Fri, 18 Sep 2009 4:55p.m.
Mary Travers
Mary Travers, of the iconic folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary, has died at the age of 72. She'd been battling leukaemia for several years.
Peter, Paul, & Mary reigned for years as one of the most popular musical acts in the country - using traditional folk harmonies to spread a message of peace, love, and understanding. Among the group's hits – 'Leaving on a Jet Plane', 'Puff the Magic Dragon', and 'Lemon Tree'. They were early champions of Bob Dylan, and helped introduce him to America by recording his 'Blowin' in the Wind'. And in the early 1960s the group's rendition of 'If I Had A Hammer', became a rallying song for the civil rights movement as it reached its apex in the South.
Along with her bandmates Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, Travers marched in Selma with Martin Luther King. And they performed, too, at the famous 1963 March on Washington, during which Dr King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was perhaps the crowning moment in a lifetime of activism on behalf of a wide range of liberal causes - from abortion rights to the rights of strawberry pickers in California.
After the group officially disbanded in 1969, Travers remained actively both musically and politically, reuniting with the band to play periodic benefit concerts. They performed at 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Mary Travers was born in Louisville, Kentucky to journalist parents, but her musical life really took off when she moved as a young person to Greenwich Village, in Manhattan. Reknowned for her soft voice, she began performing onstage with Pete Seeger, before joining forces with Yarrow and Stookey in the early 1960s, under the management of legendary folk impresario Albert Grossman.
Travers lived for many years in Redding, Connecticut. She was married four times. She's survived by her fourth husband, Ethan Robbins, and by two daughters.
CBS
