Peter, Paul and Mary - If I Had A Hammer (1963 performance)

Peter, Paul and Mary was a folk singing group brought together by manager Albert Grossman, who was looking to form a “folk-pop supergroup“ made up of a tall blonde gal, a good-looking guy, and a jokester. Their first gig was in 1961 at New York’s Bitter End coffeehouse, which was very well-received. Within a year, Peter, Paul and Mary had released their debut (self-titled) album, featuring Pete Seeger tunes like “If I Had a Hammer“ and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?“ By 1963, the group had made three records, including one of their biggest hits, “Puff the Magic Dragon.“ They performed at the 1963 March on Washington (where Martin Luther King, Jr., made his famous I Have a Dream speech. Their recording of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin In the Wind“ was the fastest selling record ever released by Warner Brothers Records, landing the trio at the forefront of the civil rights and peace movement. By 1970, however, the group had broken up so that the members could pursue their own solo careers. They have reunited several times since then for select concert dates. Mary Travers was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2005, and received a bone marrow transplant in the autumn of the same year. Peter, Paul and Mary continued their reunion tour in late 2005, and continue to tour now. UPDATE: Mary Travers died in 2010. RIP Mary. PLEASE NOTE: I divided my uploads among multiple channels, Bookmark this link in your browser for instant access to an index with links to all of John1948’s oldies classics. LINK: ’s Youtube Index Peter, Paul and Mary was a folk singing group brought together by manager Albert Grossman, who was looking to form a “folk-pop supergroup“ made up of a tall blonde gal, a good-looking guy, and a jokester. Their first gig was in 1961 at New York’s Bitter End coffeehouse, which was very well-received. Within a year, Peter, Paul and Mary had released their debut (self-titled) album, featuring Pete Seeger tunes like “If I Had a Hammer“ and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?“ By 1963, the group had made three records, including one of their biggest hits, “Puff the Magic Dragon.“ They performed at the 1963 March on Washington (where Martin Luther King, Jr., made his famous I Have a Dream speech. Their recording of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin In the Wind“ was the fastest selling record ever released by Warner Brothers Records, landing the trio at the forefront of the civil rights and peace movement. By 1970, however, the group had broken up so that the members could pursue their own solo careers. They have reunited several times since then for select concert dates. Mary Travers was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2005, and received a bone marrow transplant in the autumn of the same year. Peter, Paul and Mary continued their reunion tour in late 2005, and continue to tour now. UPDATE: Mary Travers died in 2010. RIP Mary.