# R.I.P. Peter Tork **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 21, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969 "2019-02-21T16:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/21 "2019-02-21T20:21:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The studio musicians created some wonderful music for them. Only on the first two albums; from that point on, the four Monkees took greater creative control, and were largely responsible for the performances on their albums. Also (and I didn’t know this until today), the four were initially sub-optiminally assigned to their instruments by the show’s producers. Davy was actually the only one of the four who had substantial experience as a drummer, but the producers wanted him front and center (since he was the “teen idol” character), and he was so short that they were afraid he wouldn’t be visible behind the drum kit – so, they put Mickey on drums, despite the fact that he had never played them. Peter was likely the best guitarist of the four of them, but wound up being assigned to the bass, while Michael wound up as guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/22 "2019-02-21T20:34:43Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Anyone remember the Pizza Hut commercial with Ringo Starr talking about how this time it was really going to happen, he was going to get back together with “the other lads.” And at the end, the other lads turned out to be Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Peter Tork? > > “Wrong lads!” > > I thought that was pretty clever. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iGcRYE9NbD0/hqdefault.jpg "Ringo Starr & The Monkees Pizza Hut Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGcRYE9NbD0) Fun fact: Stephen Stills tried out for the Monkees and was rejected. He then told his friend Peter Tork about the audition and Tork was picked for the group. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/23 "2019-02-21T20:41:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Only on the first two albums; from that point on, the four Monkees took greater creative control, and were largely responsible for the performances on their albums. > > Also (and I didn’t know this until today), the four were initially sub-optiminally assigned to their instruments by the show’s producers. Davy was actually the only one of the four who had substantial experience as a drummer, but the producers wanted him front and center (since he was the “teen idol” character), and he was so short that they were afraid he wouldn’t be visible behind the drum kit – so, they put Mickey on drums, despite the fact that he had never played them. Peter was likely the best guitarist of the four of them, but wound up being assigned to the bass, while Michael wound up as guitarist. from [Peter Tork’s Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tork): > [@](#): > > The DVD release of the first season of the show contained commentary from the various bandmates. In it, Nesmith stated that Tork was better at playing guitar than bass. In Tork’s commentary, he stated that Jones was a good drummer and had the live performance lineups been based solely on playing ability, it should have been Tork on guitar, Nesmith on bass, and Jones on drums, with Dolenz taking the fronting role, rather than as it was done (with Nesmith on guitar, Tork on bass, and Dolenz on drums). Jones filled in briefly for Tork on bass when he played keyboards. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/24 "2019-02-21T20:56:57Z")
Interview - Peter Tork, how the Monkees were cast. It’s interesting that the tracks for the early songs were already recorded by the Wrecking Crew. The vocals were added after the actor’s parts were cast. The guys deserve a lot of credit for learning to play and perform live. They did become a real band. I would have enjoyed seeing one of their reunion concerts. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XvQJ6Dq3v1Q/maxresdefault.jpg "The Wrecking Crew: Monkees") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQJ6Dq3v1Q) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/25 "2019-02-21T21:30:14Z")
so whos left? mike and mickey? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/26 "2019-02-21T21:41:02Z")
Yep. And we almost lost Mike a while back to congestive heart failure that required quadruple bypass surgery ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/27 "2019-02-21T21:52:40Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > so whos left? mike and mickey? Yeah; Davy died of a heart attack in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/28 "2019-02-21T22:40:22Z")
Just saw him in the birthday list for the 13th. Somehow it’s oddly surprising to see someone has died so soon after being reminded of them being alive. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/29 "2019-02-22T01:01:06Z")
Damn, we were just talking about him last night. I got to party with him once at a folk festival. Besides being famous as a Monkee, Peter was actually a very good, though not famous folk musician. He played our Festival the same year Pete Seeger came down to do it. On Saturday nights the crew would get together and drink a lot of beer, he joined us for this relaxation like a lot of the other musicians. BTW: Monkee fans, Mike & Mickey are touring this year. That is why we were talking about Peter last night. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/30 "2019-02-22T03:39:48Z")
Another factoid: After the Monkees ended and he could no longer live on the residuals and royalties, he finished up his degree and got a job teaching at a private junior high school. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/31 "2019-02-22T03:44:09Z")
heres what pete and mick said earlier today [MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-monkees-surviving-members-mourn-peter-torks-death/ar-BBTUPa7?li=BBnb7Kz) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/32 "2019-02-22T03:50:29Z")
[Peter on banjo, 2012](https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNHnmn61Y3BcgvwZPSmpmT7pZ-4gsmqSwfzx2hi/photo/AF1QipN-Z6Tw6BEjvouxS5ZfcH52RdJ0xwKc-_q85kNf) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/33 "2019-02-22T04:05:49Z")
I had a chance to see them on their last tour when they released their latest album, but $100 a ticket felt out of my range. I regret skipping it now. I did pre-order the album on CD though. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/34 "2019-02-22T04:06:44Z")
Well, I was one of the folks who watched The Monkees in syndication in the 70’s, I always enjoyed it. I wouldn’t have paid money for their albums at the time, but if we acquired one while were going through the records people had tossed out after their garage sales in the 80’s, it was a pretty nice find. Even though I wouldn’t have bought them, it would take a damn good trade to get them out of my hands now. It’s odd how we value things. Either way, thanks for the entertainment, Pete! Anyone who decries you guys for not being a real band doesn’t know what being in a band is. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/35 "2019-02-22T04:15:51Z")
I’m not going to say Peter was my favourite Monkee (I was always partial to Mike and Mickey), but he was great, both as a performer and a person, so RIP. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/36 "2019-02-22T04:42:51Z")
when I was a kid and the reruns were considered kids fare I liked mike and davey the rest were just comedy relief …… ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/37 "2019-02-22T04:44:38Z")
Mike was my favorite for his air of quiet competence and amusement, but Peter was so close a second it could have been a tie. His character always had an air of innocence and wonder about him that I really loved. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/38 "2019-02-22T06:49:00Z")
I remember, about 35 years ago, that I was at a party in Bloomington, drunk as a lord, and a girl and I got everyone to singing “Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkeys.” I still remembered the words from watching the show as a child. It was fashionable at one time to mock them, but that song, “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” and especially “Pleasant Valley Sunday” still hold up well. RIP, Peter Tork. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/39 "2019-02-22T15:46:16Z")
What a shame! I have always enjoyed their music. Peter will be missed! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969/40 "2019-02-22T16:00:49Z")
R.I.P. Peter. Thanks for the music and the memories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-peter-tork/829969.md?page=3)