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Micky Dolenz Had To ‘Let Go’ Of Mike Nesmith When He Learned He Was Going Into Hospice

by Jane Kenney

Published December 20, 2021

Micky Dolenz Had To 'Let Go' Of Mike Nesmith When He Learned He Was Going Into Hospice

Reports are saying that Micky Dolenz of The Monkees had to “let go” of the late Mike Nesmith when he learned his bandmate was going into hospice. Nesmith recently died of heart failure at the age of 78, and now Dolenz is the last Monkee left, as Davy Jones and Peter Tork preceded Nesmith’s death.

However, Nesmith was touring with Dolenz for a Monkees farewell tour just weeks before he passed away, which is why his death may come as a shock to many. But he actually went into hospice just days prior to his death.

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Mike Nesmith went into hospice just days before his death

the monkees
MONKEES, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, 1966-1968 / Everett Collection

“I found out a couple days ago that he was going into hospice,” Dolenz told Rolling Stone just a few hours after news of Nesmith’s death went public. He said that learning this news helped him to process letting his friend go. “I had my moment then and I let go. I let go a couple days ago… It’s just good to know that he passed peacefully.”

RELATED: The Monkees Then And Now 2021

Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith's last tour together
Micky Dolenz and Mike Nesmith’s last tour together / YouTube Screenshot
Back in May 2021, Dolenz talked to Forbes, saying that his harmonies with Nesmith became something that he began to look forward to throughout his life. “We immediately fell into what I call the Everly Monkees,” Dolenz said of singing with Nesmith. “We would just automatically fall into this typical two part country and western type of harmony, the first and third.”
He continues, “Either he would do melody and I would do harmony or vice versa. That became a real touchstone for me.” Singing with Nesmith is something that he cherishes, even more so than singing with the late Davy or Peter. “I sang with Davy of course and I sang with Peter and Peter sang with Davy — but that blend of Nez and I, really, for me, became very important.”

Dolenz and Nesmith had a very special bond

Despite looking visibly frail on tour, Dolenz says that he’s happy they did that tour together, and Nesmith wasn’t deterred from it at all despite his health. “He was so looking forward to that, and such a trooper through the whole thing. A tour is tough if you’re in the best of health… He just really loved it. He really loved doing it.”

So, now that it’s just Dolenz by himself, can we expect him to do a lone Monkees tour in the future? “When I go out, I go out as Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. But I’d never go out as the Monkees by myself,” he says. “I don’t really see myself as the last Monkee, but it’s the end of an era. That’s for sure. That’s what happens. None of us are going to get out of this alive.”

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