Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were one of the most successful American folk groups of the 1960s. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (* 1938), Noel "Paul" Stookey (* 1937) and Mary Travers (1936-2009).
Band history
The group was started by the impresario Albert Grossman . He wanted to create a folk supergroup by bringing together "a tall blonde" (Travers), "a weird guy" (Stookey) and a "good looking guy" (Yarrow). The group first performed in 1961 at Bitter End, a coffee shop in New York's Greenwich Village that was a popular place to hear folk artists. The following year the group recorded their first album Peter, Paul and Mary . The album was featured in the top ten for ten months and in the top 100 list for over three years on Billboard Magazine .
By 1963 they had produced three LPs and released their hugely successful song Puff, the Magic Dragon , written by Yarrow in 1958. Another hit was their version of If I Had a Hammer (by Lee Hays / Pete Seeger ), which they also sang during the March on Washington for Work and Freedom , where Martin Luther King gave his famous speech I Have a Dream .
After their appearance there, the group was one of the best-known representatives of the civil rights movement in the following years and was also involved in other social issues. Her greatest success was Bob Dylan's song Blowin 'in the Wind , which also conquered the international hit lists - no Warner Bros. Records single has ever sold so quickly. Other titles by Bob Dylan, author of many protest songs of the 1968 movement , were also part of their repertoire, for example The Times They Are A-Changin ' and When the Ship Comes In . Her later number one hit, Leaving on a Jet Plane , was written by the then unknown John Denver .
The group members later attempted solo careers, but none have come close to the success they had together. However, Stookey's The Wedding Song (There Is Love) , which he wrote in 1971 for Yarrow's wedding ceremony to Marybeth McCarthy, a niece of Senator Eugene McCarthy , became a standard song for weddings. Since 1978, when the group got back together for a benefit concert on the occasion of a protest against nuclear power , the trio has performed together again and released several new albums. In 1999 the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame . Mary Travers contracted leukemia in 2004 and died on September 16, 2009.
occupation
- Peter Yarrow: guitar, voice ( tenor )
- Noel "Paul" Stookey: guitar, voice ( baritone )
- Mary Travers: voice ( mezzo-soprano )
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
US | |||
1962 | Peter, Paul and Mary |
US1 × 2
(117 weeks)US |
|
1963 | Moving |
US4th
gold
(69 weeks)US |
|
In the wind |
US1
gold
(80 weeks)US |
||
1964 | In concert |
US4th
gold
(43 weeks)US |
|
1965 | A Song Will Rise |
US8th
gold
(38 weeks)US |
|
See What Tomorrow Brings |
US11
gold
(39 weeks)US |
||
1966 | The Peter, Paul and Mary Album |
US22 (53 weeks) US |
|
1967 | Album 1700 |
US15th
platinum
(82 weeks)US |
|
1968 | Late again |
US14 (22 weeks) US |
|
1969 | Peter, Paul & Mommy |
US12
gold
(25 weeks)US |
|
1970 | Ten Years Together |
US15th × 2
(40 weeks)US |
|
1978 | Reunion |
US106 (7 weeks) US |
|
1986 | No Easy Walk To Freedom |
US173 (5 weeks) US |
More albums
- 1967: In Japan
- 1983: Such Is Love
- 1988: A Holiday Celebration
- 1990: Flowers and Stones
- 1993: Peter Paul & Mommy Too
- 1995: PP M & (LifeLines)
- 1996: Lifelines Live
- 1998: Around the Campfire
- 1998: The Collection - Reader's Digest Special Release
- 1999: Songs of Conscience and Concern
- 2004: In These Times
- 2004: Carry It On
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | UK | US | |||
1962 |
Lemon Tree Peter, Paul and Mary |
- | - |
US35 (8 weeks) US |
|
If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song) Peter, Paul and Mary |
- | - |
US10 (12 weeks) US |
||
Big Boat Moving |
- | - |
US93 (2 weeks) US |
||
1963 | Settle Down (Goin 'Down That Highway) Moving |
- | - |
US56 (6 weeks) US |
|
Puff (The Magic Dragon) Moving |
- | - |
US2 (14 weeks) US |
||
Blowing In The Wind In the Wind |
DE32 (1 week) DE |
UK13 (16 weeks) UK |
US2 (15 weeks) US |
||
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right In the Wind |
- | - |
US9 (10 weeks) US |
||
Stewball In the Wind |
- | - |
US35 (7 weeks) US |
||
1964 | Tell It On The Mountain |
- |
UK33 (4 weeks) UK |
US33 (7 weeks) US |
|
Oh, Rock My Soul (Part I) In Concert |
- | - |
US93 (3 weeks) US |
||
The Times They Are A-Changin ' |
- |
UK44 (2 weeks) UK |
- | ||
1965 | For Lovin 'Me A Song Will Rise |
- | - |
US30 (7 weeks) US |
|
When The Ship Comes In A Song Will Rise |
- | - |
US91 (3 weeks) US |
||
Early Morning Rain See What Tomorrow Brings |
- | - |
US91 (3 weeks) US |
||
1966 | The Cruel War The Peter, Paul and Mary Album |
- | - |
US52 (5 weeks) US |
|
The Other Side Of This Life The Peter, Paul and Mary Album |
- | - |
US100 (1 week) US |
||
1967 | I Dig Rock and Roll Music Album 1700 |
- | - |
US9 (11 weeks) US |
|
Too Much of Nothing Late Again |
- | - |
US35 (7 weeks) US |
||
1969 | Day is Done Peter, Paul and Mommy |
- | - |
US21 (10 weeks) US |
|
Leavin 'on a Jet Plane Album 1700 |
- |
UK2 (16 weeks) UK |
US1
gold
(17 weeks)US |
literature
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 430-432.
Web links
- http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/ Official website ( English )
- Vocal Group Hall of Fame page about PP & M ( English )