The Monkees singer Michael Nesmith has died aged 78 ‘surrounded by family’.
The iconic 60s star, who lent his voice to tracks like Daydream Believer, eponymous track The Monkees and I’m A Believer, is said to have died of ‘natural causes’ just weeks after the band’s final shows.
Mike and Micky Dolenz performed their last ever show together in November at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
A statement released by his family said: “With infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully of natural causes.”
The iconic band, who even once beat The Beatles in a chart battle, was initially manufactured for a rock n’ roll-based sitcom of the same name, with their music included in the programme as well as being released on vinyl at the time.
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The programme, however, was cancelled after its second season – although the band climbed to higher and higher peaks.
Mike is the third member of the four-piece to pass away, after Davy Jones’ death in 2012, aged 66, and Peter Tork’s death in 2019 aged 77.
Micky Dolenz, 76, is the only surviving member.
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The band wasn’t without its tension, as Mike initially left in 1970 after both an album and connected film proved to be flops.
Mike was also furious over not being a “real” band, and fought for The Monkees’ to play their own instruments – at one point putting his fist through a wall in outrage.
He explained of the incident: “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.”
(Image: WireImage)
But The Monkees wasn’t Mike’s only legacy – he even helped found TV channel MTV by pitching a programme called PopClips, which eventually became the 24-hour music video channel we know today.
And his mum Bette Nesmith Graham is famously credited with inventing Liquid Paper – the product that birthed correction fluid TipEx.
Tributes to the late star have already begun pouring in, with one fan writing on Twitter: “I grew up listening to the Monkees and watching them on TV. This makes my heart hurt.”
“Devastated. Mike Nesmith was an amazing musician. Loved him and The Monkees. He made the only country music I could bear to listen to,” another penned.
Someone else echoed: “The Monkees were one of the brightest spots of my childhood. My comfort TV show.”
“My family never had cable, we had to watch reruns on UHF TV. My sisters and I loved the Monkees. We watched their final concert tour just a few months ago. RIP,” a fourth fan tweeted.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
