Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961, during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio was composed of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Noel Paul Stookey and contralto[1] Mary Travers. The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan as well as covers of other folk musicians. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.[2]

Peter, Paul and Mary
Left to right: Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow,
and Mary Travers, c. 1968
Background information
OriginNew York City, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1961 (1961)–1970 (1970)
    1981 (1981)–2009 (2009)
LabelsWarner Bros.
Websitepeterpaulandmary.com
Past members

Mary Travers said she was influenced by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers.[3] In the 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 (1961–1969)
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 Magazine 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]

That year the group performed "If I Had a Hammer" and "Blowin' in the Wind" at the 1963 March on Washington, best remembered for the Reverend 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.[5] They also sang other Dylan songs, such as "The Times They Are a-Changin'"; "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right,"[5] 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.[6]

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"). Following Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy's strong showing in the 1968 New Hampshire Primary, the group recorded "Eugene McCarthy For President (If You Love Your Country)" endorsing McCarthy, which was released without a record label.[7] "Day Is Done", a No. 21 hit in June 1969 from the trio's Grammy Award-winning Peter, Paul and Mommy album, was the last Hot 100 hit that the trio recorded.

Breakup (1970–1978)

The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers. Also during that year Peter Yarrow was convicted of making sexual advances toward a 14-year-old girl. Years later, Yarrow received a presidential pardon from Jimmy Carter.[8][9][10]

During 1971 and 1972 Warner released a debut solo album 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 called the Body Works Band and wrote "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of Eugene McCarthy, according to Stookey during an interview on the DVD Carry It On, released in 2004 by Rhino Records. 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."[11]

While the group was de facto broken up and touring separately, the trio 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 against nuclear energy. This concert was followed by a 1978 summer reunion tour. Included was a September 3 evening performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside of Denver, Colorado.

A reunion album (titled Reunion) was released by Warner in 1978. Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said the decision to cover Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" as a "rinky-dink reggae like these three geezers means you've been middle-aged and liberal since you were fifteen."[12]

Reconciliation (1981–2009)
Peter, Paul and Mary in 2006

The summer tour in 1978 proved so popular that the group decided to reunite more or less permanently in 1981. They continued to record albums together and tour, playing around 45 shows a year, until the 2009 death of Mary Travers.[13] The trio would be accompanied in concert by double-bassist Dick Kniss (who had been their bassist on their studio recordings and their 1960s tours) and, starting in 1990, by multi-instrumentalist Paul Prestopino.

The trio were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience on September 1, 1990.[14]

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

The trio cancelled several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Travers had to undergo a second surgery.[13] Travers was unable to perform on the trio's tour in mid-2009 because of the effects of leukemia, but Peter and Paul performed the scheduled dates as a duo, calling the show "Peter & Paul Celebrate Mary and 5 Decades of Friendship."

On September 16, 2009, Mary Travers died at the age of 72, of complications from chemotherapy, following treatment for leukemia.[15] It was the same year Peter, Paul and Mary were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Discography

Singles
Year Titles (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated		 Chart positions Certification Album
US
[16]		 US
AC
[17]		 US
R&B		 UK
[18]		 AUS
1962 "Lemon Tree"
B-side: "Early in the Morning"		 35 12 - - - Peter, Paul and Mary
"If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)"
B-side: "Gone the Rainbow" (from Moving)		 10 - - - 26
1963 "Puff (The Magic Dragon)"
B-side: "Pretty Mary"		 2 1 10 - 6 Moving
"Big Boat"
B-side: "Tiny Sparrow"		 93 - - - -
"Settle Down (Goin' Down That Highway)"
B-side: "500 Miles" (from Peter, Paul and Mary)		 56 14 - - -
"Blowin' in the Wind"
B-side: "Flora" (from Moving)		 2 1 - 13 11 In the Wind
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
B-side: "Autumn to May" (from Peter, Paul and Mary)		 9 2 - - 56
"Stewball"
B-side: "Cruel War" (from Peter, Paul and Mary)		 35 17 - - 89
"A Soalin'"
B-side: "Hush-A-Bye" (from In The Wind)		 - - - - 61 Moving
1964 "Tell it on the Mountain"
B-side: "Old Coat" (from Moving)		 33 7 - 33 8 In the Wind
"Oh Rock My Soul (Part 1)"
B-side: "Oh Rock My Soul (Part 2)"		 93 - - - 16 In Concert
"The Times They Are A-Changin'"
B-side: "Blue"		 - - - 44 - UK single
1965 "For Lovin' Me"
B-side: "Monday Morning"		 30 5 - - 36 A Song Will Rise
"When the Ship Comes In"
B-side: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" (from In Concert)		 91 23 - - 17[A]
"San Francisco Bay Blues"
B-side: "Come and Go With Me"		 - - - - 43[A]
"Early Mornin' Rain"
B-side: "The Rising of the Moon"		 91 13 - - 34 See What Tomorrow Brings
1966 "Cruel War" (from Peter, Paul and Mary)
B-side: "Mon Vrai Destin"		 52 4 - - - The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
"Hurry Sundown"
B-side: "Sometime Lovin'"		 123 37 - - -
"The Other Side of This Life"
B-side: "Sometime Lovin'"		 100 33 - - -
"For Baby (For Bobbie)"
B-side: "Hurry Sundown"		 - - - - -
1967 "I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
B-side: "The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life)"		 9 - - - 4 Album 1700
"Too Much of Nothing"
B-side: "The House Song" (from Album 1700)		 35 - - - 81 Late Again
1968 "Love City (Postcard from Duluth)"
B-side: "Yesterday's Tomorrow"		 113 - - - -
1969 "Day is Done"
B-side: "Make Believe Town"		 21 7 - - - Peter, Paul and Mommy
"Leaving on a Jet Plane"
B-side: "The House Song"		 1 1 - 2 30 US: Gold[19] Album 1700
"The Marvelous Toy"
B-side: "Christmas Dinner"		 - - - - - Peter, Paul and Mommy
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory
  • A ^ Charted as a double A-side in Australia

Albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certification
US
[20]		 UK
[21]
1962 Peter, Paul and Mary
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 1 18
1963 (Moving)
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 2 -
In the Wind
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 1 11
  • US: Gold
1964 In Concert
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 4 20
  • US: Gold
1965 A Song Will Rise
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 8 -
  • US: Gold
See What Tomorrow Brings
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 11 -
  • US: Gold
1966 The Peter, Paul and Mary Album
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 22 -
1967 Album 1700
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 15 -
  • US: Gold
1968 Late Again
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 14 -
1969 Peter, Paul and Mommy
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 12 -
  • US: Gold
1978 Reunion
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 106 -
1983 Such is Love
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
1986 No Easy Walk To Freedom
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 173 -
1990 Flowers & Stones
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
1995 Once Upon the Time
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
LifeLines
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
2000 Don't Laugh at Me
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
2004 In These Times
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 - -
2008 The Solo Recordings (1971–1972)
  • Released:
  • Label:
  • Format:
 - -

Extended play
Year Album details Peak chart positions
US UK[21]
1963 Peter, Paul and Mary
  • Released:
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Format:
 3

Compilations

Live albums
  • 1964: In Concert
  • 1983: Such Is Love
  • 1988: A Holiday Celebration
  • 1993: Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too
  • 1996: LifeLines Live
  • 2010: The Prague Sessions
  • 2012: Peter Paul and Mary Live in Japan, 1967 (two-disc expansion of an album previously released only in Japan)
  • 2014: Discovered: Live In Concert (collection of live songs from the 1980s onward that were never recorded in a studio)
  • List of number-one hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

Videography
  • 1986: Peter, Paul & Mary 25th Anniversary Concert
  • 1988: Peter, Paul & Mary Holiday Concert
  • 1993: Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too
  • 1996: Peter, Paul & Mary: Lifelines Live
  • 2004: Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On — A Musical Legacy

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.
  5. Peter Yarrow interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  6. "Mary Travers", The Times (obituary), September 18, 2009
  7. "1968 45-RPM Eugene McCarthy Campaign Recording: Peter, Paul, & Mary". YouTube.
  8. Kiernan, Laura A. (7 February 1981). "Folk Singer Peter Yarrow Pardoned by Carter". Washington Post.
  9. "Peter Yarrow, Folk Singer, Gets 3‐Month Jail Sentence". The New York Times. 15 September 1970. p. 53. (Associated Press, 14 September 1970)
  10. Hasson, Judi (6 February 1981). "Yarrow pardoned for morals offense". United Press International.
  11. "Hall of Fame Foundation". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
  12. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Robertchristgau.com. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  13. "Tour Schedule". Peterpaulandmary.com.
  14. "The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List". Archived from the original on February 14, 2009.
  15. "Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies". The New York Times. September 16, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  16. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 8th ed. Minneapolis: Watson-Guptill Publications, Incorporated, 2004. p488
  17. Peter, Paul and Mary. "Peter, Paul and Mary - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  18. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 593. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
  19. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  20. "Peter, Paul and Mary > Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard.
  21. "PETER, PAUL & MARY". Officialcharts.com.
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