Neal Augenstein, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Iconic folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, whose songs have attempted to
unite people for nearly 50 years, will likely never perform together again on
stage, WTOP has learned.
“We are no longer going to be able to perform together,” Peter Yarrow tells WTOP.
Band member Mary Travers is suffering from serious lung inflammation, related to
her decades-long battle with leukemia.
“It is my sense the band will not be able to perform live again, in the absence of
some kind of medical turnaround, which is unexpected.”
Yarrow says Travers gamely performed in several concerts earlier this year,
although her condition required her to be seated in a wheelchair, breathing with
the assistance of oxygen tanks.
“The doctor has said to us that this is no longer viable for her to do. It’s too
dangerous. It’s not worth it,” said Yarrow.
Yarrow and Stookey will perform at Wolf Trap Saturday. He says they’ll be
“celebrating Mary and our 50 years of friendship.”
The duo performed without Travers several weeks ago in Philadelphia.
“It was very odd and difficult singing with her when she was compromised and in a
wheelchair, and it’s odd again singing without her.”
With an audience ranging from people who first heard the trio in Greenwich Village
to their grandchildren, Yarrow says, “I know when we sing ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’
and ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’ and ‘Leaving On a Jet Plane’ and ‘If I Had a Hammer,’
that magically Mary will appear.”
Yarrow says he remains upbeat about future projects with Travers and Stookey.
“I was just with her a few days ago, hanging out, having a wonderful time, so we
are not through, in that sense. We are no longer going to be able to perform
together, but there are other things we’re contemplating doing.”
As one possibility, Yarrow envisions a series of books with illustrations for
children.
“We’re sad, but we do not dwell on it. We are mostly focused on being grateful for
all we have shared,” says Yarrow.
After 50 years of friendship and almost that much time performing together, Yarrow
is digesting the reality.
“No more ‘Peter, Paul and Mary?’ I know, it’s quite shocking. Have we performed
our last concert? It’s quite possibly the case.”
(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
