Peter, Paul and Mary

Last updated
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary publicity photo.jpg
Left to right: Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow,
and Mary Travers, c. 1968
Background information
Origin New York City, U.S.
Genres
Discography Peter, Paul and Mary discography
Years active
  • 1961 (1961)–1970 (1970)
  • 1978 (1978)–2009 (2009)
Labels Warner Bros.
Past members
Website peterpaulandmary.com

Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), and Mary Travers (contralto vocals). [1] The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan, and covers of other folk musicians. They were enormously successful in the early- and mid-1960s, with their debut album topping the charts for weeks, and helped popularize the folk music revival. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names. [2]

Contents

Mary Travers said she was influenced by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers. [3] In the 2004 documentary Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On — A Musical Legacy, members of the Weavers discuss how Peter, Paul and Mary took over the torch of the social commentary of folk music in the 1960s.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Peter, Paul and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.

History

Early years and popularity (1961–1969)

The trio performing at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Entertainment, Vocalists Peter, Paul, and Mary.) - NARA - 542019.jpg
The trio performing at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.

Manager Albert Grossman created Peter, Paul and Mary in 1961, after auditioning several singers in the New York folk scene, including Dave Van Ronk, who was rejected as too idiosyncratic and uncommercial, and Carolyn Hester. After rehearsing Yarrow, Stookey and Travers out of town in Boston and Miami, Grossman booked them into The Bitter End, a coffee house, nightclub and popular folk music venue in New York City's Greenwich Village.

The group recorded their debut album, Peter, Paul and Mary , and it was released by Warner Bros. the following year. It included "Lemon Tree", "500 Miles", and the Pete Seeger hit tunes "If I Had a Hammer" (subtitled "The Hammer Song") and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" The album was listed in the Billboard Top Ten for 10 months, including seven weeks in the No. 1 position. It remained a main catalog-seller for decades to come, eventually selling over two million copies, earning double platinum certification from the RIAA in the United States alone.

In 1963 the group released "Puff, the Magic Dragon", with music by Yarrow and words based on a poem that had been written by a fellow student at Cornell, Leonard Lipton. Despite rumors that the song refers to drugs, it is actually about the lost innocence of childhood. [4] The same year, they appeared as the "mystery guest" on the CBS TV game show What's My Line? ; Dorothy Kilgallen correctly guessed their identity. [5]

That year the group performed "If I Had a Hammer" and "Blowin' in the Wind" at the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, best remembered for Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind" was one of their biggest hit singles. [6] They also sang other Dylan songs, such as "The Times They Are a-Changin'", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", [6] and "When the Ship Comes In". Their success with Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" helped Dylan's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album rise into the top 30; it had been released four months earlier. [7]

In December 1969 "Leaving on a Jet Plane", written by the group's friend John Denver, became their only No. 1 single (as well as their final top 40 pop hit) and the group's sixth million-selling gold single. The track first appeared on their million-selling platinum certified Album 1700 in 1967 (which also contained their No. 9 hit "I Dig Rock and Roll Music"). After Eugene McCarthy's strong showing in the 1968 New Hampshire presidential primary, the group recorded "Eugene McCarthy For President (If You Love Your Country)" endorsing McCarthy, which was released without a record label. [8] "Day Is Done", a No. 21 hit in June 1969 from the trio's Grammy Award-winning album Peter, Paul and Mommy , was the last Hot 100 hit the trio recorded.

Breakup (1970–1978)

The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers. Also that year, Yarrow was convicted of making sexual advances toward a 14-year-old girl. Years later, he received a presidential pardon from Jimmy Carter. [9] [10] [11]

During 1971 and 1972 Warner released a debut solo album, with the same style cover, by each member of the group. Travers did concerts and lectures across the United States. She also produced, wrote, and starred in a BBC-TV series. Stookey formed a Christian music group, the Body Works Band, and wrote "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of Eugene McCarthy. Britain's Petula Clark also recorded a version of the song, which in 1973 charted strongly in the UK, Australia and others. Yarrow co-wrote and produced Mary MacGregor's Torn Between Two Lovers (No. 1, 1977) and earned an Emmy for three animated TV specials based on "Puff the Magic Dragon". [12]

