The Monkees - "Different Drum" from "Too Many Girls" 

I always lose it at the end when he rapidly mumbles "Thank you very much" and zooms off the stage. Mike was a comedic genius. The whole bit was impeccably timed.

"...everytime you make eyes at me..." **wink** LOL, I love how Mike's intentionally singing badly. But he's so charming and adorable that it works. :D

this will always be funny ... I can't imagine how hard it was for Nez to destroy his own song and, yet, he was still super adorable.

That little pause before "Goodbye" is an example of superb comic timing. Still kills me decades later.

His timing is fabulous. The wink rules.

I like the way he goes so fast, winks, fumbles around, pretends to forget the words and chords to the song he himself wrote, then skips to the end -- "And, thank you, thank you, Billy Roy!". It's a terrifically humble and humorous, low-key performance of a fantastic song.

I am just floored by his eye work. It's like he's trying to remember the words and get the guitar parts in the right place. For a song writer to do that to his own song is just priceless. This is bar none, one of the funniest musical comedy bits ever on TV. Oh, yeh. And he should have won the talent show!

I hate the way the media and history remember the Monkees as being less than what they truly were: absolutely hilarious and very musically talented. This is one of my favorite all-time Papa Nez moments.

That moment when you have to present and you're not ready

Even when he's being silly, that wink still gets me. Sigh😘💝

RIP to Mike Nesmith of The Monkees, who wrote this song. Mike always travelled to the beat of a different drum.

I love the wink! I live for the moments when Nez winks when he's singing. The wink and the little smile always makes me melt :)

Between this and Fairy Tale, Mike should have gotten some kind of an award. That WINK!!!

I love Mike's little wink! He's the voice of reason so much on the show, I love when he got these little comedy bits :))))

Lol, this is SO me, at every single open mic I've ever played, with a song I WROTE and know inside out and played a gazillion times with the normal timing of being 2 minutes and 30 seconds long all condensed into 30 seconds. 🤣

I always remembered that Nesmith composed this song whenever I hear it, and enjoy listening to his version. Found out when browsing through LPs at my college station 3 decades ago. I was just thinking of it recently. RIP.

and this is why I love Mike Nesmith!!!!

I have always loved his goofy off-the-wall humor like this. lol.

I love this clip! I too, remember seeing this as a kid and wondering what he was singing. It wasn't until I found this clip and realized he was singing "Different Drum", and I knew he wrote it. I didn't discover the Monkees until 1979, when I was a kid. I re-discover them about every 10 years or so.

When Mike wrote this I bet he didn't know that maybe 2 billion people would have listened to it. Just inconceivable then. Thank God for RU-vid!

Singing it badly, on purpose, shows how talented Mr. Nesmith is. He can sing, has an excellent voice! Just listen to "Joanne" and you'll understand .

This is IN A NUTSHELL what made the Monkees great.

That wink is dangerous!!😍😍

I think it's hilarious how his eyes are goin' all over the place, and when he opens them wide before he sings " . . I got my doubts".

This is why I love Mike and that he is my absolute favourite! So adorable!! One of his biggest songs and he stumbles through it LOVE!!!! :D

Love Nez!!

OH MIKE YOU SO ADORABLE

"Don't get... don't get m... don't get me... wr... wrong..." LOL Oh and that's the best guitar solo EVER!

This was one of Mike's best songs ever, and the Monkees never recorded it ...... that speaks volumes of his immense (and often underrated) talent.

MICHAEL NESMITH (1942 - 2021)

wow…never saw this…great song; great songwriter

I see something new I love in this everytime I watch it! He is just so adorable! I love watching his left hand on the guitar and how he does his eyes....This is just precious...

i like mike for his faces singing and personality he is funny and a fave :)

Always my favorite Monkee. May he rest in peace.

RIP Mike, thanks for the music.

Love it! So happy to have been a young girl during the time of the Monkees. Innocent fun, and even then, I KNEW they were talented. Just saw Mike perform this at 71 yrs old in Phoenixville, PA. Bittersweet.

MIKE IS SO FUNNY!!! HE IS JUST SO ADORABLE AND THOSE LIPS..WOW !!

He is way way too funny- Loved that WINK! LOL :)

I think the reason why I like Mike so much is because he was so sweet and bubbly and at the same time, absolutely, SMOKIN' HOT!!!!!!!!!! Perfect combo!!!!!!

Thank you SO much, Mike Nesmith !

by far the best version of this song, thank you Billy Roy Hodstetter ;)

I love that suit! And how he can rock the hat and the suit so well. And the wink always kills me!!! ;p

Mike is so adorable here!

RIP, "Michael Blessing"

Rest in peace, Michael Nesmith 🕯

This one cracks me up every time I see it!!

I always thought Michael Nesmith was the funniest Monkee. I love the wink and acting like he doesn't know the words to his own song. Just hilarious

He was my absolute favourite!

There's a Monkees show marathon on TV right now, and I'm loving it 💕💕

This cracks me up every time I see it

Excellant performance!! Mike Nesmith!!

Oh YEAH! I remember this... when I was little, I didn't know that he had written this song, and thought that he was just parodying the Stone Poneys' song. This is even funnier now that I'm and adult and know better. The wink always made me crack up.

This is still my favorite rendition of this song.

I didn't even know Mike sings Different Drums there ! TOO AMAZING !!!

