As most of you likely already know, we lost Peter Tork on the 21st of February.
I guess it could be an advantage in being as isolated as i've been lately - for me, Peter was with us for a couple weeks longer. He passed peacefully, his family reported, at the age of 77. I'm sure others have already been reporting on his life and death. I've nothing new to add to the conversation. Instead, we'll go old - back to the 60s and, of course, The Monkees. Let's mix comics and articles (or excerpts) from 1967-68, all featuring Pete, of course -
For a final little brain melting bit of oddness - did you know that Jim Aparo drew a few Monkees comic strips?
In case you were wondering, Valleri was written by Boyce & Hart, so she's probably not actually from Pete's past.
So long, Pete. I'll miss you even though i'll hear you quite frequently.
The music lives on.
pages from The Monkees #s 6, 8, 13 & 16 (US), Monkees Annual '67 (UK), Meet The Monkees, TV Guide and Teen Times/Tunes (1967, 1968, unpub)
illustrations by -3- and Scott Shaw!
IIRC, Peter actually quit The Monkees in the late 1960s. They continued as a trio for about 10 or 15 minutes, then the band broke up and became "a thing of the past."
ReplyDeleteWhen they did a reunion tour in the mid-1980s, Peter rejoined, but that time, Mike Nesmith sat it out.
Yeah, in'68 he got tired of the hassles and the conflicts with Kirshner and pulled out of the group. He wound up focusing on the music and the next generation and started teaching.
ReplyDeleteAs you noted, he returned in the mid-80s and played & toured with the group over the next 25 years - in different configurations. Currently, Dolenz & Nesmith are running a Monkees tour the Mike & Mickey Show.
Even with no new albums since Then & Now, they're still one of the top selling bands of all time.
Managing to be Odd-Man-Out in a group of glorious oddballs, Pete's always had a special place in my heart. (Actually, all 4 of them do, for different reasons)
BTW - it should be mentioned that he didn't just break his contract and take off. Tork did actually buy the remainder of his contract.
DeleteHe did things the right way, y'know?