The Monkees' Bass Guitarist Peter Tork Dies At 77

The World Lost Great Talent! The Base Guitarist Of Rock Band The Monkees, Peter Tork Dies At The Age Of 77  

• Peter Tork died at the age of 77 on Thursday 21 February 2019, Tork's sister Anne Thorkelson confirmed the news. 
• His son Ivan Iannoli revealed the cause of his father's death was due to the rare cancer of the salivary gland, adenoid cystic carcinoma.
• The Ba s sist singer's bandmates paid tribute to him via social media.

Peter Tork aka Peter Halsten Thorkelson, the ba s sist and singer of the 1960s rock favorites the Monkees died on Thursday 21 February 2019 at the age of 77.  

The death news was confirmed by his sister Anne Thorkelson though she did not clarify the cause of his death. In 2009, the musician was diagnosed with a rare cancer of the salivary gland, adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Afterward, Micky Dolenz, a bandmate of the Monkees confirmed the news via Twitter: "There are no words right now...heartbroken over the loss of my Monkee brother, Peter Tork."

Also, the band's official Twitter paid tribute to Peter Tork with his short clip.

Tork's son Ivan Iannoli at the family home in Connecticut said his father died on Thursday morning. Ivan said: “Peter’s energy, intelligence, silliness, and curiosity were traits that for decades brought laughter and enjoyment to millions, including those of us closest to him. Those traits also equipped him well to take on cancer, a condition he met like everything else in his life, with unwavering humour and courage.”

He recently celebrated his 77th birthday last Wednesday on 13 February with his fourth wife Pam Tork and his children; Ivan Joseph Iannoli, Hallie Luia Tork and Erica Marie Tork.

His other bandmate Mike Nesmith in facebook showed his condolence writing: 

He continued: 'Pardon me if I am being dogmatic -- but I think it is harder to put together a band than a TV show -- not to take anything away from TV shows. These days I watch MSNBC -- mostly aghast at what I see -- and what I am missing is "madcap".

While digging into his health issues, Tork said to Dailymail, 'When I heard I had this cancer, I had a bloody good cry, and then it was a case of, "Right what do I do now?" 'They performed the surgery and I couldn't talk for about a day or two, but Pam came with me to hold my hand.'  

Later he even accepted that he was an alcoholic. He said, "After I drink I become awful snarling at the people".

Many popular artists including Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Tom Petty, Andy Kim, Penn Jillette, and Brian Wilson gave their condolence to the legendary guitarist.