While the group was de facto broken up and touring separately, it still managed to come together for a series of reunions before officially coming back together again. In 1972, the trio reunited for Together for McGovern, a concert at Madison Square Garden to support George McGovern's presidential campaign, and again in 1978 for a concert to protest nuclear energy. This concert was followed by a 1978 summer reunion tour, including a September 3 evening performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. An album, Reunion, was released by Warner in 1978. [13]

Reunion (1981–2009)

Peter, Paul and Mary in 2006 Peter, Paul and Mary 2006.jpg
Peter, Paul and Mary in 2006

Their 1978 summer reunion tour was so popular that the group decided to reunite more or less permanently in 1981. They continued to record albums and tour, playing around 45 shows a year, until Travers's 2009 death. [14] After their reunion, double-bassist Dick Kniss (who had been their bassist in their studio recordings and with their 1960s tours) rejoined the group. Starting in 1990, multi-instrumentalist Paul Prestopino also joined the group.

According to the flow of the times, they derived a way to change the lyrics of their songs; boys in the "Puff" became boys and girls, and dark side in the "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" became black side. Some of their new songs, like "Don't Go Down To The Quarry" that criticizes an evil bet, continue the tradition of protest songs. The trio received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award on September 1, 1990. [15]

In 2004, Travers was diagnosed with leukemia, leading to the cancellation of that year's remaining tour dates. She received a bone marrow transplant. She and the rest of the trio resumed their tour on December 9, 2005, with a holiday performance at Carnegie Hall.

The trio canceled several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Travers had to undergo a second surgery. [14] She was unable to perform on the trio's tour in mid-2009 because of the effects of leukemia, but Yarrow and Stookey performed the scheduled dates as a duo, calling the show "Peter & Paul Celebrate Mary and 5 Decades of Friendship".

On September 16, 2009, Travers died at age 72, of complications from chemotherapy, following treatment for leukemia. [16] It was the same year Peter, Paul and Mary were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Discography

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puff, the Magic Dragon</span> 1963 song by Peter, Paul and Mary

"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1962 recording released in January 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Stookey</span> American singer-songwriter

Noel Paul Stookey is an American singer-songwriter who was famous for being a member of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary; however, he has been known by his first name, Noel, throughout his life. Nowadays, he continues to work as a singer and an activist, performing as a solo artist, and occasionally with former-bandmate Peter Yarrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blowin' in the Wind</span> 1963 single by Bob Dylan

"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Travers</span> American folk singer (1936–2009)

Mary Allin Travers was an American singer-songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. Travers grew up amid the burgeoning folk scene in New York City's Greenwich Village, and she released five solo albums. She sang in the contralto range.

The Folksmen are a fictitious American folk music trio, conceived and performed by actors-comedians-musicians Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. Originally created in 1984 for a Saturday Night Live sketch, the Folksmen have subsequently maintained an intermittent public presence for more than twenty-five years. The trio is best known for its depiction in the mockumentary film A Mighty Wind (2003), but has also made a number of meta-performances on stage and television, often in conjunction with the same creators' fictitious heavy metal band, Spinal Tap.

<i>Peter, Paul and Mommy</i> 1969 studio album by Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mommy, released on Warner Bros. in 1969, is the trio Peter, Paul and Mary's first children's album. It contains hits like "Puff the Magic Dragon", among others. The album reached No. 12 on Billboard's Top LPs chart. The single "Day is Done" reached number 7 on the Easy Listening chart and number 21 on the Pop Singles chart.

Carolyn Sue Hester is an American folk singer and songwriter. She was a figure in the early 1960s American folk music revival.

<i>Album 1700</i> 1967 studio album by Peter, Paul & Mary

Album 1700 is the seventh studio album by American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1967. It produced the band's most successful and final hit, a recording of the John Denver song "Leaving on a Jet Plane". The album peaked at number 15 on Billboard magazine's Top LP chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Folk Performance category. Album 1700 was so named because its original LP issue was Warner Bros. Records catalog number W-1700 for the mono version and WS-1700 for the stereo version. It stayed on the charts and rose again in 1969, thanks to the single release of "Leaving on a Jet Plane".

<i>Peter, Paul and Mary</i> (album) 1962 studio album by Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary is the debut studio album by American folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in May 1962 on Warner Bros. Records. Released in both mono and stereo on catalog no. 1449, it is one of the rare folk albums to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart in the US, where it remained for over a month. The lead-off singles "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree" reached numbers 10 and 35 respectively on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was the group's biggest selling studio album, eventually certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. sales of more than two million copies.

