“With Infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully and of natural causes,” his family said in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“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.”
Nesmith, 78, also wrote music in the band, penning songs including “Circle Sky,” “Listen to the Band,” and “The Girl I Knew Somewhere.”
He later recorded country-rock albums with a band he formed in the 1970s, the First National Band.
He permanently rejoined the Monkees in 2012 and the group played its final show last month, at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone noted.
The Monkees were formed in 1965 by television producers at NBC creating a show with the same name—a show about an imaginary band.
The Monkees soon became wildly popular with viewers and listeners, but its members’ creative freedom was restricted.
Early in the group’s history, Nesmith pushed for the band to have creative control, and write and record its own work.
“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,” Nesmith said in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone.
“It made for a better performance. It was more fun. That this became a bone of contention seemed strange to me, and I think to some extent to each of us—sort of ‘what’s the big deal—why won’t you let us play the songs we are singing?’”
Throughout his career, Nesmith also wrote music for other artists, including the Stone Poneys and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, according to Variety. He also founded a multimedia company, Pacific Arts Corp, which created videos in addition to music. Nesmith’s video, “Elephant Parts,” which was produced by the company, won the first Grammy for a music video in history.
Nesmith’s manager, Andrew Sandoval, noted the musician’s passing Friday on Twitter.
“It is with deep sadness that I mark the passing of Michael Nesmith. We shared many travels and projects together over the course of 30 years, which culminated in a Monkees farewell tour that wrapped up only a few weeks ago,” Sandoval wrote.
“That tour was a true blessing for so many. And in the end I know that Michael was at peace with his legacy which included songwriting, producing, acting, direction & so many innovative ideas and concepts,” he added.
Update 12/10/21, 2:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information about Michael Nesmith and his career.
