Peter Tork of The Monkees passed away today at the age of 77. This one hits home for me particularly since it seemed not a day of my childhood went by without one or both of my parents singing to me "Mary, Mary, where you going to?" Imagine my happiness when my radio spots started and they told me that song would be the lead in for my segment! The Monkees were a big part of mine, and most people's, childhoods and I'm deeply saddened by Peter's passing.
Tork's sister spoke with the Washington Post saying the guitarist had battled a particularly rare form of cancer for the past decade but didn't specify an exact cause of death. Through those 10 years he was able to keep up an active musical life, playing in Monkees reunion shows as recently as 2016.
"While the Monkees were a manufactured, television-centric, American version of the Beatles as depicted in “A Hard Day’s Night,” Tork and fellow guitarist Mike Nesmith were serious musicians who paid their dues on the folk and rock scenes of the early 1960s; vocalist Davy Jones and singer/drummer Micky Dolenz were former child actors. Tork played the “Ringo” role in the group, as a charming and goofy comic foil.
Read the original article here. RIP Peter.