RIP Mary Travers, the heart of Peter, Paul & Mary

As a young performer, she was heartbreakingly beautiful, to me as a young girl, an icon of what grown up beauty could be. And she had a clear, strong soprano that soared above the mellow tenors of her singing partners, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. She was Mary Travers, the Mary of Peter, Paul & Mary, a 60s group that had a surprising and long- lasting revival in 1978, but is now one voice less.

As Rolling Stone puts it, she was "...best known as the visual focal point of ...Peter, Paul & Mary. With her fervent stage moves and long, straight blond hair...Travers brought both powerful lungs and sex appeal to folk music."

Born in Louisville, KY, the daughter of journalists, Travers grew up in New York’s Greenwich Village, the perfect setting for an aspiring artist. She benefited from exposure to the folk music scene of the early 1960s. Influenced by the folk tunes of the Weavers, Ledbelly, and Woody Guthrie, she became a regular performer in the weekend folk sessions at Washington Square Park while still in her teens. As a member of a teen group, The Song Swappers, she performed at Carnegie Hall and recorded with folk icon Pete Seeger.

Albert Grossman, famous as the manager of Bob Dylan, introduced Travers to Peter Yarrow and later to Noel Paul Stookey, suggesting that they form a trio. After an initial reluctance-- she never pictured herself making a career of folk singing-- Travers became a founding member of Peter, Paul & Mary, which debuted at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village in 1961. The group’s debut album, Peter, Paul & Mary was a top ten seller for ten months, and their single, “If I Had a Hammer”, written by Pete Seeger, became an anthem of the civil rights movement, as did their later recording of Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind.”

The trio, whose work together was infused with social commentary, separated in 1970. Travers, by now mother to two daughters, remained active as a solo artist, recording four albums by 1974. She also remained a political and social activist, even after the end of the Vietnam War following President Nixon's resignation in 1974.

Peter, Paul, & Mary reunited in 1978 for a benefit concert that went so well they agreed to resume the trio. That year they released the album Reunion and embarked on an ambitious concert schedule that they maintained until the present day, despite Traver’s diagnosis of leukemia in 2004. The group also continued their political activism, taking on such causes as human rights in Central and South America, homelessness, and world hunger among many other issues. Mary Travers died of cancer on September 16 at the age of 72.

Sources: Rolling Stone website (linked above) and Allmusic

You Tubes

P, P & M singing John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane, their only number one hit single, and one of my favorite songs.

If I Had a Hammer, a protest anthem by Pete Seeger, sung by P, P & M at the Newport Folk Festival of 1963.

Blowin in the Wind, an elegant presentation.

The Brill Building

Ellie Greenwich died last week at the age of 68. I don't expect that you've heard of her; her's isn't exactly a household name. With her husband, Jeff Barry, she was a hit song writer of the early 1960s. She is most famous for such truly great girl group songs as "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Chapel of Love". Do yourself a favor and listen to these.

But I digress. Because reading about Ellie Greenwich put me in mind of the Brill Building, an 11 story office building at 1619 Broadway in New York City. Even before the 1950s, the Brill Building was home to pop music publishers and composers who wrote for the great swing bands of the 40s. But in the late 1950s into the early 60s, the Brill Building became the venue for the hottest and most influential commercial music ever produced. This stream of music, influenced by Latin music and rhythm and blues, gave rise to such songwriters as:

Burt Bacharach and Hal David

Neil Diamond

Gerry Goffen and Carole King

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Laura Nyro

Paul Simon (under the name Jerry Landis)

Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield

Phil Spector

Among the hundreds of hits produced by these and other composers are Yakety Yak, Save the Last Dance For Me, The Look of Love, Calendar Girl, The Loco-Motion, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, River Deep Mountain High, Be My Baby, and Natural Woman. Be My Baby, written by Greenwich and Barry, for a while was the only song that played on Beach Boy Brian Wilson's home jukebox

Carole King, quoted in Wikipedia, described the atmosphere of the Brill Building:

"Every day we squeezed into our respective cubby holes with just enough room for a piano, a bench, and maybe a chair for the lyricist if you were lucky. You'd sit there and write and you could hear someone in the next cubby hole composing a song exactly like yours. The pressure in the Brill Building was really terrific...."

