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With her
long, flowing, blonde hair and crystal-clear soprano
vocals, Mary Travers was a major influence on the folk
music of the 1960s and '70s. A founding member of
Peter, Paul And Mary,
Travers, not only became one of the most commercially
successful folk performers, but, used her position to
become an inspirational political spokesperson. Together
with
Peter Yarrow and
Noel Paul Stookey,
Travers performed at Civil Rights rallies with
Dr. Martin Luther King,
in Birmingham, Alabama and Washington, D.C., and, at
numerous anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, fund-raisers
and teach-ins. During the 1980s, Travers helped to call
attention to the struggles of Latin America. |
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A native of Louisville,
Kentucky, Travers grew up in New York's Greenwich
Village. As a youngster, she became enchanted with the
American folk songs played by
The Weavers,
Leadbelly and
Woody Guthrie.
While in high school, Travers became a regular performer
at the Sunday afternoon folk music sessions at
Washington Square Park. Together with a teenage group,
The Songswappers,
Travers appeared twice at Carnegie Hall and recorded
with
Pete Seeger.
After singing in the chorus of a short-lived Broadway
show, Travers balanced work in the literary and
advertising field with appearances in New York clubs at
night and weekends. After meeting humorist, folksinger
and guitarist
Stookey and folk
music producer
Milt Okun,
Travers helped to form
Peter, Paul and Mary.
The trio performed its debut show at the Bitter End in
1961 and began a decade-long series of concerts and
recordings. Their self-titled debut album, released in
1962 became a major hit, remaining in the top ten for
ten months and the top twenty for two years. Their
single, "If I Had A Hammer" became an anthem of the
Civil Rights movement. Over the next decade, Travers and
the trio helped to popularize the songs of
Bob Dylan,
John Denver and
Gordon Lightfoot.
Travers' lead
vocals helped to make the trio's rendition of
Denver's
"Leaving On A Jet Plane," a major hit in 1970.
Shortly after releasing a
"greatest hits" album,
"Ten Years Together,"
in May, 1970, the trio announced their separation. The
mother of two daughters-Erika,
born in 1960, and
Alicia, born in
1966 — Travers remained active as a soloist, releasing
five albums and performing in college and clubs
throughout the United States. In addition, Travers
lectured at colleges on "Society And Its Effect On
Music", hosted a music and interview show on Radio
Pacifica (KPFK) in Los Angeles and produced, wrote and
starred in a television series for the BBC.
Travers reunited with
Stookey and
Yarrow in 1978
for a benefit concert, Survival Sunday, that
Yarrow organized
and produced at the Hollywood Bowl. Their performance
was so encouraging that they agreed to resume their
partnership. In the two decades since, Travers has
continued to record and perform approximately forty-five
concerts each year with the trio. |
