Mary Travers, 72, the female third of the popular 60s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died after battling leukemia for several years. Travers and her music mates, Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey, best known for their hit, *Puff The Magic Dragon, were in the American folk music scene in the early 60s with their influential style and civil rights cause.
Blowin' In The Wind by Bob Dylan was recorded by hundreds of artistes because it was the anthem of the civil rights movement. But it was Peter, Paul and Mary who made it an international hit.
Led by Mary Travers, they had already put protest songs into the music hit parade with their version of Pete Seeger's If I Had A Hammer, but they were able to balance commercial success with their espousal of worthy causes.
In August 1963, they performed Blowin' In The Wind to a large group of black freedom marchers in Washington who had just heard Martin Luther King's famous 'I have a dream' speech.
After many hits on record that included **Lemon Tree, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, and Leaving On A Jet Plane, the group disbanded in 1970.
*Puff The Magic Dragon was banned in Singapore in 1963 for drug connotation. Was there?
** Lemon Tree was also covered by The Crescendos, a Singapore 60s group, with Susan Lim doing the lead vocals.
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