Remembering Peter Tork

I just learned yesterday of the passing of Peter Tork,

a member of one of the most iconic television pop rock bands

of the mid-1960's, The Monkees.

The Monkees

From the upper left: Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Mike Nesmith

The Monkees were a regular part of my early childhood,

although I really do not remember watching them when

the show originally aired as part of the weekly prime time 

television line up for I was only two years old when
they first premiered in 1966.

I  became a big fan of The Monkees when the show

aired in syndication during the early to mid 1970's.

Watching the hilarious adventures of the four

hapless musicians trying to break into show business,

and dancing around the living room to their records being

played on my parents' big RCA television stereo console

 remain some of my happiest growing up memories.

Referred to as the "lovable dummy" member of the

  the pop quartet,  Peter was always stumbling into trouble or in love,
and he, along with Micky, Mike and Davy shared an an alter-ego 
 as one of the fantastic Monkee Men, flying around town in their
oh-so-cool customized red Pontiac GTO,  in real life, Peter Tork

 was a gifted musician who played the keyboard and

 base guitar for the band.  He also co-wrote, along with Joey Richards,

the song, "For Pete's Sake" which played during the closing credits

on the second season of The Monkees.

Peter Halsten Thorkelson

Peter Tork

(1942-2019)

May He Rest In Peace

This song seems to capture the essence of mid-to-late 1960's America,

when the rise of the anti-establishment, counter-culture revolution

 swept the nation,  a time which was often marked by

violent, anti-war protests, racial tensions, and political chaos.

Along with the changes occurring within our society at the time 

came the message of the peaceful flower children, with their painted 

 faces and love beads, declaring that love and empathy and

 the unrestricted freedom to live and let live was the answer

to the problems facing their generation.

However, unless the freedom to do as we please is

tempered with an individual moral responsibility and 

   having regard for the laws, both of God and of man
 which entitle us to our personal liberty,

as well as respecting those whose job it is to

uphold and enforce these laws, the concept of 

unrestricted freedom can quickly dissolve into 

a nightmare of political and social chaos, as we
are seeing once again in America today.