|
Peter, Paul And Mary Live
by John Hagelston
 Working in the record biz isn’t all glamour. There’s paperwork, and sometimes there are boxes to lug around. Difficult people you have to phone every once and a while. The usual office-type stuff. But on rare occasions, magical events occur on the premises to remind us that, no, this isn’t your usual office.
One of these was a late April visit to the Rhino/Warner Strategic Marketing building by Peter, Paul & Mary. They’ve been working on a new album and a retrospective boxed set (both currently planned for release at the end of the year), and stopped by to meet and entertain us label folk. With the 2nd floor commissary standing in for a Greenwich Village coffee house, the legendary folk trio performed a short set of old favorites and new material.  Peter Yarrow offered front row seats "for those who’ve known us more than 20 years." There were more than a couple of takers; the group have been Warner Bros. recording artists for almost four decades. As for those who’ve known their music for many years, that would be nearly everyone in the standing-room-only audience. A familiar hit, "Leaving On A Jet Plane," opened the set, with the entire crowd singing along to the chorus. As with all the numbers they played, the group prefaced the performance with a little story about the song  A string of songs from the new record followed; "It’s Magic" benefited from Paul Stookey’s fine guitar picking, and "Don’t Laugh At Me" showed that the group’s affinity for society’s underdogs remained undimmed. Though they performed sans amplification, even the occasional buzzer or phone ringing in the building couldn’t compete with the rapt attention these songs commanded, particularly the new "Walls" (with strong harmony vocals from all three) and "Jailed For Justice," a mixture of humor and commentary that had listeners clapping along right up to Mary Travers’ powerful closing shout. After a final song from the upcoming album, the Matthew Sheppard-inspired "Jesus Is On The Wire," PP & M closed with the immortal "Blowin’ In The Wind."
 After the performance, the trio chatted and signed autographs, offering hugs and handshakes to all who approached them, whether old friends or recent converts. Such a warm greeting would’ve seemed unusual coming from most contemporary artists, but from Peter, Paul & Mary, it only underlined the fact that -- however secure their place in musical history -- we are blessed to have them in the musical present Photos by Saori Soga
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
A word about submissions: We post what you give us, so please don't include your email address or any personal info. Your comments reach Rhino, not necessarily the writer, so don't expect a reply from them (or us, see our help section for contact info). We gather and post your submissions in batches, so do expect a short delay. And don't get bent if we edit your comments. We probably won't, but we reserve that right.
Comments:
Thanks for the story on Peter Paul and Mary. I'd lost sight of their wonderful music and it made me feel so young!
about time. I had dinner with Peter at Harry Chapin's house many years ago(when Harry was with us) in Huntington, Long Island. He had fun with me, realizing I didn't recognize him, since my vision of him was from an ablum of the 60's, and he had become, shall we say folically challanged.I was with Newsweek at the time. He [Peter] was knocking himself, saying this Yarrow guy couldn't read music or tune a guitar to save himself, and we had some fun with that, then he flerted with my girl friend and we dived into the turkey buffet at Harry and Sandy's house. (Harry Chapin was my neighbor at the time also) it wasn't till the concert Harry was giving for his Long Island cares charity, a few hours later that I realized I spent an hour with 1/3 of Peter, Paul and Mary, and Peter announced to the audiance that he really put his own strings on, and could read music, and that reports of the latter simply weren't true. Could have knocked me down with a feather. Anyway I enjoyed the concert on local Long Island channel 21 recently, and I am glad the three of you are still active in the business. I have 2 nephews, Paul and Josh Hager, both sound engineers in the record business, who it turns out have worked with you. as Harry would say, "The circle continues" good luck,
Steven Hager
I have known them for 20 years +...so have my children...we STILL love them...and will follow them as long as they will sing to us. We love you....
Peter, Paul and Mary. They were and are the Beatles of folk music. I was saddened to hear that their attempt to work with George Martin (the Beatles' music producer who had a monumental influence upon the Beatles' sound) fell through. It would have been a match made in heaven! I too had a personal experience where my life crossed paths with Peter Yarrow's. My girl friend and I had attended a concert given by the trio during the late 1960's in Des Moines, Iowa. After the concert, the trio were signing autographs and interacting with fans in their usual fashion and I got up the nerve to ask Peter if he needed a ride to his hotel. Amazingly, after exchanging glances with us between autographs for what seemed a long time, he brought the autograph session to a close, approached the two of us and said he would alert his manager to the situation. Off we went, the three of us and, looking back on the situation, we must have appeared peculiar together because my girl friend was the spitting image of Mary Travers and I had always been compared facially to Paul Stookey. Anyway, Peter asked if there were any coffee shops on the university campus where local talent performed but, unfortunately, the only such establishment closed early on weeknights. I had always wondered how the "regulars" would have reacted to an impromtu jam session with Peter Yarrow. It happened that I was manager of a local folk-rock band at the time with members who were profuse folk song writers. I asked Peter if we could audition a couple of songs the next morning. He very kindly invited us to his hotel room, so the following morning myself and four very astonished band members arrived with acoustic guitars and trembling hands. Peter sat towel drying his hair at a little table and listened politely as we hammered out a few tunes. Looking back on the whole event I sometimes feel horrified at how inept we must have sounded to him, although the songs weren't bad by 1960's standards. The real treat was when Peter, such a good sport, took out his guitar - pick worn even then - and played a song newly composed but not yet released on an album. We sat in what must have looked like starry-eyed amazement as he sang his song so gently but with unforgettable conviction. Afterwards, he asked what message the lyrics had conveyed to us and, teenagers that we were, not a one of us could contribute a response approaching anything coherent, let alone insightful. I guess we weren't as "deep" as we thought we were. Or, perhaps we were just young. The song that Peter performed for us was "The Great Mandala." How lucky we were! And, how clearly that message resonates with each one of us now that we have ripened with age. Their timeless messages have distilled within our souls like the finest of vintage wines. Bless you my dearest of friends for the richness you have so lovingly given. Your messages have nourished those hungry for truth in my generation and the generations that followed. Thank you for lighting our paths!
I really need some lyrics from them.
Can you guys please come to sunny florida? My mom and dad saw you once and they loved it. I really want to see you!!
Speaking for all Floridians
PETER, PAUL AND MARY...FOREVER IN MY HEART.
|
|
Subscribe to Feed