Was totally obsessed with the monkees, and taped every episoed on a reel to reel tape recorder, wishing a video recorder was invented, and watched their reruns and played their tunes long after they broke up. I tried to find anything I could about them, and decided that when I turned 18 i would marry Mike, even if I had to break up his marriage! Well, that didnt happen, because David Bowie came along .lol Never in my wikdest dreams would there be such a thing as the internet , and I can relive my childhood crush any time I want,!

this was funny, Mike Nesmith actually wrote this song "Different Drum" it was a smash number one hit sung by Linda Ronstadt. It is what started her career.

Bye, Bye Papa Nez. We miss you

This was shown on TV just before Linda Ronstadt's version was released which put this song on the map. And also prompted her to leave the Stone Poneys to pursue a solo career which didn't come about fully until 1974's break-out album "Heart Like A Wheel". She didn't get recognition for the song though... even as she was the solo voice in it. The credit went to the band she was in at the time, the Stone Poneys. Good song.

thats the best solo ever!!

Thank you Mike!!!

The Monkees were excellent. Absolutely no comparison with faux groups of today, as sometimes suggested. They were vivid, expressive and very funny.

Thank you Michael!

Interesting talented dude. An unimportant little tune that became mighty when the girl (Linda) wrapped her pipes around it. Thanks Nez, gracias to Ronstadt.

R.I.P. Mike. Just can’t believe you’re gone.😓😓😓😓🤦🏽‍♀️

i have seen this 10 times this week!

Oh boy. Was this FUNNY!! How come today's comedy isn't as good as this?

LMAO, he reminded me of Roy Clark when he would put on the amateur embarrassed stage fright act!. Rest in Peace Nez, thank you for the awesome memories you shared with everyone!🙏✌️

I had always thought Beatles > Monkees. Better looking, more talented, etc. Then recently I saw a video "recommended" to me of the Monkees screen tests. I have been absolutely obsessed with the Monkees since then. I've never really watched their show much before, now I watch an episode on YT every day. What's really embarrassing is I now have a secret crush on Mike Nesmith's younger self. What do I do? I'm too old for this! :)

Always makes me smile or laugh

So funny ! All four of the Monkees indeed did have great comedic timing ! And talented musicians too ! Thanks so much for sharing this cool clip with us !!

@monkeemen1 Ditto. Mike's winks made me weak in the knees as a teenager.

lol! Great catch! I never would have noticed him sneaking in "different drum" on the show! If you've never seen "Elephant Parts" by Michael Nesmith, rent/buy it. He proves he's just as funny as anyone else out there....

i saw this ep on tv 2 days ago. it makes me laugh every time

Mike hosted and played a lot of open mics in Texas back in his early 'Michael Blessing' days; there's clips of some '64-'65 San Antonio showcases here on RU-vid. And you can see in this that he's been that guy on stage and had definitely SEEN and studied others who were that guy. Pitch-perfect sendup of an open mic "folk singer," and I gotta say, The Monkees TV show was often filled with glorious satire.

RIP Mike. This song may belong to Linda but she couldn't have done it without you.

Mike was so funny in this. I love the wink and just look at Davey when Mike is finished: he's laughing hysterically. I sure do miss these two as well as Peter. RIP to Mike, Davey and Peter!🌺

Haha this is hilarious. I love his wink lol

this is totally and utterly brilliant!!

I know!!! Same for me :D Mike's winks and smirks are for me like any of the cute faces Davy made for all of the other girls. Mike sweat sexyness :D

adorable

RIP Michael Nesmith

Amazing that what started out as a "gag" turned into such a rich, vibrant song in the hands of a talent Like Linda who saw the merit in the song.

Also cool because Mike Nesmith wrote that song (before the Monkees) and Linda Ronstadt had a career-making hit with it.

I started listening to The Monkees in 2016 when I was in high school. I kind of forgot about them until I heard of Mike's death last month. Since I was quite clueless about the band I never knew that Mike had made other albums and now that I started listening to them I feel bad that I missed out on such a great singer-songwriter when he was alive. But Different Drum had been a favourite song of mine for many months now, and I never knew that he was the original writer. So I feel somewhat relieved by that. Rest in peace, Davy, Peter and Michael

This absolutely cracks me up. :) Mike and his little wink. Bwaaahahahahahaaa!

Rest in Peace, genius Nez

Ahhhh! Mikes wink! *dies*

such a hottie! my favorite Monkee

it's my favorite linda ronstant song.

Just another facet of Nez magic…

Gawd I love Mike! This was so well done, so funny. What a mass of contradictions makes up Michael Nesmith. Poet, artist, comedian, visionary, who also punched a hole in a wall and cheated on his first wife. Still, the Mike of my 12 year old vision of The Monkees is clear in my mind and heart.

So long, Mike!

RIP Billy Roy Hodstetter 💕❤️💕

I forgot just how charming(even if adoringly charming is not Cary Grant charming) were. This bit is a delight. It's definitely "solid foam", comedically speaking.

Though the Monkees were never to officially record Nesmith's "Different Drum" (as Mike had hoped and requested), he managed to surreptitiously slide it in--though with a virtually unrecognizable "arrangement"...

Rest in peace Mike 💔

He wrote the song, it was Linda Ronstadt's 1st hit single.

This was truly hilarious 😂.

That was hilarious! After Davy, Mike is my favorite. :)

My daily laugh 😂 !