Editing Michael Nesmith (section)

==Solo career==
[[File:NesmithLive2018.jpg|right|thumb|Michael Nesmith plays his signature model Gretsch Model 6076]]
As he prepared for his exit from The Monkees, Nesmith was approached by John Ware of The Corvettes, a band that featured Nesmith's Texas band mate and close friend John London. London 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 Records|Dot label]] in 1969. Ware wanted Nesmith to put together a band. Nesmith's interest hinged on noted [[pedal steel guitar|pedal steel]] player [[Red Rhodes|Orville "Red" Rhodes]]; their musical partnership continued until Rhodes's death in 1995. The new band was christened Michael Nesmith and the First National Band and recorded three albums for [[RCA Records]], the first two issued in 1970 and the third released in 1971.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Nesmith's First National Band is now considered a pioneer of country-rock music.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.real.com/music/artist/Michael_Nesmith/ |title=Michael Nesmith - Country Rock - Rock/Pop - Music|website=Uk.real.com |access-date=May 14, 2010}}</ref> Nesmith wrote most of the songs for the band and he is considered one of the trailblazers of [[country rock]].<ref>[[Liner notes]] from the CD ''Hillbilly Fever, Volume 5'' released by [[Rhino Entertainment]] in 1995.</ref> He also had moderate commercial success with the First National Band. Their second single, "[[Joanne (Michael Nesmith song)|Joanne]]", hit number 21 on the ''Billboard'' chart, number 17 on Cashbox, and number four in Canada, with the follow-up "Silver Moon" making number 42 ''Billboard'', number 28 Cashbox, and number 13 in Canada. Two more singles charted ("Nevada Fighter" made number 70 ''Billboard'', number 73 Cashbox, and number 67 Canada, and "Propinquity" reached number 95 Cashbox), and the first two LPs charted in the lower regions of the'' Billboard'' album chart. No clear answer has ever been given for the band's breakup.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Nesmith followed up with The Second National Band, which consisted of Nesmith (vocals and guitar), Michael Cohen (keyboards and [[Moog synthesizer|Moog]]), Johnny Meeks (of [[The Strangers (American band)|The Strangers]]) (bass), jazzer Jack Ranelli (drums), and 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.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Nesmith then became more heavily involved in producing, working on [[Iain Matthews]]'s album ''[[Valley Hi]]'' and [[Bert Jansch]]'s ''[[L.A. Turnaround]]''. Nesmith was given a label of his own, Countryside, through Elektra Records, as [[Elektra Records]]'s Jac Holzman was a fan of Nesmith's. It featured a number of artists produced by Nesmith, including Garland Frady and Red Rhodes. The staff band at Countryside also helped Nesmith on his next, and last, RCA Victor album, ''[[Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash]]''.

In the mid-1970s, Nesmith briefly collaborated as a songwriter with [[Linda Hargrove (songwriter)|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", both of which were recorded by Hargrove. Of these songs, only "Winonah" was recorded by Nesmith himself.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} During this same period, Nesmith started his multimedia company Pacific Arts, which initially put out audio records, [[8-track tape|eight-track]] tapes, 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 (Michael Nesmith song)|Rio]]", the single taken from the album ''[[From a Radio Engine to the Photon Wing]]''.<ref name=":0"/> In 1979, Nesmith released the single [[Cruisin' (Michael Nesmith song)|Cruisin']], also known as "Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam", which was popular on AOR rock stations and in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|author=Steffen Hung |url=https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Michael+Nesmith&titel=Cruisin'+(Lucy+And+Ramona+And+Sunset+Sam)&cat=s |title=Michael Nesmith - Cruisin' (Lucy And Ramona And Sunset Sam) |website=Charts.nz |date= |access-date=2016-10-14}}</ref> In 1983, Nesmith produced the music video for the [[Lionel Richie]] single "[[All Night Long (All Night)|All Night Long]]". In 1987, he produced the music video for the [[Michael Jackson]] single "[[The Way You Make Me Feel]]".{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

===''PopClips'' and MTV, ''Elephant Parts'', and ''Television Parts''===
{{further|PopClips}}
During this time, Nesmith created a video clip for "[[Rio (Michael Nesmith song)|Rio]]", which helped spur Nesmith's creation of a television program called ''[[PopClips]]'' for the [[Nickelodeon]] cable network. In 1980, ''PopClips'' was sold to the [[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]]/[[American Express|Amex]] consortium. Time Warner/Amex developed ''PopClips'' into the MTV network.<ref name=":0"/>

