Mary Travers: She Sang Out Love.

Mary Travers was, in many ways, one of the purest voices of the Sixties. Raised in New York’s Greenwich Village, the daughter of labor organizers, she attended the Little Red Schoolhouse (so-called because of its politics) and, thus, unlike many of her peers, was destined to be a part of the looming civil rights and anti-war movements. She left high school to sing back-up for Pete Seeger and, in 1961, joined Peter Yarrow and Noel “Paul” Stookey to become Peter, Paul and Mary. They not only shared a manager with Bob Dylan, their recordings of “If I Had A Hammer” and “Blowin’ In The Wind” became more widely known – and more beloved – than his own. Partly, that’s because of their steady and inspiring appearance at civil rights and peace rallies throughout the Sixties. Mary Travers raised her rich alto for more than politics, however. As their recording of “Lemon Tree” shows, Peter, Paul and Mary were charter members of that period’s Folk Song Revival as well. They could even take a children’s song, “Puff, The Magic Dragon” and make it number two on the charts. Mary’s sincere, emotion-filled voice is, perhaps, most notable on their recording of John Denver’s, “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” the group’s biggest (and final hit) reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 of 1969. The following years saw her career wax and wane as did several of her marriages and her health. In 2005, Mary Travers was diagnosed with leukemia. Throughout it all, she held fast to her beliefs in love and peace and never brought shame or scandal upon anyone or any movement associated with her. Mary Travers died from leukemia on Sept. 16, 2009 at the age of 72. Oh Babe, we hate to see you go.