Michael Nesmith

Michael Nesmith, like most country rockers from California, started cutting his sounds with high-grade soft rock and subtle disco rhythms by the late '70s. Of course, this doesn't mean the ex-Monkee instantly sprouted a Jheri curl and started doing the hustle. But 1977's Radio Engine album does float over smooth hypnotic grooves a la "yacht rock." This isn't a bad thing at all, and that's because Nesmith has always been a sonic alchemist capable of making entire genres uniquely his own.