Last night many of you e-mailed me to tell me that Mary Travers had passed away. At the time I was torn about whether I should post something immediately or just put her picture at the top of the random photos today in honor of her memory. In the end I decided to kind of compromise. Last night I mentioned it to my mother who hadn't heard the news. She started reminiscing about the group and reminded me that my parents used to always played Peter, Paul & Mary records around the house.
It's true and because of that I still love a lot of their songs. I know my parents would go see the group almost every summer when they would tour and relive whatever it was they were doing 40+ years ago. I seem to recall a cartoon that was based on the song Puff The Magic Dragon and surprisingly enough it didn't have any references to smoking pot and no one was trapped in a hot box. I think it was about a dragon called Puff.
So many of the songs from the sixties were sung by so many people that everyone associates a certain song with the group or artist that affected them the most. One always associates Blowin' In The Wind with Bob Dylan, but PP&M managed to take it to number 2 on the charts. Despite all their success, PP&M only managed one number one song and it is still one that my parents play all the time. Leaving On A Jet Plane.
Last night my mom played a couple of their albums and she and my dad got quietly drunk and remembered. Some of this they did aloud and some of it was quiet, but music has a way of taking you to a certain place and a certain moment in time and even though one of their favorites is gone, the music and the memories will remain.
Leaving On A Jet Plane
Puff The Magic Dragon
I have been humming Puff all day long.
ReplyDeleteShe is singing with the angels now. RIP Mary.
ReplyDeleteawww...puff the magic dragon! rip, mary t.
ReplyDeletei can remember when i was a wee little one...recent arrival to this country, and learning what states were (i come from 'provinces')...i was quite insistent on learning which state this 'land called Honah Lee' was in. teehee. pop culture was lost on my little immigrant naiveté...
Dear Death,
ReplyDeleteEnough already with the talented folks! Shall I give you all the Hiton's addresses? Geesh!
LOL Pookie's memory :-)
ReplyDeleteEvery time I hear this song, all I can think of is Meet the Parents :-)
Leaving on a Jet Plane always gives me chills whether it's being sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver and yes, even Chantal Kreviazuk
ReplyDeleteso good.
Ditto what Lisa said. Add the Lohans' and the Pratts' addresses to that, please.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a sad time in the universe ... but it's also a time of change, and hopefully for the betters.
ReplyDeleteRIP, Mary ... Puff the Magic Dragon was a big part of my childhood.
I passed on the opportunity to see them in concert at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor my freshman year of college - too busy, no money, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe sting of regret is a lot stronger today.
PPM's Leavin' on a Jet Plane (written by John Denver) was a favorite of my older sister. Never heard the rumors about Puff until I was waaaay old.
ReplyDeleteI was more of a John Denver fan.
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ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to get "Puff The Magic Dragon" out of my head either today. Sad day.
ReplyDeletePookie, your comment made me smile - that is really cute!
RIP Mary - You were a part of my childhood I will always cherish.
ReplyDeleteMay you forever dwell in Hanah Lee, with Puff giving you rides whenever you want.
And to reiterate what Lisa(original) and KellyLynn have said, To Death: please stop taking the real talent and start on the Lohans, the Hiltons, the Kardasians, the Pratts and the rest of the scum.
Help us out here by cleaning the gene pool!
And thank you Enty, for posting those songs. They made me laugh and cry at the same time.
My four year old daughter loves Puff the Magic Dragon. I've always enjoyed If I had a Hammer.
ReplyDeleteLike the old Bill Medley song goes "If there's a rock n roll heaven then you know they've got a helluva band."
Like you, Enty, I listened to my parents' record of PP&M for hours on end.
ReplyDeleteOh, and did anyone else see "A Mighty Wind"? It made me laugh at PP&M, with affection. Turns out that Mary used to babysit Christopher Guest when she was a teenager and he had a different, more regal name.
RIP Mary Travers. You were an icon. You'll be missed.
I've been listening to PPM all morning. Bits and pieces of my childhood keep being taken away. I love folk music and can thank my parents.
ReplyDeleteRIP MARY....