Nesmith won the first [[Grammy Award for Video of the Year|Grammy Award]] presented for (long-form) [[Grammy Award for Video of the Year|Music Video]] in 1982 for his hour-long ''[[Elephant Parts]]''.  He also had a short-lived series (1984-5) on NBC inspired by the video called ''[[Television Parts|Michael Nesmith in Television Parts]]''. ''Television Parts'' included many other artists who were unknown at the time, but went on to become major stars in their own right: [[Jay Leno]], [[Jerry Seinfeld]], [[Garry Shandling]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]],<ref name=":0"/> and [[Arsenio Hall]]. The 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 E. Martin|William Martin]], John Levenstein, and Michael Kaplan, along with directors [[William Dear]] (who had directed ''Elephant Parts'') and Alan Myerson, as well as producer Ward Sylvester to create the show. The half-hour show ran for 5 episodes in the summer of 1985 on [[NBC]] Thursday nights in prime time.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

===Pacific Arts and legal dispute===
{{further|Pacific Arts Corporation#PAC/PBS lawsuit}}

Nesmith formed the [[Pacific Arts Corporation]], Inc. in 1974 to manage and develop media projects. Pacific Arts Video became a pioneer in the [[home video]] market, producing and distributing a wide variety of videotaped programs, although the company eventually ceased operations after an acrimonious contract dispute with [[PBS]] over home video licensing rights and payments for several series,<ref name=":0"/> including [[Ken Burns]]' ''[[The Civil War (documentary)|The Civil War]]''. The dispute escalated into a lawsuit 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&nbsp;million in [[compensatory damages|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." Six months after the verdict, a settlement was reached with the amount paid to Pacific Arts and Nesmith kept confidential.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wold |first1=Robert N. |title=PBS and Nesmith settle home-video dispute but are mum on price |url=https://current.org/1999/07/pbs-and-nesmith-settle-home-video-dispute-but-are-mum-on-price/?iMonezaUT=b4c50a09-f660-4652-886e-b67f3ecef34c%7c638281963338673821%7c638598187338673821%7coKJD5DuAICLsyi9ymhhPY8FNBh9w3ZdJYN5rxNqsqGo&iMonezaLT=Sp9L3OsJpk5fClAMa5VEPEvxWFcL4t5X# |access-date=21 August 2023 |work=[[Current (newspaper)|Current]] |date=July 19, 1999}}</ref>

Nesmith's most recent Pacific Arts project was Videoranch 3D, a virtual environment on the internet that hosted live performances at various virtual venues inside the ranch. He performed live inside Videoranch 3D on May 25, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=MIKE NESMITH walked to the beat of a different drum. – All Across the Arts |url=https://aata.dev/index.php/2022/09/29/mike-nesmith-walked-to-the-beat-of-a-different-drum/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Movies and books===
Nesmith was the executive producer for the films ''[[Repo Man (film)|Repo Man]]'', ''[[Tapeheads]]'', and ''[[Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann]]'', as well as his own solo recording and film projects.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title=Michael Nesmith|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0626452/|access-date=2022-01-24|website=IMDb}}</ref>

In 1998, Nesmith published his first novel, ''The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora''. It was developed originally as an online project and was later published as a hardcover book<ref name=":0"/> by St Martin's Press.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michael Nesmith - Bibliography|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/140110%7C111748/Michael-Nesmith/#bibliography|access-date=2021-12-16|website=Turner Classic Movies|language=en}}</ref> Nesmith's second novel, ''The America Gene'', was released in July 2009 as an online download from Videoranch.com.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Nesmith|first=Michael|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/893698813|title=The America gene|date=2009|publisher=Pacific Arts Corporation|isbn=978-1-56111-000-1|location=Sand City, Calif.|oclc=893698813}}</ref>

===Recent history===
In the early 1980s, Nesmith teamed with satirist [[P. J. O'Rourke]] to ride his vehicle ''Timerider'' in the annual [[Baja 1000]] off-road race. This is chronicled in O'Rourke's 2009 book ''[[Driving Like Crazy]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|date=2009-05-29|title=Road Warrior|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/books/review/Genzlinger-t.html|access-date=2022-01-24|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

