History Music / PeterPaulAndMary

* StageName: "Paul" is actually Noel Stookey's middle name. He started going by Paul both to make the group's name alliterative and as a reference to a lyric in the gospel song "1,000 Years Ago" ("I saw Peter, Paul, and Moses / Playing right around the roses...").

PP&M’s next record, '’Moving,'' featured undoubtedly the group’s most beloved song, the children’s classic “Music/PuffTheMagicDragon.” It also established another of the group’s trademarks: covering lots and lots of Bob Dylan songs, arguably [[UrExample beginning the trend]] of Dylan’s biting social commentary [[CoveredUp finding greater success in more capable performers]] (read: people who’s voices didn’t sound like sandpaper on one’s ear). Their cover of “Blowin’ in the Wind” was not only a massive hit, reaching #2 on the charts, which [[ColbertBump brought Dylan into the mainstream]], but embodied the zeitgeist of political activism in 1960s America to a T as the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement was gaining momentum. The group would give a career-defining performance of the song at the March on Washington, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr’s legendary “I Have a Dream” speech.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* LongRunnerLineup: A variant of Type 1. They originally lasted from 1961-1969 (8 years), broke up, reunited in 1978, and remained together until Mary died in 2009 (31 years). They're not a pure Type 1 because they didn't hit the 10-year anniversary before their breakup.

-->"We'd pick out the captains and we'd choose up the teams,\\

The last ones they picked were the worst."
* ProtestSong: Their bread-and-butter. Notable examples include "If I Had A Hammer," "Blowin' In The Wind," and "500 Miles."

* TheVoice: Bass player Dick Kniss accompanied the trio for more than 40 years, but good luck finding his picture with them.

By this point, Mary Travers had been living with leukemia for two years and was [[TheShowMustGoOn performing concerts with an oxygen mask on standby]]. She died from complications from the illness three years later, effective ending the group permanently after a prolific 50-year career.

PP&M’s next record, '’Moving,'' featured undoubtedly the group’s most beloved song, the children’s classic “Music/PuffTheMagicDragon.” It also established another of the group’s trademarks: covering lots and lots of Bob Dylan songs, arguably [[UrExample beginning the trend]] of Dylan’s biting social commentary [[CoveredUp finding greater success in more capable performers]] (read: people who’s voices didn’t sound like sandpaper on one’s ear). Their cover of “Blowin’ In The Wind” was not only a massive hit, reaching #2 on the charts, which [[ColbertBump brought Dylan into the mainstream]], but embodied the zeitgeist of political activism in 1960s America to a T as the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement was gaining momentum. The group would give a career-defining performance of the song at the March on Washington, immediately following Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary “I Have A Dream” speech.

The group became more directly politically active in the later part of the '60s, appearing at the White House on behalf of Senator Eugene [=McCarthy=]’s antiwar campaign (Yarrow would end up marrying [=McCarthy=]’s daughter shortly thereafter). [=McCarthy=]’s failure, which tragically, and eerily, coincided with the murders of both MLK and Robert F. Kennedy signaled the EndOfAnEra and the group took a hiatus in 1970 after [[MilestoneCelebration celebrating their ten-year anniversary]] with a GreatestHitsAlbum. All three would have modest solo careers, with Stookey's "Wedding Song (And There Is Love)" becoming a minor hit.

After a couple of failed reunions, the group reformed proper in the '80s, and at the best possible time: the new political climate proposed by the UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan administration threatened to do away with the very human rights they had fought to protect for twenty years prior, and [[ValuesResonance their songs were needed more than ever]]. The next fifteen years saw a handful of new albums, along with various all-star folk concerts, albums, and television specials, with the trio’s songs [[StillGotIt just as socially aware as ever]]. The act’s final studio album, ''In These Times,'' appeared in 2006 and featured a cover of Mark Wills’ country hit “Don’t Laugh At Me,” which Yarrow would later use as the basis for a successful anti-bullying campaign.

Singer/comedian Noel Stookey (born December 30, 1937) and vocalist Mary Travers (November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009) met while on the nightclub circuit in [=SoHo=] in the early 1960s and began writing and performing songs together. They were later introduced to singer/songwriter Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938), at the time a teaching assistant and occasional folk singer, by future Music/BobDylan manager Albert Grossman after Yarrow appeared on a CBS television special about folk music. Grossman suggested they form a “folk supergroup” as a SpiritualSuccessor to the late-'40s folk boom started by the likes of The Weavers and Pete Seeger, which had given way to a wave of “pop folk” in the late '50s and early '60s. Yarrow agreed and, after Stookey decided to [[StageName go by his middle name of Paul]], [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Peter, Paul]] and Mary was born.

Following hugely successful appearances in Greenwich Village, the trio's debut SelfTitledAlbum appeared in 1962, featuring their BreakthroughHit, a [[CoverVersion cover]] of the Pete Seeger-penned “If I Had a Hammer.” Both established PP&M’s trademark style of staunchly leftist (albeit not-threatening) sociopolitical lyrics wrapped in catchy melodies and gorgeous three-part harmonies, giving them mainstream appeal without needing to sacrifice their messages. Changing political tides meant [[RealitySubtext a more liberal American public who would more readily accept the group’s songs]] than the conservatives who dismissed their predecessors (being signed to Creator/WarnerBrosRecords didn’t hurt either).

Singer/comedian Noel Stookey (b. December 30th, 1937) and vocalist Mary Travers (November 9th, 1936 - September 16th, 2009) met on the nightclub circuit in [=SoHo=] in the early 1960s and began writing and performing songs together. They were later introduced to singer/songwriter Peter Yarrow (b. May 31st, 1938), then a teaching assistant and occasional folk singer, by future Music/BobDylan manager Albert Grossman when Yarrow appeared on a PBS special about folk music. Grossman suggested they form a “folk supergroup” as a SpiritualSuccessor to the late 40s folk boom started by the liked of The Kingston Trio and Pete Seeger and had given way to a wave of “pop folk” in the last few years. Yarrow agreed and, after Stookey decided to [[StageName go by his middle name of Paul]], [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Peter, Paul]] and Mary was born.

Following hugely successful appearances in Greenwich Village, the trio's debut SelfTitledAlbum appeared in 1962, featuring their BreakthroughHit, a [[CoverVersion cover]] of the Pete Seeger-penned “If I Had A Hammer.” Both established PP&M’s trademark style of staunchly leftist (albeit not-threatening) sociopolitical lyrics wrapped in catchy melodies and gorgeous three-part harmonies, giving them mainstream appeal without needing to sacrifice their messages. Changing political tides meant [[RealitySubtext a more liberal American public who would more readily accept the group’s songs]] than the conservatives who dismissed their predecessors (being signed to Creator/WarnerBrosRecords didn’t hurt either).

* SpiritualSuccessor: To the folk revival of the late 1940s started by acts like Pete Seeger and The Kingston Trio, which had fizzled out at the beginning of the 1950s when conservative America dismissed their overtly liberal lyrics.