Five for Fighting!

I am so lucky. Last night I caught Five for Fighting at Jammin' at the Zoo. Along with the lions and gorillas, I and about 2,000 others snuggled our chairs and blankets onto the Lincoln Park Zoo main mall and gently rocked.


Five for Fighting is the professional name of singer/songwriter John Ondrasik who performs with various back-up bands. Last night's trio of lead guitar, bass guitar, and drums was work- man- like, but Five for Fighting was in great form. He sang some of the best known tracks from America Town, Easy Tonight and Superman, and my favorite, 100 Years from Battle for Everything. (I'm 45 for a moment/The sea is high/And I'm heading into a crisis/Chasing the years of my life.)


He added NY City Weather Report, Angels and Girlfriends, The Riddle and Chances from his upcoming album Slice. There were others as well, and he ended the set with a rousing rendition of Elton John's Rocket Man, one of my all time favorite songs. What great taste.


Ondrasik is an interesting and admirable character. In one of his numbers last night he saluted those in the military and praised freedom in a song. In 2007 and 2008 he coordinated the production of mix CDs of some favorites like Billy Joel, the Fray, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Keith Urban donated by the artists. He distributed over 200,000 free copies of each CD to members of the U. S. military. He also uses his music to raise funds for several charities such as Save the Children, Autism Speaks, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). In person, he is as down to earth a rocker as you ever can see.


I wish I could say the same for Five for Fighting's opening act, Angel Taylor. Like Ondrasik, who briefly studied opera, Taylor has a beautiful and powerful voice. Both artists' voices sounded much stronger in person than they do recorded. But Taylor's set was gloomy and pretentious, featuring her piano, a simple drum, an acoustic guitar, and her unmelodic tunes. I only liked one of her tunes, Like You Do. One of her best numbers was written by someone else, Sex on Fire by the Kings of Leon. Angel is only 21 years old; she has the talent to be a fine pop singer, but not all talented performers have the songwriting ability of Five for Fighting.

RIP Les Paul (and Mike Seeger)

Les Paul 1915-2009


A king of pop music, Les Paul began his career as an accomplished jazz guitarist with a fluid, swinging style. Never able to read music, Paul had a magnificent ear and could hear entire arrangements in his head.

Born Lester William Polsfus in Waukesha, WI, in 1915, Paul first discovered music at the age of eight when he took up the harmonica. By age 13 he was performing as a country guitarist. Throughout the 1930s he played jazz guitar, releasing his first 2 recordings in 1936.

In 1939, he built one of the first solid bodied electric guitar, known as The Log. In the early 1950s, Gibson produced a guitar that used Paul’s ideas and marketed it as the Les Paul Standard. He played that guitar throughout his career, although his personal models were heavily modified. In 1962 Paul was issued a U.S. patent titled “Electric Musical Instrument”.

In 1948, Paul suffered a near-fatal automobile accident which shattered his right arm. Told that he would never move that arm again, Paul had his doctors set the arm in a bent position that would allow him to play guitar.

After his recovery, Paul teamed up with his second wife, singer Colleen Summers who he renamed Mary Ford. The couple had a series of mega hits in the 1950s including “How High the Moon’’, “Bye Bye Blues”, and “Vaya Con Dios”. Always innovative, Paul’s work with Mary Ford benefited from his invention of multi-track recordings.

Les Paul semi retired in the late 1960s with occasional returns to the recoding studio. In 2005 he received a 90th birthday tribute concert at Carnegie Hall, and in 2008 he received the American Music Masters award with a tribute concert in Cleveland sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Mike Seeger 1933-2009

Although not as well known as Les Paul, in his limited sphere Mike Seeger was a musician of influence.

