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This will have been writen on the 17th of September 2009.
Mary Travers, the golden girl of the early 1960′ s folk movement died yesterday after a long battle with leukemia. Albert Grossman recruited Travers along with Noel “Paul” Stookey and Peter Yarrow to form a folk band from the disperate pool of talent floating around the Greenwich Village folk scene in 1961. Together they popularized Dylans’ “Blowin In The Wind”(he shared Grossman as a manager), John Denvers “Leaving On A Jet plane” and laid a path for other mixed gender folk bands such as The Mama’s and The Papas. Travers had a singing career both before and after Peter, Paul, and Mary but she is best known for her role as the soulful blond harmonizing alongside Peter and Paul. She had started a family before fame came knocking on her door in the early ’60s. Her two children and third husband survive her. Take a look at this stunner songstress’ life in pictures here
I have just read on the Hebburn web site www.hebburn.org that Mary Travers of the folk group Peter Paul & Mary passed away in September of this year,she will have been seventy two.My message as posted on the Hebburn web site is below.
Re: Puff the Magic Dragon
Posted by Roy McBride on 2/11/2009, 10:50 am, in reply to "Puff the Magic Dragon"
I am very sad to hear that Mary has passed away,I had the very good fortune to see the group perform in Blackpool,this may have been in 1968? where I suggested to friends that Mary was pregnant,the group were on at the Palladium the next weekend,there Mary announced to the audience that she was indeed prenant.I still have very many of their records.
I found this nice story about one of the groups first song hits:
The song and words to Puff the Magic Dragon.
Peter Yarrow wrote this in 1958 before he joined the group. He wrote it after coming home and seeing a poem on his typewriter with words about the dragon. He based his song on this poem, which was written by Lenny Lipton. A few years later when this became a hit, Yarrow found Lipton and gave him half the songwriting credit. Lipton, who was a camp counselor when Yarrow found him, gets extensive royalties from the song.
For his book Behind The Hits John Javna spoke with Lenny Lipton about his poem. Lipton was feeling homesick when he wrote it. One day, he was on his way to dinner at a friend's house, and was a little early, so he stopped at the library and happened to read some Ogden Nash poems. The title of the poem that grabbed him was The Tale Of Custard The Dragon, which is about a "Really-o Truly-o Dragon." Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow's housemate when they were all students at Cornell University. On the walk from Cornell's library to the friend's house (where he was to eat dinner), he wrote the poem, which was about the loss of childhood. But no one was home when he arrived - there was some sort of mix-up about dinner. So he just went in and used Yarrow's typewriter to get the poem out of his head. Then, he forgot about it. Years later, a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. Lipton had actually forgotten about the poem. (Thanks to John for sharing this story. Click the "View Lyrics" link above to see the Ogden Nash poem along with the song's lyrics.)
Puff the Magic Dragon lyrics.
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff,and brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff. oh Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee.Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail Jackie kept a lookout perched on puff’s gigantic tail,Noble kings and princes would bow whene’er they came,Pirate ships would lower their flag when puff roared out his name. oh!Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,Puff, the magic dragon lived by the seaAnd frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee.A dragon lives forever but not so little boys painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys.One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
and Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain,Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane.Without his life-long friend, Puff could not be brave,So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave. oh!Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee,Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee
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