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It’s been a particularly sad year for pop music, given the passing of so many talented performers. In addition to Michael Jackson, we’ve lost guitar wizard Les Paul, producer Jim Dickinson, blues queen Koko Taylor, ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett, Lux Interior of The Cramps, Ron Asheton of The Stooges, Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd and poet-turned-singer Jim Carroll.
Add Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary to the list. Travers died Sept. 16 after battling leukemia.
To be honest, I can’t name one PP&M song other than “Puff the Magic Dragon.” But sometimes, a single song is enough to cement fond memories. I remember seeing the trio on television as a wee lad in the ’60s. Perhaps it was on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” or perhaps “Hootenanny” or “American Bandstand.”
I do remember being mesmerized every time I heard “Puff …,” thinking it was the most magically perfect song in the world. And I also remember Travers’ brilliant shock of blonde hair, and thinking she was exotic beyond words.
There was also something else that I never understood: Why wasn’t it Mary, Paul and Peter? My childhood brained longed for order, alphabetically at least. And I’d also been taught, ladies first, always.
Now, she’s the first of the group to go.