Rhino Factoids: Peter, Paul and Mary are Number One…and Number Two, Too!

53 years ago today, Peter, Paul and Mary achieved a relatively rare accomplishment on the Billboard 200: they held both the #1 and the #2 spot.

In the early ‘60s, during the last days before Beatlemania kicked in and changed everything, folk music was all the rage, and few artists captured the mainstream audience’s collective heart quite like Peter, Paul and Mary. Their first album was a #1 hit, their second album was a #2 hit, and just to mess with your head, their third album didn’t hit #3, it hit #1. When that happened, however, the trio was riding so high that all three of their albums were in the top 10 simultaneously.

That would be impressive enough all by itself, of course, but their self-titled debut album had become such a must-own LP that it was sitting in the #2 spot when that third album, IN THE WIND, arrived in the top spot. (In case you’re curious, their second album, MOVING, was sitting at #6.)

Alas, when the Beatles arrived, they caused such a seismic change in the musical landscape that Peter, Paul and Mary never managed to replicate that level of success again, but with an achievement that substantial, you only have to do it once for it to qualify as legendary.