American guitarist and singer Michael Nesmith from The Monkees has died

“We are endlessly announcing that Michael Nesmith died this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and naturally,” the relatives said.

Nesmith was the guitarist, singer and occasional composer of The Monkees, who emerged as the American equivalent of the British Beatles for the NBC comedy show. However, the band has surpassed its role in selling albums in the United States. Their first two albums, The Monkees and More of the Monkees, remained at the top of the charts for decades. The second of the recordings contains, for example, a hit I’m a Believerwho re-popularized the animated film Shrek years ago.

Despite the huge fame, the band members rebelled against their record company, which in their opinion did not provide them with enough creative space. The musicians subsequently gained more freedom, but the show on NBC soon ended and the fame of the Monkees waned.

Nesmith then went on country rock with the First National Band. He recorded three albums with her, which were not so successful commercially, but are now considered classic examples of Los Angeles country-rock.

The musician founded the multimedia company Pacific Arts in the mid-1970s, where over time he began to focus on the growing influence of television in the music industry. For example, he produced the show PopClips, which later served as a model for the creation of the music television MTV. After the death of his mother, Nesmith inherited substantial assets, which he, as an executive producer, invested in the films Repo Man from 1984 and Tapeheads from 1988.

In the 1990s, he joined the other former members of the Monkees to record another album, Justus, and toured with them.

In 2017, Nesmith released a memoir called Infinite Tuesday. He divorced three times, leaving three sons and a daughter.

– .