2600:1702:D30:B60:4DEE:8A5D:6C45:60BF: /* Breakup (1970–1978) */

2025-10-31T08:29:51Z

Breakup (1970–1978)

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{{short description|American folk music group}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Peter, Paul and Mary
| image = Peter, Paul and Mary publicity photo.jpg
| caption = ''Left to right:'' Paul Stookey, Peter Yarrow,<br>and Mary Travers, c. 1968
| background = group_or_band
| origin = New York City, U.S.
| genre = {{hlist|[[Contemporary folk music|Folk]]|[[Pop music|pop]]}}
| discography = [[Peter, Paul and Mary discography]]
| years_active = {{hlist|{{start date|1961}}–{{end date|1970}}|1972|{{start date|1978}}|1981–{{end date|2009}}}}
| label = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| website = {{URL|peterpaulandmary.com}}
| past_members = {{unbulleted list|[[Peter Yarrow]]|[[Paul Stookey]]|[[Mary Travers]]}}
}}

'''Peter, Paul and Mary''' was an American [[Contemporary folk music|folk]] group formed in New York City in 1961 during the [[American folk music revival]]. The trio consisted of [[Peter Yarrow]] (guitar, [[tenor]] vocals), [[Paul Stookey]] (guitar, [[baritone]] vocals), and [[Mary Travers]] ([[contralto]] vocals).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/20/arts/pop-peter-paul-and-mary.html | title=Pop: Peter, Paul and Mary | first=Stephen | last=Holden | author-link=Stephen Holden | date=March 20, 1986 | work=The New York Times | access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow, Luis Manuel and Stookey, early songs by [[Bob Dylan]], and covers of other folk musicians.

They were very successful in the early- and mid-1960s, with their debut album topping the charts for weeks, and helped popularize the folk music revival. Following Travers's death in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/peter-paul-mary-peter-yarrow-noel-paul-stookey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620034611/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/peter-paul-mary-peter-yarrow-noel-paul-stookey/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 20, 2011 |title=Peter, Paul & Mary's Peter Yarrow & Noel Paul Stookey – Interviews – Tavis Smiley – PBS |work=Tavis Smiley – PBS}}</ref> Yarrow died in 2025, leaving Stookey the sole surviving member of the group.

Travers said she was influenced by [[Woody Guthrie]], [[Pete Seeger]], and [[the Weavers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/history/f-ruhlmann1.htm |title=Beginnings |author=William Ruhlmann |date=April 12, 1996 |work=Peter, Paul and Mary A song to sing all over this land |publisher=Goldmine |access-date=December 13, 2009}}</ref> In May 1963, Stookey described the formation and dynamics of the group on Folk Music Worldwide, an international short-wave radio show in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PAUL STOOKEY #1 - Folk Music Worldwide, 1963 Interview |url=https://www.folkmusicworldwide.com/paul-stookey-1.html |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=www.folkmusicworldwide.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PAUL STOOKEY 2 - Folk Music Worldwide, 1963 Interview |url=https://www.folkmusicworldwide.com/paul-stookey-2.html |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=www.folkmusicworldwide.com}}</ref> In the 2004 documentary ''Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On – A Musical Legacy'', members of the Weavers discuss how Peter, Paul and Mary took over the torch of the social commentary of folk music in the 1960s.

The group was inducted into the [[Vocal Group Hall of Fame]] in 1999. Peter, Paul and Mary received the [[Sammy Cahn]] Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 2006.

==History==
===Early years and popularity (1961–1969)===
[[File:Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Entertainment, Vocalists Peter, Paul, and Mary.) - NARA - 542019.jpg|250px|thumb|left|The trio performing at the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.]]]]
[[File:Peter Paul and Mary 1963.JPG|thumb|1963 publicity shot]]
Manager [[Albert Grossman]] created Peter, Paul and Mary in 1961, after auditioning several singers in the New York folk scene, including [[Dave Van Ronk]], who was rejected as too idiosyncratic and uncommercial, and [[Carolyn Hester]]. After rehearsing Yarrow, Stookey and Travers out of town in Boston and Miami, Grossman booked them into [[The Bitter End]], a coffee house, nightclub and popular [[folk music]] venue in New York City's [[Greenwich Village]].

The group recorded their debut album, ''[[Peter, Paul and Mary (album)|Peter, Paul and Mary]]'', and it was released by Warner Bros. the following year. It included "[[Lemon Tree (Will Holt song)|Lemon Tree]]", "[[500 Miles]]", and the [[Pete Seeger]] hit tunes "[[If I Had a Hammer]]" (subtitled "The Hammer Song") and "[[Where Have All the Flowers Gone?]]" The album was listed in the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' Top Ten for 10 months, including seven weeks in the No. 1 position. It remained a main catalog-seller for decades to come, eventually selling over two million copies, earning [[RIAA certification|double platinum]] certification from the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]] in the United States alone.

