Peter Tork, endearingly offbeat bassist and singer in the Monkees, dies at 77

[markwoll]

Sigh, R.I.P Mr. Tork.
peter-tork-endearingly-offbeat-bassist-and-singer-in-the-monkees-dies-at-77

[Scrotum Scissor]

Sad. He was my second-fave Monkee after Nesmith.

[mnprogger]

kind of gutted right now as my wife sort of considers The Monkees and their fans as extended family (and I am now too).

Rest in Peace Peter.

I just threw something up in the blog
https://allmediareviews.blogspot.com...eter-tork.html

[ronmac]

RIP.

On a related note, hopefully this is enough to get Mickey Dolenz to retire from performing. I caught one of their recent concerts on AXS and he was horrible.

[Vic2012]

RIP

[JKL2000]

Loved watching The Monkees TV show back in the day. RIP, Peter was always a funny guy.

[progmatist]

Originally, Peter and Mike were the only true musicians. There's one episode of the show which sticks out in my memory. During the obligatory performance at the end, Mickey did nothing except sitting at the amps tweaking the settings.

[Garden Dreamer]

Oh dear, I was one of those "deep cuts" Monkees fans... we have quite a few here and I'm sure they'll be checking in.

Time to post the songs with his vocals

[Garden Dreamer]

One of many "alternative vocal" takes from the Monkees canon...

[spellbound]

Rest in peace, Peter.

[Kavus Torabi]

Peter Tork.
The deliverer of my favourite line in Head, my favourite film.

“Oh hello officer, certainly glad to see you”.

[Kavus Torabi]

Also responsible for one of my favourite tunes. All in under two minutes.
Somewhere and somehow between the Beach Boys and Voivod.

https://youtu.be/_sPBylUhwEQ

[Fracktured]

So sad. That makes two gone now


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[happytheman]

Sad. He was my second-fave Monkee after Nesmith.

I was always partial to both Mike and Peter..

[jrw]

I was always partial to both Mike and Peter..

Saddened by this. Even more repulsed though as I just went to his Wikipedia page and someone had added a disgusting image to the page. Hopefully, it’s gone by now. What’s wrong with people!

[mozo-pg]

Yes - very sad. Big part of my childhood.

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[The Dark Elf]

The Monkees was definitely offbeat. As a youg kid, you had the Monkees on TV and also The Beatles cartoon. You might remember Zappa's appearance on The Monkees....

[GuitarGeek]

Originally, Peter and Mike were the only true musicians.

Depends on what you mean by "true musician". I believe I read Mickey had been in a band as a teenager, and Davy already had released a couple single as a solo artist.

During the obligatory performance at the end, Mickey did nothing except sitting at the amps tweaking the settings.

I think that's Love Is Only Sleeping you're talking about. Mickey may have a relative novice as a musician, but he quickly learned how to play drums, at least well to do it live. Watch the Circle Sky sequence in Head. That's the four of them, playing live, no backup musicians, and to the best of my knowledge, no overdubs. Mickey sounds pretty damn good for a guy who'd only been playing drums for about 2 years.

Mickey also the synthesizer on Daily Nightly. OK, so anyone could have run their hands up and down the keyboard and gotten relatively similar results, but the fact the matter it wasn't just anyone, it was Mickey. And I think I'm correct in saying that Mickey was probably one of the first, if not the first, musician to be seen playing (ok, miming on) a Moog on television, when that clip aired on the show. Of course, since The Monkees were "just bubblegum" anyone who would have cared probably never saw it.

Peter said once that it was actually Stephen Stills who auditioned. He and Stills had been buddies, and the two of them were kinda known for looking alike, somewhat, within their circle. Anyway, Stills auditioned and was told, "You're perfect, but your hair and teeth aren't right. Do you know someone who looks like you, but his hair and teeth are right?". Peter pauses, and says, "I've since had my teeth fixed", but apparently Stills suggested that Rafelson and Schneider get in touch with Peter. I think Mike was the only band member who came from the open audition casting call they did. And since we're talking about it, Charles Manson did not audition for The Monkees. He was still a guest of the state of California at the time, so he couldn't have auditioned.

Back to Peter: one of my favorite episodes is one where he falls in love with a girl. Davy seems chagrined that Peter gets the "romantic plotline" this time, and Peter responds, "Cheer up, Davy! You can't get the girl every week!". The show was a lot more satirical than I think most people realize. It was just "a dumb sitcom", they were making fun of television, of sitcoms, of youth culture, and the group's very "pre-fab" origins.

I also love the bit in Head where he gets upset about punching a woman, and he gets into a big argument with Bob Rafelson over it.

About 12 years, I saw Peter perform with his solo band. He did a lot of Monkees songs, though not too many that he himself sung, I dont' think, other than Auntie Grizelda (which he apparently hates, even though he wrote it), along with a few new songs. Afterwards he signs autographs. So, when my turn comes, I step up to the table and I say, "Head is one of my all time favorite movies". Without missing a beat, Peter says, "You have a sick mind, my friend!".

[JKL2000]

Yeah, the Monkees TV show and the Beatles cartoon went hand in hand. Also the Jackson Five cartoon, although I think that might have been a little later.

[rapidfirerob]

Very sad day. I still enjoy a lot of their music. I saw Mike, Peter, and Mickey the last tour out here. So much fun. A friend of mine played with Peter in Marin. The TV show was a big part of my youth. Silly fun. I love the Head soundtrack and watch the crazy film now and again. The recent album, Good Times, is a fine one. Peter seemed like a really nice guy. Thanks for all the music and enjoyment. RIP.


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[Garden Dreamer]

Don't forget Peter's song on the TV special, "33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee " --

[bigjohnwayne]

Requiescat In Pace

[SteveSly]

A local Casino has been advertising a show by The Monkees later in the spring, but it is just Nesmith and Dolenz which I thought was strange. Now I know why. RIP Peter Tork.

[SteveSly]

Depends on what you mean by "true musician". I believe I read Mickey had been in a band as a teenager, and Davy already had released a couple single as a solo artist.


I think that's Love Is Only Sleeping you're talking about. Mickey may have a relative novice as a musician, but he quickly learned how to play drums, at least well to do it live. Watch the Circle Sky sequence in Head. That's the four of them, playing live, no backup musicians, and to the best of my knowledge, no overdubs. Mickey sounds pretty damn good for a guy who'd only been playing drums for about 2 years.
d!".

Also check out Youtube clips from the "Justus" tour in the 80's. It was just the four of them with no extra musicians.

[GuitarGeek]

A local Casino has been advertising a show by The Monkees later in the spring, but it is just Nesmith and Dolenz which I thought was strange. Now I know why. RIP Peter Tork.

They were doing that last summer. Mickey and Mike played here together, billed as "The Monkees: The Mike And Mickey Show" or something like that. Unfortunately, I lost track of when the show was happening and missed it.