‘The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz Cried While Recording 1 of Mike Nesmith’s ‘Best’ Songs

The Monkees were a manufactured band from the 1960s. But that doesn’t mean the band members weren’t friends in real life. Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith continued to collaborate after their time with the Monkees was done, which Dolenz admitted could get emotional. 

The Monkees were created for a popular 1960s sitcom

The Monkees were put together in 1966 for a sitcom, also called The Monkees. The band was made up of Dolenz, Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. In addition to starring in the show, the group also recorded Monkees albums and went out on tour. 

By the end of the ’60s, the Monkees disbanded and worked on their solo careers. They would reunite from time to time for tours and to record new material. After the deaths of Tork and Jones, in 2019 and 2012 respectively, Dolenz and Nesmith became closer than ever. 

Micky Dolenz says he and bandmate Mike Nesmith ‘clicked’ from the beginning

From 2012, the duo toured as “The Mike & Micky Show,” as well as “The Monkees Present…” Dolenz talked to Variety about their partnership, sharing that he and Nesmith were close friends from the beginning. 

“In terms of improvisation, we clicked,” he explained. “On the set, doing skits and bits, we’d improv, and crack everybody up. And no joke, we used to say to each other, ‘One day, it’s gonna be ‘The Mike & Micky Show.'” And here we are, full circle. He and I always got along, certainly in a comedic sense, but musically too; we just blended well.”

The Mike Nesmith song that made Micky Dolenz start ‘crying’ when he recorded it 

In 2021, Dolenz decided to record an album of Nesmith’s songs, called Dolenz Sings Nesmith, which got a little emotional at times. He shared that “Different Drum” was “tough” to do, but a different track actually brought Dolenz to tears. 

“One song that I came up for an arrangement of, a treatment of, a re-envisioning, was ‘Nine Times Blue,'” Dolenz said, sharing his vision of the stripped-back production.

He continued, “Singing that song brought back so many tender memories. I was cracking when I was singing it, as Christian [Nesmith, Mike’s son] brought that up over the studio mic. He asked me if I needed a hot tea, and I had to explain to him that I was crying.”

Dolenz also spoke about the possibility of another tour with Nesmith. He said that their ages — at the time of the interview, he was 76, while Nesmith was 78 — made it hard to perform a “grueling” set of concert dates. 

Micky Dolenz was ‘heartbroken’ at Mike Nesmith’s death: ‘I’ve lost a dear friend’

Sadly, Nesmith died just a few months after the release of Dolenz Sings Nesmith from heart failure. Dolenz released a statement following his friend and band member’s death, writing that he was “heartbroken.”

“I’ve lost a dear friend and partner,” his statement continued (via Deadline).”I’m so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best – singing, laughing, and doing shtick. I’ll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick.”