In 1963 the group released "[[Puff, the Magic Dragon]]", with music by Yarrow and words based on a poem that had been written by a fellow student at [[Cornell University|Cornell]], [[Leonard Lipton]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=FINKLE |first=DAVE |date=July 25, 1970 |title=Milt Okun On: Compiling the Great Songs of the Sixties |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/70s/70/RW-1970-07-25-OCR-Page-0028.pdf#search=%22paul%20stookey%22 |magazine=Record World}}</ref> Despite rumors that the song refers to drugs, it is actually about the lost innocence of childhood.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSYD1071420080306|title=Just A Minute With: Peter Yarrow|work=Reuters|date=March 6, 2008 }}</ref> The same year, they appeared as the "mystery guest" on the [[CBS]] TV game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'' in which [[Dorothy Kilgallen]] correctly guessed their identity.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's My Line? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw90sezjgCI&ab_channel=What%27sMyLine%3F | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/aw90sezjgCI| archive-date=November 10, 2021 | url-status=live|website=[[CBS]] | date=July 14, 2014 |access-date=December 28, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

That year the group performed "If I Had a Hammer" and "[[Blowin' in the Wind]]" at the August 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]], best remembered for [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech. The [[Bob Dylan]] song "Blowin' in the Wind" was one of their biggest hit singles.<ref name=pc19>{{Pop Chronicles |19| 3| Peter Yarrow}}</ref> They also sang other Dylan songs, such as "[[The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)|The Times They Are a-Changin']]", "[[Don't Think Twice, It's All Right]]",<ref name=pc19/> and "[[When the Ship Comes In]]". Their success with Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" helped Dylan's ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'' album rise into the top 30; it had been released four months earlier.<ref>{{Citation | newspaper = [[The Times]] | type = obituary | title = Mary Travers | date = September 18, 2009}}</ref> In 1963 while in [[London]], on one or possibly more occasions they recorded 5 songs in front of a live television audience for the UK regional television folk and blues music series ''[[Hullabaloo (British TV series)|Hullabaloo]]'', presented by the Scottish folksinger [[Rory McEwen (artist)|Rory McEwen]]; these sessions were released on DVD in 2020.<ref name="mainlynorfolk">{{cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/folk/records/hullabaloo.html|title=Hullabaloo|website=Mainly Norfolk|access-date=2025-03-19}}</ref>

In December 1969 "[[Leaving on a Jet Plane]]", written by the group's friend [[John Denver]], became their only No. 1 single (as well as their final top 40 pop hit) and the group's sixth million-selling gold single. The track first appeared on their million-selling platinum certified ''[[Album 1700]]'' in 1967 (which also contained their No. 9 hit "[[I Dig Rock and Roll Music]]"). After [[Eugene McCarthy]]'s strong showing in the 1968 [[New Hampshire]] presidential primary, the group recorded "Eugene McCarthy For President (If You Love Your Country)" endorsing McCarthy, which was released without a record label.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pR0yTGOiA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211110/N7pR0yTGOiA| archive-date=November 10, 2021 | url-status=live|title=1968 45-RPM Eugene McCarthy Campaign Recording: Peter, Paul, & Mary| date=September 4, 2010|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> "[[Day Is Done (Peter, Paul and Mary song)|Day Is Done]]", a No. 21 hit in June 1969 from the trio's Grammy Award-winning album ''[[Peter, Paul and Mommy]]'', was the last Hot 100 hit the trio recorded.

===Breakup (1970–1978)===
The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers. Also that year, Yarrow was convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl; in 1981, he received a [[presidential pardon]] from [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kiernan |first=Laura A. |date=February 7, 1981 |title=Folk Singer Peter Yarrow Pardoned by Carter |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/02/07/folk-singer-peter-yarrow-pardoned-by-carter/0216a782-817c-4091-a0c9-e4e82624ed95/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 15, 1970 |title=Peter Yarrow, Folk Singer, Gets 3-Month Jail Sentence |work=The New York Times |page=53 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/15/archives/peter-yarrow-folk-singer-gets-3month-jail-sentence.html}} {{small |([[Associated Press]], September 14, 1970)}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hasson |first=Judi |date=February 6, 1981 |title=Yarrow pardoned for morals offense |work=United Press International |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/02/06/Yarrow-pardoned-for-morals-offense/2858350283600/}}</ref>

During 1971 and 1972 Warner released a debut solo album, with the same style cover, by each member of the group. Travers did concerts and lectures across the United States. She also produced, wrote, and starred in a BBC-TV series. Stookey formed a Christian music group, the Body Works Band, and wrote "[[The Wedding Song (There Is Love)]]" for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of [[Eugene McCarthy]]. Britain's [[Petula Clark]] also recorded a version of the song, which in 1973 charted strongly in the UK, Australia and elsewhere. Yarrow co-wrote and produced Mary MacGregor's ''[[Torn Between Two Lovers (song)|Torn Between Two Lovers]]'' (No. 1, 1977) and earned an Emmy for three animated TV specials based on "Puff the Magic Dragon".<ref>{{cite web|title=Hall of Fame Foundation|url=http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/peter_paul_mary.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032921/http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/peter_paul_mary.html|archive-date=March 11, 2007}}</ref>

