Different Drum " is a song written by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith in 1964. It was first recorded by the northern bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys and included on their 1966 album Better Late than Never! . Nesmith offered it to the Monkees , but the producers of the TV show, who had wide control over the group's musical output early on, turned him down (though Nesmith did perform a short comic version of the song in an episode of The Monkees ). [2] The song became popular in 1967 when recorded by the Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt , who took their version of "Different Drum" to No. 12 on the Cash Box Top 100, No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 16 in Record World magazine. "Different Drum" did best in New Zealand, where it reached No. 5. [3] In 1972, Nesmith recorded his own version. "Different Drum" has since been covered by other artists.