<i>A Song Will Rise</i> 1965 studio album by Peter, Paul & Mary

A Song Will Rise is the fourth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1965.

<i>The Best of Peter, Paul and Mary: Ten Years Together</i> 1970 greatest hits album by Peter, Paul, and Mary

The Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary: Ten Years Together is a 1970 greatest hits release by American folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. It is the last album released before the group split up in 1970.

<i>Moving</i> (Peter, Paul and Mary album) 1963 studio album by Peter, Paul & Mary

Moving is the second album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in January 1963. The third single, "Puff, the Magic Dragon," was a huge hit and a defining song for the trio, reaching #2 on the Hot 100, #1 on the Easy Listening, and #10 on the R&B Charts.

<i>In the Wind</i> 1963 studio album by Peter, Paul and Mary

In the Wind is the third album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in October 1963, a few months before the arrival of the Beatles heralded the British Invasion. It was reissued on audio CD in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Yarrow</span> American singer and songwriter

Peter Yarrow is an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote one of the group's best known hits, "Puff, the Magic Dragon". He is also a political activist and has supported causes that range from opposition to the Vietnam War to school anti-bullying programs. Yarrow was convicted in 1970 of molesting a 14-year-old girl, for which he was pardoned in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.

<i>See What Tomorrow Brings</i> 1965 studio album by Peter, Paul & Mary

See What Tomorrow Brings is the fifth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1965.

<i>The Peter, Paul and Mary Album</i> 1966 studio album by Peter, Paul and Mary

The Peter, Paul and Mary Album, also known as Album, is the sixth studio album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1966.

<i>In Concert</i> (Peter, Paul and Mary album) 1964 live album by Peter, Paul & Mary

In Concert is a live album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1964. It was compiled from concerts at San Francisco, Sacramento, Long Beach in California; Daytona Beach, Florida and Terre Haute, Indiana. Supporting the trio, Dick Kniss plays bass. It was digitally re-mixed and re-mastered and released on CD in 1989.

<i>Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too</i> 1993 live album by Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too, released on Warner Bros. in 1993, is a children's album by the trio Peter, Paul and Mary. It was recorded on October 31 and November 1, 1992, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater. The album follows from the first children's album they released in 1969, Peter, Paul and Mommy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter, Paul and Mary (EP)</span>

Peter, Paul and Mary (EP) was an EP 45 rpm record by the American folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released on Warner Brothers and Decca Records in the UK in 1963, WEP 6114, in mono. The record reached #3 in the British EP charts.

<i>No Easy Walk to Freedom</i> 1986 studio album by Peter, Paul and Mary

No Easy Walk to Freedom is a 1986 studio album by American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Its release coincided with the group's 25th anniversary. Produced by John McClure and Peter Yarrow, the album was nominated in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.

References

  1. ↑ Holden, Stephen (March 20, 1986). "Pop: Peter, Paul and Mary". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Peter, Paul & Mary's Peter Yarrow & Noel Paul Stookey - Interviews - Tavis Smiley - PBS". Tavis Smiley - PBS.
  3. ↑ William Ruhlmann (April 12, 1996). "Beginnings". Peter, Paul and Mary A song to sing all over this land. Goldmine. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  4. ↑ "Just A Minute With: Peter Yarrow". Reuters. 6 March 2008.
  5. ↑ "What's My Line?". CBS . Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  6. 1 2 Peter Yarrow interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  7. ↑ "Mary Travers", The Times (obituary), September 18, 2009
  8. ↑ "1968 45-RPM Eugene McCarthy Campaign Recording: Peter, Paul, & Mary". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10.
  9. ↑ Kiernan, Laura A. (7 February 1981). "Folk Singer Peter Yarrow Pardoned by Carter". The Washington Post .
  10. ↑ "Peter Yarrow, Folk Singer, Gets 3-Month Jail Sentence". The New York Times. 15 September 1970. p. 53.(Associated Press, 14 September 1970)
  11. ↑ Hasson, Judi (6 February 1981). "Yarrow pardoned for morals offense". United Press International.
  12. ↑ "Hall of Fame Foundation". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 10, 2019.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  14. 1 2 "Tour Schedule". Peterpaulandmary.com.
  15. ↑ "The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List". Archived from the original on February 14, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies". The New York Times . September 16, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.