The Monkees: Davy Jones Once Said There Was ‘Nothing Subtle About Texas Kid’ Mike Nesmith
Enduring rumors suggested that some of The Monkees were long at odds with each other, namely Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith. Read on to learn more about their different backgrounds and what they said about each other on different occasions. Plus, discover how Jones felt about the “Texas kid” regarding his subtlety and style.
Davy Jones and Mike Nesmith’s friendship
Jones came from Manchester, England, and Nesmith from San Antonio, Texas. The two met when they became Monkees. On the surface, it’s easy to see where some could easily believe they had differences of opinion.
For many years after The Monkees had their big breakup, some fans weren’t sure where Nesmith stood with the rest of the band, specifically Jones. And Jones had some not-so-nice things to say about Nesmith in Total Control: The Monkees/Michael Nesmith Story.
Nesmith once addressed their rumored beef while chatting with Rolling Stone. “Well, some people would say that one or both of us were fractious and just couldn’t get along with anybody,” he shared. “I’ll leave that somewhere on the doorstop or the threshold of the Davy and Mike friendship, but I don’t know…”
“We were all friends on some level, very casual work-space partners. We enjoyed, to a degree, playing music,” he concluded.
But when Jones died in 2012, Nesmith called him the heart of the group. “For me, David was The Monkees,” he told Rolling Stone. “They were his band. We were his sidemen. He was the focal point of the romance, the lovely boy, innocent and approachable.”
Davy Jones said ‘Texas kid’ Mike Nesmith wasn’t very subtle but he liked his style
In his book, They Made a Monkee Out of Me, Jones described his relationship with each of his bandmates. And when it was time to talk about Nesmith, he said there was “nothing subtle about the Texas kid.”
Jones pointed out that the eventual “architect” of MTV had already experienced some musical success before they were Monkees. “He’d finish a day’s filming by climbing onto his motorbike or jumping into his dark blue Cadillac El Dorado that he turned up in on the first day of shooting,” he recalled of Nesmith.
“He likes style,” he explained. “Nez in his Cadillac limousine, his English bodyguard chauffeur … and his trained German Shepherd killer dog … who once sank his teeth into my head without leaving the ground.”
According to Jones, Nesmith liked the “killer dog” so much that he once threw him a birthday party during which he took a jet from California to Texas for hamburgers. “I like that,” Jones commented. “Style.”
But more than his flair for impressive spending feats, Jones said he appreciated that Nesmith was “a truly great talent, [and] a very funny man.”
Davy Jones said ‘Texas kid’ Mike Nesmith was good with his money
In his book, Jones noted that Nesmith “always had two or three cars,” but he added, “… He knew how to look after his money, did Mike.”
And, as a side note, that talent for budgeting led Nesmith to a $50 million net worth when he died at 78. For comparison, the member with the next highest net worth is the only surviving member, Micky Dolenz, approximated at around $9 million.