ReplyDeleteMY PARENTS HAD AN ALBUM...AND I REMEMBER THIS SONG, WELL JUST THE BEGINNING...
"TAKE ME FOR A RIDE IN YOUR CAR, CAR.." I WAS LITTLE AND I THOUGHT IT WAS THE FUNNIEST...
Like so many of you, PP&M were a huge part of my childhood - I have so many memories! The one that stands out most, though, is the time my mother and I took my 3 month old son to see them in concert. After the show, as we were walking to the car, Mary's limo drove past us. She was in the back, with the window down. When she saw me walking with my baby on my shoulder and gave us the sweetest, most serene smile... It just melted my heart. She was such a genuine person. I'll always think of her with affection.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it's about weed, Puffed the Magic Dragon is an awesome song for little kids. One of my favorites when I was a wee one.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" makes me think of two different douchebags at two different times in college. Luckily, I don't let that affect my love for this song. It still melts my heart. Always preferred the PP&M version. This is one of the few times where I'd say that I wasn't crazy about Frank Sinatra's version.
Lemon Tree is a great song, too.
Gladys: what was the name?
ReplyDeleteSeriously sad business. I thought she had beat her leukemia years ago.
ReplyDeletePP&M transcended generations, they were so accessible. Think about how rare that is.
RIP, Mary.
What a horrible week! 72 is a bit young these days to be dying. Henry Gibson, from Laugh In, dead today at 73. Patrick Swayze Tuesday, at 57. Jim Carroll, last Friday (but nobody heard until Monday), at 60. This week can now be over. It has truly been a summer of death.
ReplyDeletei had every album they ever made and saw them in concert probably 6 times. if they were going to be nearby i was there. they were among the great voices of that time and hers will be missed.
ReplyDeleteI thought we agreed that people were going to stop dying now that the 'summer of death' is over? :(
ReplyDeleteRIP, Mary.
I saw them in New Orleans. They were amazing. Such great harmony. So sad. RIP lovely lady.
ReplyDeleteI am a little disturbed that when someone dies, someone usually posts here that they wish death on someone else instead. Can we just please wish that these people would fade into obscurity? Not meaning to attack anyone, because I don't believe you truly wish death on them, but c'mon.
ReplyDeleteI saw them in concert...and it was a great show! They were great entertainers....and had talent without strobe lights and synthesizers...just plain talent.
ReplyDelete@notvotingforsuckno -
ReplyDeleteYou do have a point.
I'd be perfectly happy to settle for sterilization prior to their disappearance into obscurity.
With either method, the gene pool is cleansed.
@Karmen
ReplyDeleteThat's just an urban legend.
As the Dragon's daddy said, "it's a song about the loss of innocence"
From Mary and Puff to Henry G and Laugh-In... both terrible losses for 70s lovers. Thanks to Mary and Henry for the beautiful songs and inappropriate laughs. RIP.
ReplyDeletePuff was the first sad song I ever heard... when little Jackie put Puff aside for other things. Okay, I was little :-) but I felt bad for Puff.
ReplyDeleteRIP Mary. :-C
judi, me too.
ReplyDeleteman, i'm old.
This is a tough one in our house.
ReplyDeleteWe had tickets to se PP&M this summer, but Mary had to beg off because of her health. Peter & Paul played on anyway. It was a touching and wonderful show. Every song was a singalong - they actually said the words to the verses before they sang them so everyone could keep up. No one took Mary's part, they left that open, and we, the audience, filled in. It was moving and wonderful.
It is with great sadness I realize I will never hear these three together again live. If you have the opportunity to see anyone who touches you like PP&M touch me, GO! Don't regret it when it is too late.
Puff was not about drugs - reaffirmed by PP this summer.
Leavin on a Jet Plane - one of many wonderful JD songs, can't help but be partial to my boy, John.
Thanks for the tribute, Enty. xoxo
(Stomps foot and pouts) I hate death!
ReplyDeleteDeath needs to stop. Unless he starts taking the famewhores.
I didn't know they sang Leaving on a Jet Plane. I heard that in the supermarket yesterday. I love that song! RIP Mary.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, Enty... when I read the news last night I immediately heard her singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
ReplyDelete