Michael Nesmith: Houston’s Monkee

Today is the birthday of Michael Nesmith. He would be 84 today.

Robert Michael Nesmith was born in Houston, Texas on December 30, 1942. His mother Bette Nesmith Graham invented Liquid Paper correction fluid and became a millionaire. Michael grew up in Dallas and San Antonio, wrote his first songs as a teenager, and moved to Los Angeles in his early twenties. He auditioned for a new television show in 1965 called The Monkees. He wore a wool hat. He got the part.

The Monkee Who Built Country Rock

Nesmith was the serious musician in a group designed as a pop product. He fought for the Monkees’ right to play their own instruments and write their own songs. He left the group in 1970 and formed the First National Band, recording three albums of country rock before critics had a name for that genre. He is widely credited as a founding influence on what became the country rock movement — Don Henley, Glenn Frey, and the Eagles came after. He also produced the first music video to air on MTV at its launch in 1981, and co-founded the music video format. He died December 10, 2021. Houston made a pioneer who never got quite enough credit. Learn more on Wikipedia.