The Monkees Guitarist Michael Nesmith Rushed to Hospital, Tour Canceled

Michael Nesmith, the guitarist for The Monkees, was rushed to the hospital before he took the stage in Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon.

Sources told TMZ Nesmith collapsed during a soundcheck at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The 75-year-old was conscious, but was rushed to the hospital.

Nesmith’s representative told TMZ he was already discharged and there was no further information on the medical emergency.

However, the band was forced to cancel the rest of their national tour. The group only had two dates left — a stop at The Beacon Theatre in New York on Friday and at the Count Baisie Center in Red Bank, New Jersey on Monday.

“Unfortunately, due to health issues, tonight’s show and the remainder of The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show have been canceled. Michael & Micky look forward to rescheduling these shows as soon as they can,” reads a statement on the group’s Facebook page.

Nesmith and fellow original Monkee Micky Dolenz, 73, were touring as “The Monkees Present: The Mike & Mickey Show.” The two, along with Peter Tork, 76, and the late Davy Jones, made up the original Monkees.

The group came together for their hit TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1968, and produced a string of successful singles and albums. Some of their biggest hits include “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “I’m a Believer” and “Daydream Believer.” The group reunited after Jones’ death for their 50th anniversary, releasing the acclaimed album Good Time!.

In a May interview with Rolling Stone, Nesmith and Dolenz said they were looking forward to performing songs even die-hard Monkees fans never heard live, mixed with some beloved hits.

“The Monkees is a television show,” Nesmith said of the group. “It was a group we played on television. Once it steps outside that show, people have to nourish it and make it something on their own. When you play the songs in your car or in headphones at your office it starts to integrate itself into your life like a real band. But that doesn’t mean the television show is coming to life. You, however, might see it as a band. There’s a real bifurcation in the way it exists in my mind. In some ways, it’s a creative extension of the job I get called up to do every once in a while and really enjoy.”

Outside of The Monkees, Nesmith is the founder of the country rock group First National Band and wrote the Linda Ronstandt hit “Different Drum.”

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