Robert Michael Nesmith was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their TV series of the same name. His songwriting credits with the Monkees include "Mary, Mary", "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Circle Sky" and "Listen to the Band". Additionally, his song "Different Drum" became a hit for the Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt.
After leaving the Monkees in 1970, Nesmith continued his successful songwriting and performing career, first with the seminal country rock group the First National Band, with whom he had a top-40 hit, "Joanne". As a solo artist, he scored an international hit with the song "Rio". He often played a custom-built Gretsch 12-string electric guitar with the Monkees and afterwards.
In 1974, Nesmith founded Pacific Arts, a multimedia production and distribution company, through which he helped pioneer the music video format, winning the first Grammy Award for Video of the Year for his hour-long comedy/variety program, Elephant Parts.