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The group was created by producer Albert Goldman, who sought to create a folk "supergroup" by bringing together "a tall blonde (Travers), a funny guy (Stookey), and a good looking guy (Yarrow)". He launched the group in 1961, booking them into the Bitter End, a coffee shop in New York City's Greenwich Village that was a favorite place to hear folk artists. The group recorded their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, the following year. The album was listed on Billboard Magazine Top Ten list for ten months and in the top one hundred for over three years.
By 1963, they had recorded three albums, released the now-famous song " Puff the Magic Dragon," which Yarrow originally wrote in 1958, and performed another major hit, their cover of "If I Had a Hammer" at the March on Washington, best remembered for Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech, "I Have a Dream." For many years after, the group was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and other causes promoting social justice. The later hit "Leaving on a Jet Plane" was actually written by the then unknown John Denver.
The trio broke up in 1970, following Yarrow's conviction for taking "improper liberties" with a 14 year old child. (He was pardoned by then-president Jimmy Carter after serving three months of a one to three year sentence).
The members pursued separate solo careers, but none had a fraction of the success they did as a group, although Stookey's "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" (written for Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator Eugene McCarthy) has become a wedding standard since its 1971 release. They have periodically performed together on an irregular basis since 1978 and have issued several new albums.
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of FameThe Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor what they term "the Greatest Vocal Groups in the World. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania. It includes a theater and a museum. It was originally organized in 1998. The original administration c in 1999For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album 1999 is a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the UN. Events Kosovo War Former child star Gary Coleman files for bankruptcy Y2K prep.