“With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” wrote his family in a statement. “We ask that you respect our privacy at this time and we thank you for the love and light that all of you have shown him and us.” An accomplished songwriter Nesmith wrote many songs including “Mary, Mary,” “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” and “Listen to the Band.” He also wrote “Different Drum,” which Linda Ronstadt recorded. Born in Houston, Texas on Dec. 30, 1942, he was 13 when his mother, Betty Graham, a single parent, invented the typewriting erasing solution called Liquid Paper. Over 25 years she turned her company into an empire worth millions. In 1979, she sold the company for $48 million and then died several months later of a stroke. Nesmith is said to have inherited $25 million, and in addition to his music career, he became a philanthropist, heading The Gihon Foundation. After serving in the Air Force, Nesmith took up the guitar, a gift from his mother and step-father. He moved to Los Angeles and began writing songs. In 1965, after seeing an ad in Variety requesting “4 insane boys” who could act in a new TV series, he auditioned and got the part. The series was The Monkees with Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Nesmith. Although the show about the wacky band lasted just two seasons, it became a cultural sensation. He also fought to allow the Monkees to write and record their own songs. “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,” he told Rolling Stone in 2012. “It made for a better performance. It was more fun.” Here are some of the tributes from fans and friends.
