Michael Nesmith

Michael Nesmith
Birth name	Robert Michael Nesmith
Also known as	Michael Blessing, Nez, Wool Hat, Papa Nez
Born	December 30, 1942 (1942-12-30) (age 68) Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States
Genres	Rock, pop, folk, country, pop rock
Occupations	Author, songwriter, musician, actor, owner of Pacific Arts Corporation
Instruments	vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, electric organ, synthesizer, harmonica, pedal steel guitar
Years active	1965–present
Associated acts	The Monkees, First National Band

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. 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, Harris County, Texas in 1942.^[1] 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, Texas 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 48 million USD. She died a few months later at age 56.

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 in Dallas.^[2] 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.

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, Texas, 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 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.

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 DuVal. Nesmith began singing in folk clubs around Los Angeles and had one notable job as the "Hootmaster" for the Monday night hootenannies at 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.

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.^[3] 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.^[4] The First National Band has been credited with being among the pioneers of country-rock music.^[5]

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 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.

Career

Early work

After a tour of duty in the 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, 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 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, though they had not met.

The Monkees

From 1965 to early 1970, Nesmith and Jones were members of the pop rock band The Monkees, created for the television 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 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 5/4 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).^[6] He earlier played a customized Gretsch twelve-string, which had originally been a six-string model.

As with the other Monkees, Nesmith came to be frustrated by the manufactured image of the whole project. He was permitted to write and produce two songs per album, and his music was frequently featured in episodes of the series.

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.

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, telling Playboy in 1980 "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.

Later career

As he prepared for his exit from The Monkees, 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 label in 1969. Ware wanted Nesmith to put together a band. Nesmith said he would be interested only if noted pedal steel player 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.^[7] He also had moderate commercial success with the First National Band. Their second single, Joanne hit No. 21 on the Billboard chart & No. 17 on Cashbox, with the follow-up "Silver Moon" making No. 42 Billboard/#28 Cashbox. Two more singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" No. 70 Billboard/#73 Cashbox & "Propinquity" No. 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 The Second National Band, a band that besides Nesmith, consisted of Michael Cohen (keyboards and 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, and was given a label of his own through Elektra Records, Countryside. 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.

In the mid-1970s, Nesmith briefly collaborated as a songwriter with 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-tracks 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 and directed the Lionel Richie music video All Night Long. In 1987, he directed the Michael Jackson music video The Way You Make Me Feel.

Pop Clips and MTV, Elephant Parts and Television Parts

Further information: 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 cable network. In 1980, Nesmith's Pop Clips was sold to Time Warner/Amex consortium. Time Warner/Amex developed Pop Clips into the MTV network. Nesmith also won the first Grammy Award (1981) given for Video of the Year for his hour-long Elephant Parts and also had a short-lived series on NBC inspired by the video called "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

Further information: 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. 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 million in 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.

Movies and books

He was the executive producer for the films 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. His latest album, Rays was released on April 4, 2006.

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.

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.^[8]

Return to the Monkees

In 1995, he reunited with the Monkees to record their last studio album (and first to feature all four since Head) titled Justus, released in 1996. He also wrote and directed a Monkees television special, and briefly toured the UK with the band in 1997.

Nesmith's first novel The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora 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.

Nesmith spent a decade as a board of trustees member, nominating member and vice-chair of the American Film Institute and is currently President and chairman of the board of trustees of the Gihon Foundation.

Nesmith's current 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. <http://www.videoranch.com/html/musicrise.html>

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.

Other appearances

Nesmith had a cameo appearance as a taxi driver in the Whoopi Goldberg 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 forty years, was finally apprehended and sent to jail in 2009.^[9][10]

