Mike Nesmith’s Painful Admission: There Was a ‘Uniformly Negative’ Response to His Music by ‘The Monkees’ Producers
Mike Nesmith wrote and produced many of The Monkees‘ most beloved hits. However, the series producers weren’t interested in his pop/rock/country fusion style of music. Instead, they relied on songwriters with proven track records to churn out hits. However, Mike once painfully admitted there was a “uniformly negative” response to his music by The Monkees producers despite his best efforts.
Which came first, the Monkees’ music or television show?
After hiring Nesmith, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, and Micky Dolenz as The Monkees stars, producers worked on creating music that would push forward the show’s episodes. The music and the television show appeared to be designed around the same period, piggybacking on the other.
One of the first Monkees recordings was the theme to the television show, with vocals by Micky Dolenz and music performed by session musicians. “Last Train to Clarksville” was the first Monkees song to be released ahead of the series’ September 1966 debut. In October, a full-length self-titled album dropped.
Subsequently, the back cover of the group’s first album tied into the series. It featured scenes from The Monkees episodes titled “Your Friendly Neighborhood Kidnappers.” The other two are from the episode “The Spy Who Came in from the Cool.”
Nesmith forged a songwriting standard that fused country and rock. He debuted two songs on The Monkees’ first album. One was “Sweet Young Thing,” which he wrote with the legendary songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, a hard-hitting garage-country tune. The second, “Papa Gene’s Blues,” was a Nesmith creation from start to finish, with guitar picking from James Burton.
Mike Nesmith revealed there was a ‘uniformly negative’ response to his music by ‘The Monkees’ producers
Mike shared with Uncut Magazine that when presenting his music to the producers of The Monkees television show, they met him with a “uniformly negative” response. “There was no reception within The Monkees’ power structure for my music at all. The response was uniformly negative,” he explained.
“My songs, the way I sang, were perceived as liabilities that would marginalize the effort to create pop records,” he continued. “Anything of mine that did show up was there only after massive struggles and some very difficult times. But, you know, that was just part of the drill. There was a TV show, a movie, and a whole nexus of talent. It was just a whirlwind.”
However, Mike Nesmith said contrary to popular belief; he had no ‘bad feelings’ about his ‘Monkees’ experience
Mike explained that contrary to popular belief; he had no “bad feelings” about his experience in The Monkees. He wanted to clarify this critical misconception regarding his history within the band.
“Well, one thing I should make clear,” Nesmith explained, “is that I didn’t feel imprisoned by my time in The Monkees. That’s a distinction it’s important to make if we’re going to be accurate here.
“I didn’t have any bad feelings. It was because I didn’t have much to do. I wanted to make music, but I wanted to make music other than what they, the producers, and so forth, wanted me to,” he concluded.
