As you can imagine, the sudden and unexpected death of Michael Nesmith yesterday threw any number of plans sideways last night as I scrambled to get something of substance posted before bedtime.
We expect to see many more comments in the days to come ... but wanted to get some of this posted yet this afternoon so fans still have enough advance notice to see it.
For starters, Me-TV will be offering a 4-episode Monkees block tomorrow (Sunday, December 12th) as a tribute to the late Mike Nesmith, who passed away on Friday at the age of 78. (How cool that three of those four episodes are the ones I mentioned in my memoriam piece Friday night! I still love the episode when Michael takes on The Devil in a court of law to prove that Peter could play the harp on his own … but that probably is more of a Petercentric episode in the long run.)
More details below as to
when to tune in. (kk)
R.I.P. Michael Nesmith of the
Monkees
The singer-guitarist was 78. Watch a special tribute to
Nesmith with four
episodes of The Monkees this Sunday at 2P | 1C. The episodes include
"I Have a Little Song Here," "Monkee Mayor," "The
Monkees in Texas," and Nesmith's personal favorite episode, "Fairy
Tale."
R.I.P. Michael Nesmith of the Monkees (metv.com)
Then, next weekend (beginning at Noon Eastern on Saturday, December 18th) The Decades Channel will run EVERY episode of The Monkees television series ... all 58 of them ... straight through 6 am on Monday, December 20th.
You can check the schedule here to find your favorite episodes. (kk)
Much as I suspected,
Michael Nesmith was determined to finish The Monkees’ Farewell Tour no matter
what … one final, last harrah.
Micky Dolenz told
Rolling Stone Magazine:
Despite
his condition, you could never, never have talked him out of the tour. We had every opportunity to stop the tour.
You don’t need any excuses these days. We had the option all the time to cancel
dates, and we did cancel a couple for various reasons. We could have canceled
more, but he was absolutely determined to finish that tour.
The last show of the tour is pretty much a blur to me. Our last conversation probably took place
that night, but I don’t recall it specifically. We did hug that night on the
stage. And the whole tour was very emotional for me. I knew it was pretty
unlikely that, for whatever reason, we’d ever be doing this again. That was
both our attitudes for us. We went out with flair.
I don’t really see myself as the last Monkee, but it’s the
end of an era. That’s for sure. That’s
what happens. None of us are going to get out of this alive.
--Micky Dolenz
We’ve said many times before over the years that The Monkees
are very fortunate as being “frozen in time” … because they have never really
been off the air since their TV show first debuted in September of 1966, every
generation to come along since has discovered the crazy antics and the
incredible catalog of hits. Their music
continues to sell and is well-represented on oldies radio. When Michael Nesmith died last Friday (just
three weeks shy of his 79th birthday … a birthday he shared with former
bandmate Davy Jones, who we lost in 2012) and Peter Tork passed in 2019 (almost
seven years to the day of Jones’ passing), it left only Micky Dolenz as a surviving
member of the group. (Micky has been the
long-standing voice of the group, and always seems to have been working, either
in conjunction with some combination of the other three or as a very successful
solo act. He already has a 2022 tour
planned with former Rascal Felix Cavaliere.)
Still, this loss really
hits home with me. It was The Monkees
that made me want to play music. By the
time they came along, the music of The Beatles had changed, becoming more
sophisticated and studio oriented. In
fact (although we didn’t know it at the time), The Beatles played their last
live show just three weeks before The Monkees premiered on television. It was a lot easier for me as a 13 year old
to relate to the happy and catchy tunes of The Pre-Fab Four at the time than it
was to try and follow along the new mystic ways of the band that inspired
them. (C’mon … The Beatles were growing
mustaches for God’s sake!!!)
So yes, the closing of
the gap affected me greatly with the passing of Nez.
I’ve been listening to
Monkees music ever since. (And by that I
mean even more so than I used to!) I
wore those first four albums out in 1967!
(And I can’t tell you how many copies … or how many configurations … I’ve
gone thru since!)
Thank you all for the
music you gave us … it totally shaped my life in my all-time favorite year in
music. (kk)
You can relive 1967, day
by day, in our Forgotten Hits tribute here:
FORGOTTEN
HITS: December 30th (forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com)
[Just continue to click the NEWER POST
link at the bottom of each page and it will take you, day by day, thru our 1967
tribute]
Thanks for your piece on Michael Nesmith ... I loved reading your words!
David Salidor
I ran into a neighbor this morning with whom I often have music conversations. He was 11 when The Monkees TV show premiered in 1966. When I mentioned Mike Nesmith's passing, he asked me who that was. When I told him, the first thing out of his mouth was "Oh, I never paid them much attention, they were just actors who didn't play their own instruments." What do you do with people like that? Besides send them a link to Forgotten Hits, which I did just now.
If a musical act is judged by the number of smiles it's put on my
face, then The Monkees rank as Number One. Their music is only "bad"
(as that 1967 article reports Mike saying) if one doesn't have an ear for
melody, harmony, hooks, and first-rate production and instrumentation. Throw in
some pretty deft wordplay and (especially in Mike's case when he took
songwriting duties) --profundity--and you've got first rate material on those
first five albums.
I don't love ALL of Nesmith's post-Monkee material, but there is
much to appreciate there and I loved showcasing The First National Band when I
had my radio show.
Kent, your last paragraph before "We love you" summed up
my feelings beautifully so I won't repeat your wonderful words except to say
thank you.
Now when do we talk about that Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Induction
Ceremony???
Best,
Sam Tallerico
lostoldies@yahoo.com
Another VERY timely mention ...
(Unfortunately, it may already have aired by the time you see this ... but we're running it anyway just in case)
Chuck Buell here on a Big Football Game and a Big Forgotten Hit.
Creedence Clearwater Revival founder and Army Veteran, John Fogerty, will play his song, "Fortunate Son," with the U.S. Army's Six-String Soldiers band as part of "Songs of Service," a 30-minute TV Musical Special scheduled to air on select CBS stations TODAY, after the Army-Navy football game.
As Forgotten Hitters know, the song became an anthem for young men who didn't have the class or educational background that allowed them to skip military service during the Vietnam War era. Interestingly, because Fogerty was a bit “pissed off” about that situation, he became inspired one day to write "Fortunate Son," which he completed in about twenty minutes.
The special is confirmed to air in the New York City and Philadelphia CBS stations. If you live elsewhere, check your local listings. You also can watch the show on the “We Are The Mighty” YouTube Channel.
CB ( which stands for “Creedence Boy!” )