Discography

Singles

Date	Label/Catalog #	Titles (A-side / B-side)	Billboard Top Singles	Cashbox	Billboard Adult Contemp	Notes
1963	Highness HN-13	Wanderin' / Well Well	–	-	-	Credited as "Mike Nesmith." Vanity pressing.
1963	Omnibus 239	How Can You Kiss Me / Just A Little Love	–	-	-	Credited as "Mike & John & Bill." John London is the bassist, later of Nesmith's First National Band. Bill Sleeper is the drummer. (The trio broke up when Sleeper was drafted into the US Army.)
01/1966	Edan 1001	Just A Little Love / Curson Terrace	–	-	-	A-side is same as Omnibus 239. B-side is credited to "Mike & Tony" and has no Nesmith involvement.
10/1965	Colpix CP-787	The New Recruit / A Journey With Michael Blessing	–	-	-	Credited to "Michael Blessing."
01/1966	Colpix CP-792	Until It's Time for You to Go / What Seems To Be The Trouble Officer	–	-	-	Credited to "Michael Blessing."
04/1966	RCA 47-8807	Do Not Ask For Love / Buttermilk	–	-	-	Credited to "The New Society." A-side has no Nesmith involvement. B-side was verified by Bill Chadwick, member of the group, as having Nesmith as a background vocalist.
07/1968	Dot 45-17152	Tapioca Tundra / Don't Cry Now	–	-	-	Credited to "The Wichita Train Whistle." Group was created and led by Nesmith, though he does not appear on the recordings as either musician or vocalist. "Don't Cry Now" is edited from LP version.
07/1970	RCA 47-9853	Little Red Rider / Rose City Chimes	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Until it's release as a bonus track on CD in 2001, non-LP 'B' side was a sought after collectable.
08/1970	RCA 74-0368	Joanne / One Rose	21	17	6	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
11/1970	RCA 74-0399	Silver Moon / Lady of the Valley	42	28	7	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
04/1971	RCA 74-0453	Nevada Fighter / Here I Am	70	73	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Issued with picture sleeve.
06/1971	RCA 74-0491	Texas Morning / Tumbling Tumbleweeds	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Single released as promo with both songs on B-side and "Texas" only on A-side with release #SPS-45-263.
06/1971	RCA 74-0540	I've Just Begun To Care (Propinquity) / Only Bound	-	95	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band."
01/1972	RCA 74-0629	Mama Rocker / Lazy Lady	-	-	-	Credited to "Michael Nesmith and the Second National Band." "Mama Rocker" is faded out early versus LP version.
08/1972	RCA 74-0804	Roll With The Flow / Keep On	-	-	-	"Roll With The Flow" is edited from LP version.
1976	RCA 447-0868	Joanne / Silver Moon	-	-	-	Reissue credited to "Michael Nesmith and the First National Band." Early pressings on red label, later pressings on black label.
03/1977	Pacific Arts WIP6373	Rio / Life, The Unsuspecting Captive	-	-	-
06/1978	Pacific Arts PAC-101	Roll With The Flow / I've Just Begun To Care (Propinquity)	-	-	-	Both songs are edited from the LP versions.
1978?	Pacific Arts PAC-104	Rio / Casablanca Moonlight	-	-	-	Issued with picture sleeve.
06/1979	Pacific Arts PAC-106	Magic / Dance	-	-	-
08/1979	Pacific Arts PAC-108	Cruisin' / Horserace	-	-	-
1998	Collectibles COL-4759	Joanne / Silver Moon	-	-	-	Reissue.

Albums

Date	Label/Catalog #	Title	Highest Billboard Position	Notes
07/1968	Dot 3861 (mono) / 25861 (stereo)	The Wichita Train Whistle Sings	144	Nesmith does not appear on this album vocally or instrumentally. Album is credited to "The Wichita Train Whistle." Mono release is promo-only.
07/1970	RCA LSP-4371	Magnetic South (album)	143	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band." Some copies came with a "Joanne" sticker on the shrink wrap.
11/1970	RCA LSP-4415	Loose Salute	159	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band." Some copies came with a circular sticker on the shrink wrap saying "Contains the hit single 'Silver Moon.'"
05/1971	RCA LSP-4497	Nevada Fighter	218	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The First National Band."
02/1972	RCA LSP-4563	Tantamount to Treason Vol. 1	211	Album is credited to "Michael Nesmith & The Second National Band."
08/1972	RCA LSP-4695	And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'	208
10/1973	RCA ALPI-0164	Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash	–
03/1975	Pacific Arts PAC-101	The Prison - A Book with a Soundtrack	–	Issued with 48-page book to be read while the LP is playing, allowing for a "soundtrack" to the story. Original copies issued in a box cover, while later copies came in a cardboard slip jacket. Some of these later copies had two stickers on the shrink, one saying "Michael Nesmith" and the other "Contains Record and 48-page Full Color Illustrated Book." Record was also sold in book stores.
03/1977	Pacific Arts PAC7-107 / Pacific Arts ILPA-9184	From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing	209	Early pressings utilized the overseas catalog # ILPA-9184 used by Island Records.
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-113	The Wichita Train Whistle Sings	–	Reissue of 1968 Dot release with new album jacket design.
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-116	And the Hits Just Keep on Comin'	–	Reissue of 1972 RCA release with standard jacket (RCA release had gatefold jacket).
??/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-117	Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash	–	Reissue of 1973 RCA release with standard jacket (RCA release had gatefold jacket).
05/1979	Pacific Arts PAC7-130	Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma	151
06/1979	Pacific Arts PAC7-1300	The Michael Nesmith Radio Special	–	Promotional LP featuring all the tracks from "Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma" as well as interview snippets
1992	Pacific Arts/Island	Tropical Campfires	–
1994	(Rio Records)	The Garden	–	Companion piece to The Prison - A Book with a Soundtrack
2000	(Rio Records)	Timerider: The Adventure Of Lyle Swann (Soundtrack)	–	Soundtrack from the 1982 movie
2005	(Rio Records)	Rays	–	music only, no vocals

