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Mary Travers remembered by music and political legends at New York memorial
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As her partners Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey noted at the outset of last night’s memorial for Mary Travers, it was the first time in 50 years that she didn’t perform on her birthday.
For sure enough, the extraordinary event at Manhattan’s cavernous Riverside Church took place on what would have been Travers’ 73rd birthday, and while the legendary folksinger with the long blond hair and signature bangs--who died on Sept. 16 from side effects of chemotherapy--was absent, there were plenty of music and political luminaries and generations of fans on hand to sing her part on such famous Peter, Paul and Mary songs as “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Leaving On A Jet Plane.”
Judy Collins accurately noted that if she closed her eyes she could see famed Greenwich Village folk club Gerdes Folk City in 1961—thanks to the many folk music contemporary folkies of Travers in the packed yet intimate-feeling church. But Travers was far more than a historic folk music figure: As her longtime friend Laura Ward noted—and other speakers seconded—she was “a mother, teacher, sister and best friend” to many.
Senator John Kerry happily pointed out, too, that the turnout resembled “a class reunion of Nixon’s enemies list”--and lauded Travers for “getting so many of us sinners in church.”
Keeping it light, Kerry recalled seeing PP&M—the “holy trinity,” as Bill Moyers had earlier called them--on the Yale campus in 1964 (“when it was still all-male”). “I liked Peter. I liked Paul. But I really liked Mary!” he admitted, then credited her with “single-handedly putting an end to the beehive [hairdo].”
Turning more serious, he noted how the trio helped him pay off a campaign debt 32 years ago, then performed for him at the 2004 Democratric Convention in Boston that nominated him for president.
Former senator (and Kerry’s fellow Vietnam War veteran) Max Cleland likewise related a fundraiser that PP&M did for him, while former senator (and Kerry’s fellow former presidential candidate) George McGovern recounted the many benefits the trio did on his behalf.
“Whether I was seeking the senate or the presidency, whenever I called, they came,” said McGovern. “We didn’t’ always win-- even with their help—but I made good friends.”
United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta also testified to Travers’ political correctness and effectiveness, as did her daughter (and Cesar Chavez’s niece) Camila Chavez. On video, Gloria Steinem extolled Travers’ role as a feminist while Harry Belafonte did the same regarding PP&M’s civil rights activities.
Also on video, Bill Cosby remembered how friendly PP&M were when he was starting out at the Gaslight Café in Greenwich Village in 1961, and how he and Travers “bounded down” MacDougal Street as a “tall version of May Britt and Sammy Davis, Jr.”
Additional comic relief was supplied by Whoopi Goldberg, who confessed to being “not deep” like Steinem and Cosby (“I’m about [classic PP&M children’s song] ‘Puff The Magic Dragon,' okay?"), and rushed to grab a potted plant from the bema when Yarrow said anyone who was quick enough could take one home.
In addition to Yarrow and Stookey, performers included Pete Seeger and his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Theo Bikel, Tom Paxton, original Freedom Singer Rutha Harris, and on video, Arlo Guthrie. Vintage video footage of PP&M singing songs including “The Times They Are A-Changin',” “If I Had A Hammer” and “Blowin’ In The Wind” were also screened.
Comedian Anne Meara recited “Conscientious Objector,” by Travers’ favorite poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. The poem refuses to assist Death in taking other lives by violence (“I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death”). A video message from Bill Clinton was shown, and an admiring note to Travers from President Obama was read.
The memorial ended with everyone singing along on “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “This Land Is Your Land.” It was an evening of unabashed liberalism, a throwback to when the word "liberal" was a badge worn proudly and sung loudly.
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Peter, Paul and Mary perform "Blowin' In The Wind"
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