Before The Monkees, Nesmith had released a handful of singles under the name "Michael Blessing" which were folk rock strongly inspired by the work of Bob Dylan.
When he was free from his contract, Nesmith took Ware up on his offer, so long as Orville "Red" Rhodes would join.
Nesmith's association with the Monkees had made him a joke to some people and as a result many fellow musicians would not take his music seriously.
Nesmith recalls how others seeing a former Monkee decked out in a Nudie suit with a steel player in tow must have been laughable to seasoned Country devotees, such as Parsons.
It also contained the song "Joanne", which, due to a lot of radio play, surprised the band by reaching No.
Ware claimed that the band's management believed that, as the Monkees weren't as well known in Britain, it would be the perfect place to try to break in this new change in musical direction.
This contained the minor hit "Silver Moon" (Billboard #42) and a re-working of the Monkees song, "Listen to the Band".
The second First National Band includes, in addition to the Nesmiths, Jason Chesney on bass, Pete Finney on steel guitar, and Christopher Allis on drums, along with backing vocalists Amy Spear and Circe Link.
[1] To coincide with the tour, the band's three studio albums were re-released on colored vinyl in late March, from oldies label Sundazed.