We lost another giant last week in a year that seems to keep piling up noteworthy deaths with every passing month.  Somewhat buried in the untimely death of Patrick Swayze, we learned that Mary Travers lost her battle against Leukemia.

Peter, Paul and Mary were America’s first folk Super Group, a trio of folkies living and performing in Greenwich Village in the early ’60’s brought together by design by Albert Grossman.

The story goes that Grossman wanted to capitalize on the growing popularity of folk and the beatnik cultural revolution that had taken hold in places like Greenwich Village, Berkley, Cambridge and Ann Arbor.

He had Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey and soon found Mary, a tall willowy blond with a strong, clear voice.    Grossman gave Peter, Paul and Mary the early Dylan composition,  Blowin’ in the Wind which served to actually break Dylan to mainstream America as well as making his folk SuperGroup stars in their own right.

Mary shined on Where have all the flowers gone, Blowin’ and If I had a Hammer but one song near the end of their great run in the 60’s hit number 1, the John Denver penned Leaving on a Jet Plane, a song released at the height of the Vietnam War in the winter of 1969 and less than a year before the band’s breakup.  (They eventually reunited in 1978 and continued to tour up until last year).

I have vivid memories of riding in my parent’s car as a  3 1/2 year old  in late 1969 with that song coming across the radio.

In the many obituaries and articles since her passing last week, one of the most interesting comments came from Peter Yarrow which is worth quoting:

“…as a performer, her charisma was a barely contained nervous energy – occasionally (and then only privately) revealed as stage fright.”

Peter, Paul and Mary performing Dylan’s ‘The Times They are a Changing’.   R.I.P.