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I absolutely loved Peter, Paul & Mary. I use the past tense only because Mary Travers died last year not because I still don’t love hearing them: I do.

They had a rare blend of voices and had impeccable taste as far as the material they chose to record. Usually they recorded other people’s material but they always made the material their own.

They were all excellent songwriters, too. My first concert was Peter, Paul & Mary at Carnegie Hall in 1965. It was magical, they were great!  It was the first concert I ever went to:  I was a sophomore in high school.

Their first album “Peter, Paul & Mary” (1962) is still very high on my all time list of records to play.

They sang with passion and worked at it. Their singing very seldom was mannered. They left behind many memorable albums and most of them are still in print. I never get tired of hearing them.

And if you have not discovered them it is still not too late to explore their discography. You will be in for a treat.

Tags: "Peter Paul & Mary 1962", Carnegie Hall 1965, discography, excellent songwriters, Mary Travers, music, my first concert, Peter Paul & Mary, record album, singing
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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 songs were Dylan songs.  Of course everyone has heard Dylan’s “Blowing 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: "Blowing 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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