Biography
Born in Houston, Texas, Nesmith was an only child, and his parents, Warren Audrey Nesmith and Bette Nesmith Graham, separated when he was very young. With his father gone, Nesmith's mother worked as a secretary. Their fortunes changed when Bette invented typewriter correction fluid, later known commercially as Liquid Paper.
Nesmith was an indifferent student, and in his teen years an occasional prankster. An urban legend says a prank with a firecracker went wrong, leaving Nesmith with a hand injury, and that a doctor suggested he learn to play guitar to recover his dexterity (the incident never actually happened). An early accident with a hammer smashed the ring finger on Nesmith's right hand, and he did not learn to play guitar until his twenties. He did, however, participate in choral and drama activities during his years at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas. He also began to write verse poetry.
In 1962, Nesmith's mother married Robert Graham, triggering a rebellious phase for Nesmith. He took the family car without permission and drove to California. Upon his return, he discovered that his mother had enlisted him in the U.S. Air Force. Nesmith was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas and he later claimed that he had been discharged after he tipped over a general's airplane while washing it.
After leaving the Air Force, Nesmith obtained a G.E.D. and then moved in with an uncle, Chick Adair. Nesmith enrolled in San Antonio College, where he met John Kuehne (later to be known as John London) and began a musical collaboration. He also met 16-year-old Phyllis Ann Barbour, whom he later married.
During this time John Kuehne decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career, and Nesmith decided to follow him. Nesmith and Barbour moved back and forth from Texas. Nesmith landed a role in the Monkees pilot, which was filmed in October 1965. In October 1967, the episode "Monkees in Texas" was filmed, in which a brief cameo appearance was given to Nurit Wilde, a socialite and former mistress of John Phillips (of The Mamas & the Papas), and close friend of Peter Tork.
In late 1967, Barbour was pregnant with the Nesmiths' second child when she suffered a head injury in a car accident. Because they were practicing Christian Scientists, they decided to just rest instead of seeking medical treatment. Their second son, Jonathan, was born in February 1968.
Nesmith was divorced and remarried to Kathryn Bild from 1976 to 1988. In 2000, he married Victoria Kennedy.
Early work
After a tour of duty in the Air Force, Nesmith won a singing spot with a band by knowing a number of Chuck Berry's songs. He bought a guitar with his parents' help, learning as he went, and joined 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 published a number of his own 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" were made popular by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 1970 album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy.
Nesmith began his recording career in 1965 with a one-off single released on Edan Records. He followed with two singles recorded 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). 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 Kool-Aid commercial, in April 1970. 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."[citation needed]. 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 & The First National Band and went on to record a trilogy of albums for RCA Records in 1970.
Nesmith has been considered one of the pioneers of country-rock (along with Gram Parsons) and had moderate commercial success with the First National Band. Their second single, "Joanne," hit #21 on the Billboard chart & #17 on Cashbox, with the follow-up "Silver Moon" making #42 Billboard/#28 Cashbox. Two more singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" #70 Billboard/#73 Cashbox & "Propinquity" #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, the albums they recorded remain on par with the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco and New Riders of the Purple Sage as some of the best country-rock music.
Nesmith followed up with the Second National Band, a band that besides Nesmith, consisted of Michael Cohen (keyboards and Moog), Johnny Meeks (bass), Jack Panelli (drums) and the always present Orville Rhodes (pedal steel), as well as an appearance by singer, musician, and songwriter Jose Feliciano (conga drums). The album, [album artist=Michael Nesmith & The Second National BandTantamount to Treason, Volume One[/album], was a commercial and critical disaster. Nesmith then decided to cut one of the best albums of his career, featuring only him on guitar and Red Rhodes on pedal steel, And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'.
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. More importantly, 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. The concept was sold to Time Warner/Amex, who developed it into the MTV network. His single "Cruisin'" was the first video of the MTV generation. 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 inspired by the video called Television Parts.
Pacific Arts Video became a pioneer in the home video market, producing and distributing a wide variety of videotaped programs. Pacific Arts 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. On February 3, 1999, a jury awarded Nesmith $46.8 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 and a settlement was reached with the results kept confidential.
He was the executive producer for the movies 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 studio album, Rays, was released on April 4, 2006.
Since 1990, Nesmith has hosted the Council on Ideas, a gathering of intellectuals from different fields who are asked to brainstorm solutions to world problems.
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. The Live at the Britt Festival recording was released on both video and compact disc.
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. He re-departed when the tour came to America later in the year, following media criticism of his recent stage performances.
Nesmith spent a decade as a board of trustees member and nominating member of the American Film Institute and is currently President and chairman of the board of trustees of the Gihon Foundation.
Nesmith's instigated a project titled Videoranch 3D, a virtual environment on the internet that hosts live performances at various virtual venues inside the Ranch.
In 2017, he released a memoir and companion "soundtrack" album titled Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff.
In 2019 Nesmith toured focusing on his 1972 album, And the Hits Just Keep on Comin', in a two piece configuration with pedal steel player Pete Finney, the first time in this format since 1974 with Red Rhodes.
Capsule
Michael Nesmith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Check out what's on the tube
Close the day, time to play
Put the sounds on the stereo
Drift away
Drift away
Drift away
Drift away
Hello people a hundred years from now
It may not make much difference but I'll say it anyhow
Let me tell you of the planet and what we're doing now
It really is bizarre enough to make me take it slow
There are cartoon creations made of people and of lines
And they dance around the TV and they dance around our minds
There are a bunch of difference holy men pointing different ways
Don't think, do think, watch out what you say
And we all tried, yes, we tried
We all kept pluggin' like a salmon up a stream
Some of us were dancing
But some of us were screaming
But we tried
Oh, how we tried
Bunch of different funny people living by the sea
And trying to get to other planets
Trying to start another scene
Their leaders said, "Come pay us, we'll show you what we mean"
But I learned not to trust them
They were not what they seemed (Hot!)
