Peter, Paul & Mary

Folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary exemplified the “hootenanny” movement in American pop music and were giants among Vietnam War-era protest singers. ∙ Formed in 1961 by manager Albert Grossman, the honey-harmonied group was an immediate success, with their debut album topping the Billboard 200 chart. ∙ In 1962, the progressive anthem “If I Had a Hammer” earned them the first of two consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Performance By a Vocal Group. ∙ Peter, Paul & Mary’s children’s classic “Puff, the Magic Dragon” not only hit No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but it also shot to No 10 on the R&B chart. ∙ They played Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” in front of 300,000 people at the 1963 March on Washington before Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. ∙ Their Gold-certified “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” written by John Denver, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969—the trio’s first and only No. 1 single. ∙ Peter, Paul & Mommy, Too, their 1993 television special and album, earned them nominations for both Grammy and Emmy Awards. ∙ The Songwriters Hall of Fame honored the trio with their Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.