Peter Tork, founding member of the Monkees, has died. The bassist, keyboard participant, and occasional lead vocalist for the American pop rock group died earlier right this moment, as The Washington Post experiences and a statement on Tork’s Facebook web page confirms. While a precise reason for dying has not been revealed, Tork beforehand underwent surgical procedure to fight adenoid cystic carcinoma, a uncommon head-neck most cancers, after being recognized in 2009. He was 77 years previous.
Born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in 1942, Tork auditioned for the Monkees after Stephen Stills (who he’d beforehand performed guitar for) really helpful he check out for the position. Formed by Columbia-Screen Gems in response to the rising reputation of the Beatles and their burgeoning profession as movie stars, the Monkees consisted of Tork, Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, and Davy Jones. Together, they starred in a self-titled tv present that ran from 1966-1968, and recorded music collectively by way of 1971.
The Monkees’ early profession noticed them largely performing songs written (and even recorded) by different individuals. By their third album, Headquarters, the band had gained inventive management, with Nesmith and Tork largely main the cost. Tork departed the group shortly after the discharge of Head, a Jack Nicholson-penned function movie starring the Monkees that was a business flop however has since garnered a cult following. Tork could be the primary Monkee to stop the band.
The 1980s and ’90s noticed on-and-off reunions for the Monkees, by way of they largely consisted of Tork, Dolenz, and Jones, with the occasional look by Nesmith. After Jones’ death in 2012, the surviving members launched into a short North American tour. A brand new studio album, Good Times!, would comply with in 2016, celebrating the band’s 50th anniversary.
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