Michael Nesmith, Monkees singer and songwriter, dies at 78

Michael Nesmith, a singer and guitarist for the 1960s group The Monkees, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 78.

His family announced his passing in a statement, reading: 'With infinite love, we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully of natural causes.'

Jason Elzy, the head of public relations for Rhino Records, told the New York Times the cause of his death was heart failure. 

Nesmith is now the third of the four members of the band, whose hits include Daydream Believer and Valerie, to have died. David Jones died in 2012, and Peter Tork died in 2019.  

He was at one point considered the only 'real musician' among the team, a claim that he has disputed. 

Last month, Nesmith and sole survivor Micky Dolenz performed their final show together at the Greek Theater in Illinois.

Following the announcement of his death, Dolenz tweeted: 'I'm heartbroken. I've lost a dear friend and partner.

'I'm so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best - singing, laughing and doing shtick. I'll miss it all so much, especially the shtick.

'Rest in peace, Nez.' 

Their band, the Monkees, once rivaled the Beatles with their consecutive hits, as Nesmith tried to get them to be a real band, and not just one that was made for television. 

Michael Nesmith, (pictured left last month at the Rosemont Theater in Rosemont, Illinois) was the singer and guitarist for the 1960s group The Monkees (pictured right in their heyday), died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 78 

Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees: He and sole surviving member Micky Dolenz, (left), performed together just last month

Mickey Dolenz tweeted on Friday that he was 'heartbroken' by Nesmith's death and shared this photo of them embracing

After the group disbanded, Nesmith (pictured in 2014) formed the First National Band, a country rock group

Following the announcement of his death, Dolenz took to Twitter to express his grief for his lost friend

The Monkees were a band created for a 1966 television show created by Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider about a rock 'n' roll group a the height of Beatlemania.

The four band members - Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz, David Jones and Mike Nesmith - were recruited through ads in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

Nesmith was a struggling 23-year-old singer and songwriter when he saw the advertisement in Variety seeking 'four insane boys' for 'acting roles in new TV series.' 

On the show, he had a deadpan comedy style that contributed to the slapstick humor of the show, which was an immediate hit among children. 

During the band's time together, Nesmith fought for artistic control, pushing for the band to be more than just a made-for-television group, as they released hit after hit, even eventually rivaling the success of the Beatles.

At first on the show, the group members did not actually play their instruments, which upset Nesmith to the point where he punched a hole in a wall.

Speaking about the incident years later, Nesmith said: '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.' 

The group's first hit was Last Train to Clarksville, which started a run of five consecutive top singles for the band in the United States.

The band's NBC series aired for two seasons, and earned an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1967. 

The group eventually succeeded in ousting their supervisor, and took control of their records and song choices, but they worked as a four-man group on only one album in 1967 before they disbanded.

Nesmith is pictured in 1967 on the set of The Monkees NBC show

The quartet was created for a television show about a rock 'n' roll group. The group, comprising Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz (top), and David Jones and Mike Nesmith (bottom), kept releasing hit after hit and rivaled the success of the Beatles 

Nesmith, right, once tried to get creative control of the band, hoping to get them to be more than a made-for-television group

Nesmith largely resisted reunion tours after the group disbanded, with rumors circulating since the 1960s about inter-band tensions between him and Peter Tork, but in 2012, the guitarist took part in a reunion tour and performed on the 2016 album Good Times!

His tour with Dolenz was postponed from 2018, when Nesmith underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

After The Monkees disbanded, Nesmith formed the First National Band, a country rock group, with whom he had a top-40 hit Joanne.

He also co-wrote, starred in and produced Elephant Parts, an hourlong 1981 collection of music video and comedy skits that won the Grammy for Video of the Year.

The project would inspire Warner Television to create MTV.