When Peter Tork attended a band audition his life took an unexpected twist away from his folk roots, launching him to international stardom as keyboardist and bass guitarist for The Monkees. Born Peter Halsten Thorkelston in 1942, Tork grew up around folk records and became a proficient guitar and banjo player at an early age. Following his interest in music to Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, he became part of the area's folk scene. It was during this period that he befriended Stephen Stills and it was Stills who, following Tork's move to Los Angeles, suggested he audition for The Monkees.
Alongside Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith Tork became one of the so-called 'prefab four', a group designed to be America's answer to The Beatles. The Monkees originally starred in an eponymous sitcom but went on to have a life that ultimately outlasted the show by decades. While the other band members weren't allowed to play their own instruments on the first two albums Tork, already a capable musician, was the exception. His song 'For Pete's Sake' played over the second season credits and he wrote songs including 'Shades of Gray' and 'Aunt Grizelda' for several LPs.
Beyond the sitcom, the original Monkees line-up released six albums and topped the Billboard charts with four of them. Hits for the band included 'Last Train to Clarksville', 'Pleasant Valley Sunday', 'Daydream Believer' and 'I'm a Believer'. They went on a series of successful tours and made feature film 'Head', although the film failed to do much business at the box office.
In the late '60s Tork left The Monkees to pursue other projects and went on to have a low-key music career through the '70s and '80s while also working as a teacher. The Monkees separated not long after Tork's departure, but MTV re-runs of the TV show and an accompanying bump in record sales prompted a resurgence of interest in the band. Spurred by the renewed interest, in 1986 Tork got together with Mickey Dolenz to record new track 'That Was Then, This Is Now'. It was included in a compilation of Monkees hits and proved popular with fans. Later that year The Monkees (minus Nesmith) got back together for a successful reunion tour and in 1987 cut a new album 'Pool It!'. The band continued to perform periodically for the rest of Tork's life, with Nesmith re-joining the other three briefly to record 'Justus' in 1996 and for the UK leg of their 1997 tour.
Beyond The Monkees Tork began producing solo work in the '90s. 'Stranger Things Have Happened' was an exploration of his folk and blues roots and he recorded two albums 'Two Man Band' and 'Once Again' with James Lee Stanley. He also formed Shoe Suede Blues, a blues band which released its debut album 'Saved By the Blues' in 2003. 'Cambria Hotel' (2007), 'Step By Step' (2013) and 'Relax Your Mind: Honoring the Music of Leadbelly' (2018) followed. In 2009 Tork went public with his diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma. He underwent radiation treatment, but eventually succumbed to the disease on 21st February 2019 at the age of 77.
