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Peter, Paul and Mary (often PP&M) was one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s. The trio comprised Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey, and Mary Travers.
The group was created by producer Albert Goldman, who sought to create a folk "supergroup" by bringing together "a tall blonde (Travers), a funny guy (Stookey), and a good looking guy (Yarrow)". He launched the group in 1961, booking them into the Bitter End, a coffee shop in New York City's Greenwich Village that was a favorite place to hear folk artists. The group recorded their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, the following year. The album was listed on Billboard Magazine Top Ten list for ten months and in the top one hundred for over three years.
By 1963, they had recorded three albums, released the now-famous song "Puff the Magic Dragon," which Yarrow originally wrote in 1958, and performed another major hit, their cover of "If I Had a Hammer" at the March on Washington, best remembered for Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. For many years after, the group was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and other causes promoting social justice. The later hit "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was actually written by the then unknown John Denver.
The trio broke up in 1970, following Yarrow's conviction for taking "improper liberties" with a 14 year old child. (He was pardoned by then-president Jimmy Carter after serving three months of a one to three year sentence).
The members pursued separate solo careers, but none had a fraction of the success they did as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release. They have periodically performed together on an irregular basis since 1978 and have issued several new albums.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Discography
- 2004 Carry It On
- 2004 In These Times
- 1999 Songs of Conscience and Concern
- 1998 The Collection
- 1998 Around The Campfire
- 1996 Lifelines Live
- 1995 PPM& (Lifelines)
- 1993 Peter, Paul and Mommy, Too
- 1990 Flowers & Stones
- 1988 A Holiday Celebration
- 1986 No Easy Walk To Freedom
- 1983 Such Is Love
- 1978 Reunion
- 1970 Ten Years Together
- 1969 Peter, Paul and Mommy
- 1968 Late Again
- 1967 In Japan
- 1967 Album 1700
- 1966 Album
- 1965 See What Tomorrow Brings
- 1965 A Song Will Rise
- 1964 In Concert
- 1963 In The Wind
- 1963 (Moving)
- 1962 Peter, Paul and Mary
Videography
- 2004 Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On - A Musical Legacy
- 1996 Peter, Paul & Mary: Lifelines Live
- 1993 Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too
- 1988 Peter, Paul & Mary Holiday Concert
- 1986 Peter, Paul & Mary 25th Anniversary Concert
Song sample
External links
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