While the group was de facto broken up and touring separately, it still managed to come together for a series of reunions before officially coming back together again. In 1972, the trio reunited for [[Together for McGovern]], a concert at [[Madison Square Garden]] to support [[George McGovern]]'s presidential campaign, and again in 1978 for a concert to protest [[nuclear power|nuclear energy]]. This concert was followed by a 1978 summer reunion tour, including a September 3 evening performance at [[Red Rocks Amphitheatre]]. An album, ''Reunion'', was released by Warner in 1978.<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: P|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=P&bk=70|access-date=March 10, 2019}}</ref>

===Reunion (1981–2009)===
[[File:Peter, Paul and Mary 2006.jpg|thumb|left|Peter, Paul and Mary in 2006]]
Their 1978 summer reunion tour was so popular that the group decided to reunite more or less permanently in 1981. They continued to record albums and tour, playing around 45 shows a year, until Travers's 2009 death.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/tour/f-tour.htm|title=Tour Schedule|website=Peterpaulandmary.com}}</ref> After their reunion, double-bassist Dick Kniss (who had been their bassist in their studio recordings and with their 1960s tours) rejoined the group. Starting in 1990, multi-instrumentalist [[Paul Prestopino]] also joined the group.

According to the flow of the times, they derived a way to change the lyrics of their songs, for example changing ''boys'' in the "Puff" became ''girls and boys''. The trio received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award on September 1, 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.peaceabbey.org/awards/cocrecipientlist.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214172308/http://www.peaceabbey.org/awards/cocrecipientlist.html|url-status=dead|title=The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List|archive-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref>

In 2004, Travers was diagnosed with [[leukemia]], leading to the cancellation of that year's remaining tour dates. She received a [[bone marrow transplant]]. She and the rest of the trio resumed their tour on December 9, 2005, with a holiday performance at [[Carnegie Hall]].

The trio canceled several dates of their summer 2007 tour, as Travers had to undergo a second surgery.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> She was unable to perform on the trio's tour in mid-2009 because of the effects of leukemia, but Yarrow and Stookey performed the scheduled dates as a duo, calling the show "Peter & Paul Celebrate Mary and 5 Decades of Friendship".

On September 16, 2009, Travers died at age 72, of complications from [[chemotherapy]], following treatment for leukemia.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/mary-travers-of-peter-paul-and-mary-dies/ | title=Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies | date=September 16, 2009 | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref> That same year, Peter, Paul and Mary were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

On January 7, 2025, Yarrow died of bladder cancer at age 86.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Farber |first1=Jim |title=Peter Yarrow, the Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary, Dies at 86 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/07/arts/music/peter-yarrow-dead.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=January 7, 2025 |date=January 7, 2025}}</ref> With his death, Stookey is the last surviving member of the group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/01/07/peter-yarrow-dead-peter-paul-mary/77512343007/|title=Peter Yarrow, founding member of Peter, Paul and Mary, dies at 86|first=Anika Reed and Melissa|last=Ruggieri|website=USA Today}}</ref>


==Discography==
{{Main|Peter, Paul and Mary discography}}
* ''[[Peter, Paul and Mary (album)|Peter, Paul and Mary]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Moving (Peter, Paul and Mary album)|Moving]]'' (1963)
* ''[[In the Wind]]'' (1963)
* ''[[A Song Will Rise]]'' (1965)
* ''[[See What Tomorrow Brings]]'' (1965)
* ''[[The Peter, Paul and Mary Album]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Album 1700]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Late Again (album)|Late Again]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Peter, Paul and Mommy]]'' (1969)
* ''Reunion'' (1978)
* ''[[No Easy Walk to Freedom]]'' (1986)
* ''Flowers and Stones'' (1990)
* ''[[Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too]]'' (1993)
* ''LifeLines'' (1995)
* ''[[In These Times (Peter, Paul, and Mary album)|In These Times]]'' (2003)

==See also==
*[[List of number-one hits (United States)]]
*[[List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/ Official home page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032921/http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/peter_paul_mary.html Peter, Paul and Mary – Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page.]
*{{IMDb name|1356181}}
* {{discogs artist|Peter, Paul & Mary}}
*[http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/peter-yarrow Peter Yarrow Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (2017)

{{Peter, Paul and Mary}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Children's Album}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter, Paul And Mary}}
[[Category:1961 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1970 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1978 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:2009 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American folk musicians]]
[[Category:American folk music groups]]
[[Category:Co-ed groups]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Mixed-gender musical trios]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1970]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2009]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1961]]
[[Category:Musical groups from New York City]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1978]]
[[Category:Musical trios from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]

Peter, Paul and Mary - Revision history

2600:1702:D30:B60:4DEE:8A5D:6C45:60BF: /* Breakup (1970–1978) */