September 6, 2009 Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame) died. I just wanted to give a short tribute to the folk and pop group.
They possessed a rare combination of voices. Mary had the big voice. I had a friend tell me she used to sing away from the microphone. Even today, fifty-eight years after the release of their first album, I still can listen to their music and it does not seem dated.
Just about all their recorded material is available on CD. I still have their original LP’s. And still play them. Although the best ones were transferred to cassette a long time ago.
Their anti-war anthems still ring true and more than ever. “The Great Mandella” was one of the greatest anti-war songs I ever heard stating the dilemma of war and protest.
Many of them were Dylan songs. Of course everyone has heard Dylan’s “Blowin’ in The Wind” arguably his best song but that was just one of his they sang. And there were others. They do the best version I ever heard of his “Too Much Of Nothing.”
They had immaculate taste in their choice of material and were perfectionists yet sang with fire and passion.
Their best songs still have an element of timelessness. More relevant than ever in an era where currently the US and other countries are embroiled in wars all over the world.
Their voices harmonized beautifully and almost never came across mannered. And they took turns singing lead. All of them wrote songs but most of the time they chose to interpret other peoples material, often making it their own. You can never mistake their harmonies. They did it so well.
Tags: "Blowin' in The Wind", "The Great Mandella", "Too Much Of Nothing", anti-war anthem, best songs, Bob Dylan, cassette, CD, folk music, LP, Mary Travers, Mary Travers death, Peter Paul and Mary, pop music, record album, sing harmony, sing lead, singing, timeless, war, war and protest, write songs
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