Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul and Mary) has died

[Kevin Slater]

I can't believe how sad this makes me.

 

Kevin Slater

[Guest timgetrum]

It is sad, and there are great memories. Trivia. Who wrote "I'm Leavin' on a Jet Plane?" I can remember listening to that song just after I took off in the early 70s from LA, heading to the east cost on a 747.

[mmk123]

The song was written by John Denver

 

It is very sad about Mary Travers. She had such a beautiful, soulful voice and she will be missed.

 

It is sad that it seems that this past year so many celebrities and pop icons have passed away. Maybe I am just getting older but this year definitely seems to have a higher death rate than in other years.

[+ Lucky]

Kevin, I am interested in how you became a fan as Mary was in her heyday before you were born!

When I was in high school a local radio station had a concert for PP&M. Since the radio dial was 81, it only cost 81 cents to get in. It was general admission at the huge coliseum, so my friends all lined up early to get in.

Lazy me, however, waited until the last minute, and, when I arrived, some guy offered me a ticket. I looked at the woman in the booth, and she nodded as though the ticket was good. Well, it was. It was for the VIP section up front. All of my friends were much further back.

 

The next time I saw PP &M I was in college. My seat was way up in the balcony and cost more than 81 cents. But, it was the first concert I attended with maryjane, so I didn't care.

 

I'll remember her fondly. We saw her at the local bookstore after the concert and she was as everyday as she could be.

[Guest LeoWalker]

Whoa. This may seem a bit inappropriate...but makes me feel a bit like I should make a stronger effort to see ABBA while they're on tour...as they and PP&M are two groups that I want to see...but just haven't made a strong effort to...and now I can't.

 

I'd agree, this year has a very high death toll.

[Kippy]

I love P,P & M. I am a great devotee of folk music-1956-1965, until it's untimely death with Bob Dylan's electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival. Along with the Chad Mitchell Trio they are some of the best! This is sad news indeed!

 

Peace,

 

Kipp

[Kevin Slater]

Kevin, I am interested in how you became a fan as Mary was in her heyday before you were born!

 

Thanks for asking. I can't even recall when I first became aware of them, but their show which aired every year during the PBS pledgeathon was always simply beautiful. My first car was a used VW Squareback (god I loved that car) with a cheap after-market tape deck and I would listen to PP&M on what was probably the first tape I ever owned.

 

Kevin Slater

[Rick Munroe]

makes me feel a bit like I should make a stronger effort to see ABBA while they're on tour....

 

ABBA is on tour??

[Guest LeoWalker]

ABBA is on tour??

 

Ok, you're right...I feel a bit stupid. I knew PP&M had recently been on tour if not currently...from the last time I checked their website. A couple months ago I was walking down a road in Denver and stopped at a local coffee shop to look through the advertisements...walla...ABBA at the Red Rocks. Got excited and then realized I was going to miss the concert by about 2 days to continue on with my schedule so didn't give it another thought. Just researched...it was "Music of ABBA"...a Swedish cover band.

 

Granted, not to sidetrack further, I *did* see another chance I missed to listen to Jessye Norman perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall maybe just a couple weeks ago...as I now believe she's retired.

[david]

She was a product of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, Louisville to be exact.

[+ Charlie]

Jessye Norman retired?! Good grief! I remember seeing her first performance at Covent Garden when she was in her 20s.

[+ Charlie]

I used to buy each new PP&M LP as soon as it came out. I saw them in concert in NYC sometime in the early 1960s, and was amazed that they still sounded almost the same forty years later.

[Guest LeoWalker]

Jessye Norman retired?! Good grief! I remember seeing her first performance at Covent Garden when she was in her 20s.

 

Again, sorry:

 

"After more than thirty years on stage, Norman no longer performs ensemble opera, concentrating instead on recitals and concerts."

 

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1674

 

Not retired, but I doubt I'll ever hear her perform "Dido's Lament" (When I am laid in earth) from Purcell's Dido and Æneas live:

[+ Charlie]

When her first operatic performances received less than stellar reviews (she was very wooden onstage), she stopped and did only concerts for awhile. When she decided to resume staged opera performances, she began small with "Dido and Aeneas" at the Philadelphia Opera, and I was there; it was an exciting night.

[+ Lucky]

Leo Walker may be the hottest fuck on the planet, or at least the sexiest nomad, but he gets a prize for most inaccurate information in hijacking a thread .

[KMEM]

What is that prize? Are you going to hook up Leo Walker and Greatness? One word from you and it is a done deal.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ Lucky]

The prize is attention! He gets noticed, and that helps his business. Especially with Abba and Opera lovers!

[Guest jaighbos]

I, too, am really saddened by Mary's passing. I have a brother who's 14 years older than I am and I was privileged to hear a lot of music that I wouldn't ordinarily have heard at the age I was. PP&M, Simon & Garfunkle, the Hermit's Hermits, etc. But I always remembers PP&M's passion and commitment to their music and the words behind them. AND, may I add, that when she was young she was HOT!

[+ purplekow]

The prize is attention! He gets noticed, and that helps his business. Especially with Abba and Opera lovers!

I love ABBA operas. Don't think Mr. Walker is hurting for attention and I doubt these little errors generate 1% of the attention his smoking body does.

[TruthBTold]

It was interesting. We have one of those monitors in our elevator that lists news. Whenever a person in their 50-60's got on and read about Mary Traver's passing, they took in a short breath and let out a low moan. They were an institution.

[JT Brooklyn]

R. I. P. Mary Your Music will always Live On!

[Guest Tristan]

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

 

I can't believe how sad this makes me.

 

Kevin Slater

 

 

I too was very sad to hear about Mary Travers. It wasn't just about Mary, or even PP&M. She was a symbol of an era of the best in folk music the likes of which will never be repeated. There was so much talent.

 

This was the era of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie, Mimi (JB's sister) and Richard Farina, Pete Seeger, Richie Havens and so many more. I saw them all live in concert, or in an informal campus coffee house.

 

I had the good fortune of seeing PP&M in concert in 1963, just about 1-2 years after they became nationally known. It was very informal. We sat on the floor of the college gym. I can't even remember if there was any ticket admission. Mary had a sister attending the college.

 

On an interesting note, PP&M actually help make Bob Dylan a star by singing his songs. Two of them are: "Blowin' In The Wind" and "The Times They Are A Changin". They both had the same manager, who designed the strategy. You can read all about their history and connection to Dylan at:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter,_Paul_and_Mary

 

PP&M sang many songs written by other folk artists. Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes wrote "If I Had A Hammer". Pete Seeger, along with others, sang "This Land Is Your Land" at the Obama inaugural concert. The song was written by Woody Guthrie, the father of modern American folk music. The fact that PP&M sang a lot of songs written by others in no way detracts from their contribution to folk music. On the contrary, they made these songs hits because the group was so popular. And their renditions were appealing to many people. So I mention this as an interesting side note, of which many people are unaware.

 

I came across a site with videos of ten of their top songs. The sound is not great on every one, but worth checking out just to see and hear them.

 

http://listicles.thelmagazine.com/2009/09/top-10-peter-paul-and-mary-songs/

[Guest LeoWalker]

Thanks guys for the attention.

 

Good post Tristan, I prefer their version of blowin' in the wind. As well...Pete Seeger spoke in a video interview giving credit to PP&M for actually bringing the song alive and giving it better rhythm. It's been about 2-3 years since I saw that interview clip on youtube...and wasn't able to find it now.

 

Both of those songs...I love.