Peter Tork (1942 – 2019)

Peter Tork in Lowell, MA

Today we lost another musician, and one who has meant a lot to me in my life. I’ve mentioned this many times here and elsewhere, but The Monkees were my first favorite band, and remain one of my favorites to this day. I started listening to them in 1976, when I was four years old and Channel 56 in Massachusetts began rerunning the television series. I loved the show, but it was the music that really made it something special. Apart from a greatest hits compilation, the albums were hard to find at that time. My mom bought More Of The Monkees for me at a used record shop in Worcester, and it wasn’t cheap. That was my first record. In 1986, all the albums were re-released, and the band reunited for a tour, supported by Herman’s Hermits, The Grass Roots, and Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. Mike Nesmith wasn’t part of the tour, but getting to see Micky, Davy and Peter was a thrill for me. I saw them several more times over the years, and got backstage once in the late 1990s at the Universal Amphitheatre. But it was at a screening of the fantastic film Head that I met Peter Tork. This was at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles in 2008, and Peter happened to be seated directly behind me (Davy Jones was six seats to my left). I spoke with him briefly before the film started, and got a photo with him afterward. It was an incredible night. Peter Tork is going to be missed.

Davy Jones and Peter Tork at the Egyptian Theatre

me with Peter Tork (yes, I am ridiculously happy there)