Today we received word that Mary Travers has passed away. I feel that I grew up with her and the rest of her folk group, the legendary Peter, Paul and Mary. I first saw the group live in 1963 or 64 at a concert in Kansas City, where the audience was on its feet almost the entire time. During our car trips, Peter, Paul and Mary songs were top candidates for group sing-alongs as we drove. Especially memorable would be "If I Had A Hammer", which became something of an anthem for the civil rights movement of that era, after Mary and her crew sang it on the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic 1963 speech in Washington. Here is a later (couldn't find the referenced one) performance of that piece.
The group had a great cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind", which I think they also performed on the day of the King speech. I couldn't find a clip of that performance either, but here is another one to give you the idea, although somewhat lacking in the tremendous energy of the alfresco Washington event:
More on Mary Travers here.
UPDATE: 9.18.09
Brother Dennis sends along these links to a couple of his old favorites as well:
- 500 Miles (rough audio quality, but great song)
- Jane, Jane
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