Peter Tork
Monkees Singer
Dead at 77
2/21/2019 9:11 AM PST
Peter Tork — the lovable member of the pop band, The Monkees — died Thursday after a decade-long battle with tongue cancer.
Peter’s sister reportedly confirmed the musician’s death but did not reveal where he passed or the cause. The Monkees singer was diagnosed in 2009 with a rare cancer … adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Tork was known as the wise-cracking, self-described “dummy” of the made-for-TV music group … who played bass guitar and keyboard.
His biggest claim to fame, musically, might be the piano intro on the group’s mega hit, “Daydream Believer.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqeSJlgaNk?&rel=0&start=21&w=728&h=410]
He also contributed on vocals, singing the lead on tracks like “Long Title: Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?”
Peter was also the oldest member of the group, at 24, when “The Monkees” show first aired on NBC in 1966 … and instantly became a sensation thanks to the trail blazed by Beatlemania.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96A0uyFWQHs&w=728&h=410]
Tork left the group after its huge success in the late ’60s and tried to make it on his own as a solo artist, but returned to The Monkees in the mid-’80s for major reunion tours.
Peter’s survived by his wife, Pamela, and his 3 kids — 2 daughters and a son.
He was 77.
