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Peter, Paul and Mary music biography continued...

and managed by Albert Grossman, who sought to establish a folk "supergroup" by bringing together "a tall blonde (Mary Travers), a funny guy (Paul Stookey), and a good looking guy (Peter Yarrow)". Each performer had had growing careers as solo folk artists when Grossman booked them as a group into the Bitter End, a coffee house and popular folk venue in New York City's Greenwich Village. It was there that Peter, Paul and Mary became an overnight sensation. The group recorded their debut, self-titled album, in 1962. It included "500 Miles", "Lemon Tree", and the Pete Seeger hit tunes "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Catching the political and social crosscurrents of the day, including the end of McCarthyism and the advent of the civil rights movement, the album zoomed to the top of the charts and was listed on the Billboard Magazine Top Ten list for ten months and in the Top One Hundred for over three years By 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary had recorded three albums. All three were in the top ten the week of President Kennedy's assassination, making the group one of the bestselling crossover acts in music history and pop culture icons.



In 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary released another hit tune "Puff the Magic Dragon, and also performed "If I Had a Hammer" at the 1963 March on Washington, best remembered for Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. One of their biggest hit singles was the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind. They also sang other Bob Dylan songs, such as: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"; "Don't Think Twice, it's Alright"; and "When the Ship Comes In". They had their biggest hit with 1969's "Leaving on a Jet Plane," which was written by John Denver, and peaked at #1 on the charts. The trio broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, but found little of the success they had experienced as a group. They reunited in 1978, renewing their pledge to social activism with concerts protesting nuclear energy urging peace in South America. They continue to share their messages and their music with adoring fans to this day.