The Monkees’ singer, guitarist Michael Nesmith dies

Songwriter, singer, guitarist and member of The Monkees, Michael Nesmith, has died.

He was 78 years old.

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Rolling Stone reported the announcement from Nesmith’s family saying that he had died of natural causes at home, surrounded by family.

Nesmith was known as the member of the 1960s band with the Texas drawl and who frequently wore a wool cap.

He wrote many of the band’s hit songs like “Mary, Mary” and “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.”

The Monkees was created for television and was at one point as popular as The Beatles, TMZ reported.

Behind the scenes, Nesmith was vocal that did not have creative control. He pushed to break away from record producer Don Kirshner in 1967, according to Rolling Stone.

Originally, the band did not play the instruments on their hit show, TMZ reported.

He said in a 2012 Rolling Stone interview about that time, “We were kids with our own taste in music and were happier performing songs we liked — and/or wrote — than songs that were handed to us.” He added, “It made for a better performance. It was more fun. That this became a bone of contention seemed strange to me, and I think to some extent to each of us — sort of ‘what’s the big deal — why won’t you let us play the songs we are singing?’”

The Monkees broke up in the late 1960s and he formed the First National Band, a classic country-rock band, producing three albums, Rolling Stone reported.

He also recorded solo albums during the 1970s.

Nesmith, whose mother invented Liquid Paper, also had an idea for a show called “PopClips” which, according to TMZ, evolved into MTV.

Nesmith reunited with The Monkees in 2012 and embarked on reunion tours.

Along with Micky Dolenz, he played a series of dates for a farewell tour this year, with their last performance together on Nov. 14 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone reported.

Dolenz reacted to Nesmith’s death in a heartfelt message on Twitter.

Bandmate Peter Tork died in 2019. Davy Jones died in 2012. Dolenz is the only remaining member of The Monkees and is scheduled to release a solo album called “Dolenz Sings Nesmith,” which is produced by Nesmith’s son Christian, next year. The album was recorded from September 2020 through February 2021.

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Through the years THE MONKEES -- Pictured: (l-r) Peter Tork as Peter, Davy Jones as Davy, Micky Dolenz as Micky, Michael Nesmith as Mike -- (Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images) (NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via)

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