Peter, Paul and Mary Biography, Photos and Posters

Peter, Paul and Mary

Biography

Started: 1961
Debuted: Bitter End, Greenwich Village, New York
Instrument: Guitar and Vocal
Music Training:
Awards: 1999 inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Top Recordings: "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff (the Magic Dragon)," "Blowin' In The Wind," “Lemon Tree,” "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "I Dig Rock and Roll Music"
Peter, Paul and Mary biography: The group consisting of Mary Travers, Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey started its career in New York's Greenwich Village. The flaxen haired Mary had grown up in theVillage and was well known at the Washington Square Sunday singing event. She had already been singing professionally with the "Song Swappers" a group that had recorded with folk singer Pete Seeger. Petercame to the Village after receiving his degree in psychology from Cornell to try his hand at folk singing and Noel, who played guitar and had his own band in High school, was now trying his luck as a standup comic fresh from Michigan State. This was a time of enormous creative energy in the Village and it was here that the 3 met. After rehearsing for several months in Mary's 3 flight walk up apartment the trio was ready for their debut at the Bitter End. From there they moved on to Chicago's Gate of Horn and San Francisco's Hungry I. Following a successful performance at New York's Blue Angel nightclub the group toured non-stop for 10 straight years.

The trio's first LP Peter, Paul and Mary was released by Warner Records in 1962. The album was in the top 10 for 10 months and the top 20 for 2 whole years. The most successful single from the album "If I Had a Hammer" was embraced by the civil rights movement. More then just folk singersthe group has been involved in social protest and upheaval since their beginning appearing alongside Dr. Martin Luther King in both Selma and Washington DC. They were deeply involved in the anti-Vietnam Was movement during the 60s and early 70s. In 1963 the group had 3 albums among Billboard's top 6. To this day the group remains active on both the music and the socio-political fronts. The group broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers.

The group reunited in 1978 for a concert protesting nuclear energy. They continued to perform and record together through 2009. In 2004 Mary Travers was diagnosed with leukemia. On September 16, 2009, the Peter, Paul and Mary trio came to an end when Mary died, at age 72 of complication from her chemotherapy treatment for her leukemia.

Search Site by Artist:

Create search engine for website.