'Heartbroken' Micky Dolenz Pays Tribute to Monkees Bandmate Michael Nesmith: 'Lost a Dear Friend'

Micky Dolenz is mourning the loss of his longtime friend and collaborator Michael Nesmith.

Dolenz, 76, paid tribute to his former Monkees bandmate on Friday, the same day the singer-songwriter and guitarist died of heart failure at age 78 in Carmel Valley, California.

"I'm heartbroken. I've lost a dear friend and partner," the musician said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I'm so grateful that we could spend the last couple of months together doing what we loved best — singing, laughing, and doing shtick. I'll miss it all so much. Especially the shtick. Rest in peace, Nez. All my love, Mick."

The star also posted the statement to social media, where he added a photo of him and Nesmith sharing a hug on stage.

The last two surviving members of the Monkees, Dolenz and Nesmith embarked on a farewell tour together earlier this year, playing 34 shows between September and November.

The pair's setlist included songs from their hit TV series, as well as some deep cuts and tunes from their feature film Head. The musicians lost bandmate Davy Jones to a heart attack in 2012, and Peter Tork to adenoic cystic carcinoma in 2019.

Dolenz told Forbes in May that his friendship with Nesmith stretched back to the audition process for The Monkees back in 1965.

Because they both had Texas roots and lived close to each other in Los Angeles, they hung out often during the period between shooting the pilot and waiting for it to sell, which it — of course — eventually did.

"Fast forward, when we started doing the series, comedically, Nez and I, I think, were really tight," he said. "We had similar tastes in comedy… so we had a real connection there."

He added: "The way he tells it, he followed me into the trenches in terms of how to make a television show. He was into music of course. He was a singer-songwriter but had never really done any acting."

After The Monkees went off air, the two "stayed in touch," even as Dolenz moved to England to pursue a career as a television producer and director.

"I sang with Davy of course and I sang with Peter and Peter sang with Davy — but that blend of Nez and I, really, for me, became very important. I looked forward to it. And to this day I look forward to singing with him and doing harmonies and stuff. Nez and I just hit it off in these blended harmonies," Dolenz told Forbes. "There was always this connection in many ways with Nez."

Prior to their farewell tour, the two toured together in 2019, and Dolenz even recorded an album of tracks written by Nesmith titled Dolenz Sings Nesmith, which he released in March.

"We are lifelong friends and our paths regularly cross — I am happy to perform again with [Micky] & [Peter]," Nesmith told Rolling Stone in 2013.