For my money, the late Michael Nesmith never got the credit he should’ve gotten as a writer, vocalist, and musical innovator. I’ve always felt he was especially suited to SWING ON THIS listeners, as he combined classic pop, old-time country, swing, and rock — crafting a new kind of sound from a lot of different sources, not that much different from what Bob Wills had done a generation or so earlier.
But because he was one of the Monkees, whose pop-music-fueled stardom was haughtily disdained by the rock-music intelligentsia, there was a whole swath of reviewers and historians who simply would not take Nesmith seriously, no matter how good, or intelligent, or even revolutionary his music could be. Consistently lowballed throughout his life, he nonetheless left us some real musical treasure.
I confess to being a longtime Nezhead, and I’ll feature a few of my favorite Nesmith tunes on this Saturday night’s broadcast — along with, of course, the usual western swing, cowboy jazz, and, this time around, ANOTHER harmonica-based version of Bob Wills’ greatest hit.
I’d love to have you join me at 7 p.m. Tulsa time for SWING ON THIS, now in its eighteenth year as part of the big Saturday night lineup on KWGS, 89.5 FM, and streaming live at publicradiotulsa.com.
Big thanks — and, as Nesmith might say, listen to the band.