View Full Version : RIP Mary Travers
JEStanek
Sep-17-2009, 7:30am
Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary passed last night after a long bout with leukemia. While not a lot of mandolin content, except for Paul Prestopino's masterful additions to their sound, her passing leaves a void in the folk singer world.
I was fortunate enough to meet her several times as my wife's dad was their travel manager early in their career. Mary was always very gracious and told plenty of stories about Shannon's dad.
As a performer, she was, even in recent years, a vibrant figure on stage and I could still see and hear the passion for what she was doing. If only we all could find such joy and purpose in our own vocations. Rest in peace, Mary.
Jamie
MikeEdgerton
Sep-17-2009, 7:53am
The first songs I learned on the guitar were from a Peter, Paul, and Mary songbook. She added greatly to a wonderful sound.
Rick Schmidlin
Sep-17-2009, 8:18am
She will be missed for her wonderfull voice, and the songs she helped to bring us.
Yes, R.I.P. to a wonderful American songstress.
I was in a band with Paul Prestopino and he told many a story about P, P & M.
Dan Hoover
Sep-17-2009, 8:32am
very sad..some of the earliest memories i have,Peter,Paul & Mary always on tv somewhere...loved their John Denver covers..."Follow Me".....what a voice...
jim_n_virginia
Sep-17-2009, 10:43am
yeah RIP Mary.
And what is amazing is the legacy they left behind. PP&M songs will be around forever and almost everyone can sing one of their songs they made famous.
AlanN
Sep-17-2009, 10:46am
The Lost & Found grassed up Where Have All The Flowers Gone, in a very beautiful and gentle way.
Rick Schmidlin
Sep-17-2009, 12:19pm
The Lost & Found grassed up Where Have All The Flowers Gone, in a very beautiful and gentle way.
That is a song I play almost every day.
pickloser
Sep-17-2009, 1:04pm
The first songs I learned on the guitar were from a Peter, Paul, and Mary songbook. She added greatly to a wonderful sound.
I too learned first from what I'll bet was that same songbook. It's tattered and worn, but I still have it. She had a beautiful voice, and from all accounts, she was a beautiful person. I'll be playing some of those songs in her honor tonight. Rest in Peace, Mary, and thank you.
Santiago
Sep-17-2009, 2:03pm
And PP&M introduced us to Bob Dylan and John Denver.
Bruce Evans
Sep-17-2009, 2:05pm
Where Have All the Flowers Gone might have been the very first song I learned to play on the guitar. It was written by Pete Seeger, but PP&M did the definitive version. I can see her in my mind's eye shaking her head for emphasis with that long, straight, blonde hair.
Paul Kotapish
Sep-17-2009, 5:40pm
The first LP I ever owned as a kid was the original PP&M record--a gift on my 10th birthday back in 1962. Not long after that my folks took me to see them perform at an amphitheather in D.C.--they were all fabulous, and Mary was a particularly mesmerizing performer. Even though I tend to prefer rougher-edged music these days, their sound is still evocative 47 years on. Thanks for the gift, Mary.
Charley wild
Sep-17-2009, 9:31pm
She was a great talent. You always felt you could just walk up to her and say hello. Probably could. In fact the group had that same quality. Just good people. They were interesting in that I've known a lot of people who weren't in their political scope by any means but still liked and respected them. They were hard to dislike. They were a special group and she was a special person.
RIP
allenhopkins
Sep-18-2009, 1:51am
Paul Prestopino took me backstage to meet PP&M when they played the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center, maybe a decade ago. What time and illness did to Mary! But from what I heard, she never wanted to quit, always looking forward to and planning another performance even as her health slipped away.
The group got all kinds of flak from the folk purists back in the '60's, along with Baez, Dylan, Ochs, Erik Darling (one of my personal heroes), the Kingston Trio, and the other "Top 40" folkies. But how many of my generation were introduced to traditional music, bluegrass, blues, and other styles by first listening to the "folk" songs that we heard on AM radio? And the commitment of performers like PP&M, Baez, Dylan and the others to social justice, peace, and civil rights made their music a force for change.
I'll miss her a lot: A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys...or beautiful young folk singers.
Fretsman
Sep-18-2009, 5:09am
I'll miss her a lot: A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys...or beautiful young folk singers.
My fav song as a kid was Puff The Magic Dragon... RIP.
Capt. E
Sep-18-2009, 9:10am
The "children's" songs (not really just for kids, of course) are among my favorites. Heck, it is very hard to pick a favorite PP&M song. Mary will be missed deeply, but she lives on in the music, a gift to the world.
mandroid
Sep-18-2009, 9:29am
"The Great Mandala" that she co-wrote, is a very powerful song , on Non Violent resistance to War.
a member of Veterans for Peace
MikeEdgerton
Sep-18-2009, 9:31am
...Heck, it is very hard to pick a favorite PP&M song...
You're right on there, my two favorites are:
The Great Mandala (The Wheel of Life) and The House Song.
Neither were top 40 hits and I'll hazard a guess that the majority of folks here never heard either.
Added: OK, so two of us heard one of them :)
Mattg
Sep-18-2009, 10:43am
The group got all kinds of flak from the folk purists back in the '60's,.
The mark of a true artist.
Mary Travers is an American treasure. I Think I'll spend some time listening to PP&M today.
Jon Hall
Sep-18-2009, 9:08pm
My passion for music was lit on the 3rd row, center of a PP&M concert in 61 -62. I was 13 then and I've never gotten over it. The photo in my mind from that evening is the cover of the "in Concert" album. A personal all-time favorite is Mary's re-titled John Denver song "For Baby".
None of my young guitar students had heard of PP&M. so their homework, along with practicing, was to watch PP&M on youtube.
Marcus CA
Sep-18-2009, 11:14pm
I too learned first from what I'll bet was that same songbook. It's tattered and worn, but I still have it.
Me, too.
My mother took me to a PP&M concert from the tour that the double-disk In Concert album was recorded on. You really get the sense of the power and beauty of their music from that. I still remember how dynamic their version of "If I Had My Way" was live, with three voices, two guitars, and an upright bass.
They were the classic example of 1 + 1 + 1 being far less than the three together. Their solo albums were nice, but their ensemble albums were majestic at times.
Peter, Paul, and Mary established the formula for Marty, Paul, and Grace. You take two guys with nice voices, and you send the lightning bolt of a strong female voice through them. Mary definitely had much to be proud of.