Michael Nesmith from the Monkees playing his guitar in the 1960s. Courtesy.

Songwriter and Monkee Mike Nesmith died on Friday at the age of 78.

I already dedicated a column to the underrated greatness of The Monkees, and you should absolutely read it because the Monkees are great and you need to appreciate them; that’s my argument to that end. So rather than rehash that, I’ll focus on Nesmith the songwriter with five of his best songs.

The Stone Poneys — “Different Drum”

Nesmith originally wrote “Different Drum” in 1964 for the Monkees but the producers who controlled their output at the time didn’t want it. So in 1965, he gave it to The Greenbriar Boys, who put it on an album and didn’t really get any traction with it.

The YouTube video isn’t of either of those.

It became a hit in 1967 for the Stone Poneys. Why are they notable? Because that woman in the middle of the album cover, the singer, is a young Linda Ronstadt. The song helped to launch her career.

Run-DMC — “Mary, Mary”

This is a little circuitous but it’s true, stay with me here.

Nesmith wrote “Mary, Mary” for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1966. It was a well-received blues rock song, though not a single. Then the Monkees did their own version later in the year and Butterfield Blues Band fans were mad Nesmith was taking credit for the writing. It also wasn’t a single. None of that is especially interesting.

Our story gets intriguing in 1987 when Rick Rubin produced a version by the then-huge hip-hop group Run-DMC. Where did they find it, and how did they decide to cover it? Who knows! It doesn’t make sense. But it did get released as a single and made it to No. 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, and to 29 on what Billboard seriously called the “Hot Black Singles” chart. In 1988! There are so many things wrong with the name of the chart.

Run-DMC did change some things, though: “Mary Mary, where ya goin’ to” became “Mary Mary, why ya buggin’,” for example. Mike Nesmith did not use the word buggin’ in 1966.

Lynn Anderson — “I’ve Never Loved Anyone More”

This one is far less known than the last two, for sure, but the point isn’t that every song he wrote is the stuff of legend. The song did make it to No. 14 on Billboard’s country chart when it came out in 1975, but it’s not exactly a timeless classic.

It is, however, a country song. That’s very different than a folk rock song by the Greenbriar Boys, a blues rock song by the Butterfield Blues Band, or especially a hip-hop song by Run-DMC. And they all came from the same guy. That’s amazing.

The Monkees — “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”

But let’s be honest here: He’s best known for The Monkees, and most of his best known songs were for the band. This one, for example, is the B-side to “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” which was written by Neil Diamond (which is another story).

Anyway, he also wrote “Listen to the Band,” “Circle Sky,” “You Just May Be the One” and others. It’s ironic since the rumor was they couldn’t play their own instruments and they went so far as to write their own songs. And, I mean, Neil Diamond is a tough standard, but their songs were fantastic.

Michael Nesmith — “Joanne”

Finally, we can’t leave out his solo career. “Joanne” was his highest-charting solo song. It got to No. 21 in the U.S. but to No. 4 in Canada, No. 3 in Australia, and No. 1 in New Zealand.

Notably, it doesn’t sound a whole lot like anything else on this list. To me, that’s the sign of a talented songwriter. Some songwriters are successful at doing one thing, which is fine. It’s important to play to your strength. But the best can do anything and write hit songs for anyone. Mike Nesmith was obviously one of those songwriters.

He will be missed, but he was generous enough to leave some great music for us during his time here.

Follow editor Daniel J. Willis and tweet column ideas to him at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.