as screenwriter for the film Timerider - The Adventure of Lyle Swann , for which he also wrote the film music
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
|||
| 1968 | The Wichita Train Whistle Sings |
US144 (7 weeks) US |
|
| 1970 | Magnetic South |
US143 (3 weeks) US |
|
| Loose salute |
US159 (4 weeks) US |
||
| 1979 | Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma |
US151 (9 weeks) US |
More albums
- Nevada Fighter (1971)
- Tantamount to Treason Volume One (1972)
- And the Hits Just Keep on Comin ' (1972)
- Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (1973)
- The Prison (LP with book, 1974)
- Compilation (Compilation, 1976)
- From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing (1977)
- Live at the Palais (1978)
- The Michael Nesmith Radio Special (DJ-only Promo LP, 1979)
- The Newer Stuff (Compilation, 1989)
- ... Tropical Campfires ... (1992)
- The Garden (CD with book, 1994)
- The Best Of Michael Nesmith: Listen to the Band (Compilation, 1997)
- Masters- 20 Classic Tracks (Compilation, 1998)
- Live at the Britt Festival (2 CDs, 1999)
- 16 Original Classics (Compilation, 1999)
- 2 on 1: Magnetic South / Loose Salute (2000)
- 2 on 1: And the Hits Just Keep on Comin '/ Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (2000)
- Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (Soundtrack Sampler, CD Re-Release, 2000)
- Complete First National Band Recordings (2 CD Compilation, 2001)
- 2 on 1: Nevada Fighter / Tantamount to Treason Volume One (2001)
- Various Artists: Papa Nez - A Loose Salute to the Work of Michael Nesmith (2001)
- The Best of Michael Nesmith: Original Hits (Compilation, 2002)
- Silver Moon (Compilation, 2002)
- The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (Spoken word CD box, 2004)
- Rays (2006)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1970 | Joanne Magnetic South |
- | - |
US21 (12 weeks) US |
|
| Silver Moon Loose Salute |
DE34 (6 weeks) DE |
- |
US42 (9 weeks) US |
||
| 1971 | Nevada Fighter Nevada Fighter |
- | - |
US70 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1977 | Rio From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing |
- |
UK28 (6 weeks) UK |
- | |
More singles
- 1963: Wanderin
- 1965: How Can You Kiss Me
- 1965: The New Recruit
- 1965: Until It's Time for You to Go
- 1967: Just A Little Love
- 1968: Tapioca Tundra
- 1970: Little Red Rider
- 1971: Texas Morning
- 1971: I've Just Begun To Care (Propinquity)
- 1972: Mama Rocker
- 1972: Roll With The Flow
- 1979: Magic
- 1979: cruisin '
Filmography
- 1966–1968: The Monkees , leading role as Monkee "Mike"
- 1968: Head , starring as Monkee "Mike", directed by Bob Rafelson
- 1984: Repoman , as producer, directed by Alex Cox
- 1997: Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees , director, screenplay, leading role: Michael Nesmith
bibliography
- Michael Nesmith: Infinite Tuesday. An Autobiographical Riff , Crown / Archetype 2017, ISBN 978-1-101-90750-4 .
- Michael Nesmith: The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora , St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-19296-7 .
literature
- Total Control: The Monkees Michael Nesmith Story , Flexquarters.com LLC, ISBN 0-9658218-4-6 .
- Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood , Faber & Faber, ISBN 0-571-21149-6 .
- Andrew Sandoval: The Monkees: The Day-By-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation , Thunder Bay Press, ISBN 1-59223-372-4 .
- Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees , Stoddart, ISBN 1-57544-012-1 .
- Glenn A. Baker: Monkeemania: The True Story of the Monkees , Plexus Publishing, ISBN 0-85965-292-0 .
Web links
- Michael Nesmith in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Michael Nesmith Official Website (English)
- Michael Nesmith Biography ( Memento from January 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Greg Evans: Micky Dolenz Remembers Michael Nesmith. In: Deadline.com . December 10, 2021 (English).
- ↑ Larry Getlen: This fake rocker helped create MTV. In: New York Post , April 22, 2017.
- ↑ Andy Greene: Michael Nesmith, Monkees Singer-Songwriter, Dead at 78. In: Rolling Stone , December 10, 2021.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nesmith, Michael |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nesmith, Robert Michael (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American record producer, writer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and actor |
| BIRTH DATE | December 30, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Houston , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 10, 2021 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Carmel Valley Village , California |