During the 1990s, Nesmith, as trustee and president of the Gihon Foundation,<ref name=":0"/> 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 foundation ceased the program in 2000 and started a new program for the performing arts. Nesmith also spent a decade as a board of trustees member, nominating member and vice-chair of the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levine |first=Stuart |date=2002-01-03 |title=Film, TV noms spring a few surprises |url=https://variety.com/2002/film/awards/film-tv-noms-spring-a-few-surprises-1117857931/ |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1992, Nesmith undertook a concert tour of North America to promote the first 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 and CD, both entitled ''[[Live at the Britt Festival]]'', were released capturing the 1992 concert.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-britt-festival-mw0000467634|title=AllMusic- Michael Nesmith: Live at the Britt Festival |work=AllMusic |access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref>

Nesmith continued to record and release his own music. His final album, ''[[Rays (Michael Nesmith album)|Rays]]'', was released in 2006. In 2011, he returned to producing, working with blues singer and guitarist [[Carolyn Wonderland]]. Nesmith produced Wonderland's version of [[Robert Johnson]]'s "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" on her album ''Peace Meal''. Wonderland married writer-comedian [[A. Whitney Brown]] on March 4, 2011, in a ceremony officiated by Nesmith.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hoinski |first=Michael |date=2011-03-11 |title=Carolyn Wonderland and Whitney Brown |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/fashion/weddings/13VOWS.html |access-date=2023-12-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 2012, Nesmith briefly toured Europe prior to rejoining the Monkees for their tours of the United States.<ref>Lewis, Randy, "Michael Nesmith to launch first U.S. solo tour in 21 years", Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2013</ref> Intermixing the Monkees concerts, Nesmith also launched solo tours of the U.S. Unlike his 1992 U.S. tour, which predominantly featured music from his RCA recordings, Nesmith stated that his 2013 tour would feature songs he considers "thematic, chronological and most often requested by fans".{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} [[Chris Scruggs]], grandson of [[Earl Scruggs]], replaced the late Red Rhodes on the [[steel guitar]]. The tour was captured on a live album, ''[[Movies Of The Mind]]''.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In 2014, he guest-starred in season four, episode nine, of the IFC comedy series ''[[Portlandia (TV series)|Portlandia]]'' in the fictitious role of the father of the mayor of Portland, Oregon.<ref name="auto"/>

In 2017, Nesmith released a memoir and companion "soundtrack" album titled ''Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff''.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-michael-nesmith-infinite-tuesday-book-20170316-story.html|title=Monkees' Michael Nesmith spins 'an autobiographical riff' in 'Infinite Tuesday'|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 7, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, he announced that he would be doing a five-date tour of California with a revamped version of The First National Band, including a date at [[The Troubadour (Los Angeles)|The Troubadour]], where he performed before The Monkees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.videoranch3d.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=first-national-band|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118230512/http://www.videoranch3d.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=first-national-band|url-status=usurped|archive-date=November 18, 2017|title=The first chance to see Michael Nesmith & the First National Band in nearly 50 years!|work=VideoRanch}}</ref> On February 20, a tour was announced as "The Monkees Present: The Mike and Micky Show", their first tour as a duo. The pair would play Monkees music and promote the tour under the Monkees banner, but Nesmith stated, "there's no pretense there about Micky and I [sic] being the Monkees. We're not."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/monkees-micky-dolenz-mike-nesmith-announce-tour-w516902|title=Monkees' Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith Announce First Tour as Duo|first=Andy|last=Greene|date=February 20, 2018|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref> The tour was cut short in June 2018, with four shows remaining on the tour schedule due to Nesmith having a health issue.  Dolenz and Nesmith rescheduled the unplayed concerts plus adding several other including an Australian and New Zealand tour in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.com/music/the-monkees-mike-nesmith-health-issue-band-cancels-tour-dates/|title=The Monkees' Michael Nesmith Suffers 'Minor Health Issue,' Band Cancels Last 4 Tour Dates|website=People|access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
After recovering from his health scare, Michael Nesmith and the First National Band Redux went on a tour of the U.S., with mostly the same lineup and setlist as the southern California shows.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In 2019, Nesmith toured in a two-piece configuration with pedal steel player Pete Finney, focusing on his 1972 album, ''[[And the Hits Just Keep on Comin']]''. This was the first time Nesmith had performed in this format since 1974 with Red Rhodes. Nesmith was also joined by special guests [[Ben Gibbard]] and [[Scott McCaughey]] on opening night in Seattle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/1/post/2018/12/michael-nesmith-on-red-rhodes-pete-finney-and-this-januarys-tour.html|title=Michael Nesmith on Red Rhodes, Pete Finney, and this January's tour|website=The Monkees Live Almanac}}</ref>