Why Peter Tork Wanted To Leave ‘The Monkees’ After Season 1

The Monkees was created as a fictional rock ‘n roll band in a TV series to ride on the popularity of The Beatles. The sitcom series detailed four amateur characters (who later became a real musical group, The Monkees band outside the show): Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork pursuing a dream of starting a rock ‘n roll band.

Despite the show’s success, Peter Tork was the first to leave The Monkees band in 1968. Unknown to fans, he had wanted to call it quits since season one of the TV series. A year after his exit, the show ended and Tork expressed his delight that he was no longer part of The Monkees. “Actually, it was easier for me after the TV show was canceled,” Tork revealed in an interview with Tiger Beat magazine. “Doing the TV show was the worst.”

Tork revealed why he wanted to leave The Monkees

Tork was quite clear on why he wanted to leave The Monkees. In his 1969 interview with Tiger Beat magazine, he revealed that acting was new to him, and the work demand was a lot. “I wanted to leave the group way back when the first season ended, but they convinced me not to,” Tork revealed. “I didn’t care about all the things happening and the acclaim, and I hated the work. It was tough work, and I didn’t like it. I wanted to record all my life.”

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“The pressure was awful. We were working in an incredibly new environment,” he continued. “Half of the crew on the show was young and had very little experience at that level of work. Many of them were getting their first big break.”

Tork Preferred Music To Acting

Before the fame, Tork spent years with other musicians as a banjo player in New York’s Greenwich Village club scene. One of his musician friends at the time was Stephen Stills, who told Tork about a Variety ad seeking lead characters for a series. Tork and Stills auditioned for the roles with other musician friends of theirs. Tork was eventually hired alongside Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, and Micky Dolenz— forming The Monkees and playing as the band on-set.

However, Tork did not enjoy being an actor as much as he did recording. The band recorded and released their first single, “Last Train To Clarksville” before the series debuted and their album and single topped the Billboard charts at number one within a month of their release. “… You know, there were moments here and there— lots of good, funny stuff happening throughout— but the only time I was really happy was when we were recording the ‘Headquarters’ album,” Tork said, comparing his time on the film set to recording music.