We all kept pluggin' like a salmon up a stream
Some of us were dancin'
And some of us were screamin'
While we tried
Oh, we tried
Marie, she looked like Linda with fifty extra teeth
Linda made the cover of a family magazine
And Bonnie was the singer that made both of them dream
But they all lost to disco, the current mating theme
I've never seen a hero but I've got five million dreams
I've never been to Harlem but I've been somewhere in between
As long as I can keep moving, I guess I'll keep up with the scene
I'm dancing to the rhythm of the road
Yes, I'm dancing to the rhythm of the road
Set the groove, set the mood
Checkin' out what's on the tube
Close the day, it's time to play
I'll put the sounds on the stereo
Drift away
Drift away
The lyrics of Michael Nesmith's "Capsule" can be interpreted as a reflection of the 1970s cultural explosion of art, music, and television. The song begins with instructions on how to relax and let go of the day's stress, and continue to lose oneself in the sounds of music. This lyric probably reflects the idea of musical escapism and how people used music to forget their troubles during that period. Nesmith then goes on to address the future generations, sharing his experiences and knowledge of the present society. He speaks about the absurdities of everyday life, hinting at the fact that even though the world has evolved, our problems still remain the same.
The next section speaks of various divisions in society, differing beliefs and places of living, and how everyone has various ways of coping with life. Some dance around the TV and others dance around their minds, while others are consumed with stress and anxiety. The song speaks to us of the idea of human connection and that at the end of the day, we all are searching for peace and harmony. The song concludes with the chorus as Nesmith urges us to drift away into the rhythm of the road.
Overall, "Capsule" is about Nesmith's hopes and concerns for the direction that the world was heading in. His solution was music; Nesmith believed that music was a vital tool for bringing people together and resolving their issues. The song closes with the invitation to just "drift away" and embrace the groove of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Set the groove, set the mood
Let's get the party started and create a vibe
Check out what's on the tube
Let's see what's on TV and get inspired
Close the day, time to play
It's the end of the day, time to unwind and have fun
Put the sounds on the stereo
Let's play some music and lighten the mood
Drift away
Let's forget about everything and let the music take us to another dimension
Drift away
Let's let our souls wander and enjoy the moment
Drift away
Let's clear our minds and just feel the rhythm
Drift away
Let's transport ourselves to a world of music where we can escape reality
Drift away
Let's forget about our problems and enjoy the moment
Hello people a hundred years from now
Although I may not be around, I want to share my thoughts with future generations
It may not make much difference but I'll say it anyhow
Even if it doesn't change anything, I want to express myself
Let me tell you of the planet and what we're doing now
I want to describe the world we live in today
It really is bizarre enough to make me take it slow
The world is so strange that I need to slow down to process it all
There are cartoon creations made of people and of lines
TV shows have animated characters that are a mix of reality and fantasy
And they dance around the TV and they dance around our minds
These characters are so captivating that they stay in our thoughts
There are a bunch of difference holy men pointing different ways
There are many religious leaders giving different advice
Don't think, do think, watch out what you say
It's hard to know what to believe, but it's important to be careful what you say
And we all tried, yes, we tried
We've all attempted to make sense of this strange world
We all kept pluggin' like a salmon up a stream
We kept trying to progress despite all the obstacles in our way
Some of us were dancing
Some of us were enjoying life and having fun
But some of us were screaming
Others were unhappy and frustrated with the state of the world
Bunch of different funny people living by the sea
There are many interesting people living by the ocean
And trying to get to other planets
They are also exploring the universe and beyond
Trying to start another scene
They are attempting to create a new way of life
Their leaders said, "Come pay us, we'll show you what we mean"
Their leaders made promises of enlightenment for a cost
But I learned not to trust them
Realizing these leaders were not always trustworthy
They were not what they seemed (Hot!)
These leaders were hiding their true motives for power and profit
Marie, she looked like Linda with fifty extra teeth
Marie had similar features to Linda but with exaggerated differences
Linda made the cover of a family magazine
Linda was famous and made it to the front page of a respectable publication
And Bonnie was the singer that made both of them dream
Bonnie was a musician that inspired Marie and Linda
But they all lost to disco, the current mating theme
Sadly, their dreams were overshadowed by the popularity of disco music
I've never seen a hero but I've got five million dreams
Although I've never met a true hero, I have many aspirations and goals
I've never been to Harlem but I've been somewhere in between
I may not have experienced everything, but I've explored a lot in life
As long as I can keep moving, I guess I'll keep up with the scene
As long as I continue to evolve, I will adapt and stay current
I'm dancing to the rhythm of the road
I embrace the journey and unpredictability of life, and let it lead me to new adventures
Set the groove, set the mood
Let's set the tone and feel of the party
Checkin' out what's on the tube
Let's see what's on TV and get inspired
Close the day, it's time to play
The day is over and it's time for leisure
I'll put the sounds on the stereo
I'll play some music and add to the ambiance
Drift away
Lose yourself in the moment and enjoy the music
Contributed by Lila F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mileswilson3026
All of his solo albums are so good. My favorite Monkee!
@AllMediaReviewsBlog
love this track.
@JY-mx4oe
I love this song
@johnblodgett9427
You never gave up, Michael. RIP Michael
@renzoforti7708
RIP Michael
@QuikVidGuy
Damn he really got different after his Big Time Rush period was over
That's a thing that makes sense right? A boy band formed for a tv show about living in a beach house in LA?
@patboyle8734
You know that was a tv show not real life .Right? So if he was acting then wouldn't that explain it?