The latest episode of our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast celebrates the life and music of Peter Tork, with previously unheard interview audio and more. Andy Greene and Rob Sheffield join host Brian Hiatt to discuss Tork’s place in music history, while also tracing the Monkees’ broader story and making a case for their greatness.
The show includes portions of Tork’s 2007 interview with Rolling Stone, recently published for the first time, in which he defends his band. “As to whether the Monkees could play their own instruments,” Tork said, “the usual joke is that no, we all played borrowed instruments, and we went out on the road and played our own hits, and it was kind of funny. That’s almost exactly what the Byrds and the Beach Boys did, and the Byrds, after all, were playing other people’s songs with other musicians in the studio.”
To hear the entire episode, press play below or download and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify, and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Fleetwood Mac, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, Gary Clark Jr. and many more – plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions and debates. Tune in Fridays at 1 p.m. ET to hear the show broadcast live on Sirius XM’s Volume, channel 106.