Live albums

Date	Label/Catalog #	Title	Highest Billboard Position	Notes
08/1978	Pacific Arts PAC7-118	Live At The Palais	–	Some copies came with a 3" circular sticker on the cover itself proclaiming "Contains the hit single 'Roll With The Flow.'"
1999	Cooking Vinyl	Live at the Britt Festival	–	Recorded live at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, OR, in 1991.
2010	Road Goes on Forever Records (RGF/ZZBOX1974)	The Amazing ZigZag Concert	–	Disc 5 of 5CD Box set recorded in April 1974

Compilation albums

Date	Label/Catalog #	Title	Notes
02/1977	Pacific Arts PAC7-106	Compilation –
1989	(Rhino)	The Newer Stuff –	Contains five new tracks and five tracks from "Photon Wing" and "Infinite Rider." CD release featured additional tracks from the LP release.
1991	(Rhino)	The Older Stuff –	Greatest hits of RCA recordings.
2008	(Camden)	Magnetic South & Loose Salute –	paired album release
2008	(Camden)	Nevada Fighter & Tantamount to Treason –	paired album release
2008	(Camden)	And the Hits Just Keep on Comin' & Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash –	paired album release
2008	(Camden)	From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing & Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma –	paired album release
2008	(Camden)	The Wichita Train Whistle Sings & Timerider –	paired album release

Video

• Rio and Cruisin' (1981)
• Elephant Parts (1981) (released on DVD 2003)
• The Television Parts Home Companion (1985)
• Dr. Duck's Super-Secret All-Purpose Sauce (1986)
• Nezmusic (1989)
• Live At The Britt Festival (1991) (released on DVD 1999)
• Pacific Arts (2008) (music and DVD released 2008)

Bibliography

Books

(n.b. books proper – not including The Prison and The Garden)

• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (1998)
• The America Gene (2009)

Audio books

• The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora (2004) (with Michael reading the story)

References

1. ^ Texas Birth Index 1903–97 showing : "Robert Michael Nesmith, born December 30, 1942, Harris County, father Warren Audrey Nesmith, mother Bette Clair McMurray. ]
2. ^ The Monkees: Mike Nesmith biography from Rhino Records
3. ^ 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. Excerpts available at Google Books.
4. ^ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, p. 330 (5th ed. 1992).
5. ^ "Michael Nesmith - Country Rock - Rock/Pop - Music - www.real.com". Uk.real.com. http://uk.real.com/music/artist/Michael_Nesmith/. Retrieved May 14, 2010. 
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ Liner notes from the CD Hillbilly Fever, Volume 5 released by Rhino Entertainment in 1995.
8. ^ allmusic ((( Live at the Britt Festival [Video/DVD] > Overview )))
9. ^ [1]
10. ^ John, Katelyn (March 20, 2009). "No sentence discount for master conman Barry John Faulkner". News.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,,25215645-1242,00.html. Retrieved May 14, 2010. 

External links

• Videoranch 3D, a Michael Nesmith company
• Michael Nesmith at the Internet Movie Database
• Article in Wired magazine about Michael Nesmith and the Council on Ideas
• Michael Nesmith biography
• (Unofficial) Michael Nesmith Home Page
• SWINDLE Magazine Interview
• Michael Nesmith interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969).
• Michael Nesmith: Overcoming The Monkees at NPR.com

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