Happy Birthday to Peter Tork of the Monkees, who turns 76 today (February 13th)!!! Prior to moving to Los Angeles and being cast in the Monkees in late 1965, Tork — whose real name is Thorkelston — had made a name for himself in the Greenwich Village folk scene, performing with various members of the Lovin’ Spoonful and briefly dating “Mama” Cass Elliot. It was Stephen Stills, a friend from his folk days, who convinced him to audition for the Monkees pilot.

During his original four-year-stint in the band, Tork sang lead on several of the group’s album tracks, including, “Auntie Grizelda” and “Shades Of Gray.” Out of all the group’s members — Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Mike Nesmith — Tork was by far the most musically accomplished, playing guitar, bass, banjo and keyboards during the group’s ’60s shows and recording sessions.

However, it was Tork’s songwriting, on such tracks as the Monkees’ outgoing theme song, “For Pete’s Sake,” and “Can You Dig It?” from their 1968 Head soundtrack, that made him stand apart from his more popular bandmates.