Seeger began playing traditional instruments - banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, mouth harp, mandolin, and Dobro - at age 12. He learned traditional folk music from the recordings his parents brought home from the Library of Congress where they assisted John and Alan Lomax collect songs for the Archive of Folk Music.

His music credentials extend to his siblings Pete Seeger, the godfather of American folk singing, and Peggy Seeger, a respected folk singer as well.

In the early 1950s Seeger began to collect his own field recordings. In 1958 he co-founded the New Lost City Ramblers, a group specializing in string band music from the 1920s and 30s. In the 1960s, Seeger released solo recordings and formed the Strange Creek Singers. He went on to continue solo recording throughout the 1970s and became involved in the Newport Folk Festival. In 1970 he became director of the Smithsonian Folklife Company.

In Chronicles: Volume One Bob Dylan acknowledges a debt to Mike Seeger who helped Dylan in his early struggle to gain notice in the New York city folk scene. Seeger also served as a role model for Dylan, who admired Seeger as a folk musician.

Mike Seeger on You Tube

Freight Train

New Lost City Ramblers

RockDocs: The Rolling Stones

Summer is the time to rock and roll. For the second Summer, here at Niles Library we are presenting a series of rock and roll documentaries. So far this summer we are seen Elvis (you have to ask "Elvis who?") in his short-lived prime as he rehearsed and performed in a dynamic Las Vegas concert. In a two part presentation we have followed the early career of Bob Dylan as he made the transition from beloved folk and social protest singer to electrified rocker.

Third up is Shine a Light, director Martin Scorses's take on a present-day Rolling Stones concert. The 60-something Stones haven't lost their energy or charisma. Supplemented by Jack White, Christina Aquilera, and Buddy Guy, the Rolling Stones produce a jaw-dropping mix of music and moves enhanced by Scorses's tight camera angles that make you feel like you're on the stage. This 122 minute film and rated PG13 and will be played on the big screen on Saturday August 15 at 2:00 PM in the large meeting room. Don't miss it.


In a special showing, to honor Michael Jackson on what would have been his 51st birthday, we are also screening the film Dangerous, a compilation of music videos and behind the scene action from the making of the 1991 Dangerous album and tour. This 112 minute film is unrated and will be shown on the big screen on Saturday August 29 at 2:00 PM.


We have extended music films into the Fall, turning the coming season into Jazz Fall with showings of A Great Day in Harlem on October 10 and, ironically, Jazz on a Summer's Day on November 21. Look at this space and the AV Desk on the first floor for more information to come. Meanwhile, enjoy the eye candy below: the Rolling Stones in their youth.

Finding Love at the Pitchfork Festival

When I was younger, finding new bands to love was as easy as turning on the radio. Now though, it's not so easy. I no longer enjoy listening to commercial radio because of, well, all the commercials! The portion of my brain that dictates musical taste also seems to have congealed around the grunge movement, which hasn't really existed since 1995.

This summer I decided to break out of my musical rut by attending the Pitchfork Music Festival. Pitchfork is kinda' like Lollapalooza, except smaller. It took place in Union Park instead of Grant Park, it featured 40 bands instead of 130, and a 1-day pass cost just $35 instead of $80. The bands are mostly less well known, too, which is great if you're on a mission to discover something new.

I bought tickets for Sunday, July 19. $35 (plus the Ticketweb processing fees) gave me the potential to hear 18 different bands. The biggest name was The Flaming Lips, who I've actually seen live before. A few of the others (Blitzen Trapper, The Vivian Girls, and Grizzly Bear) I had heard of. The other 14 were all new to me. I could have just walked into the park blind, so to speak, but instead I did some preliminary research. Which bands did I want to hear? What times would they be playing? How would I find them in the park? All of these questions were answered by visiting the Pitchfork website (www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com). In fact, if you're interested in learning more about the bands that played over the entire weekend, and even in hearing some of their songs, you can still do that via the website, as well. In addition to pictures and brief bios of the bands, the website features a streaming playlist of 48 songs (visit the "media" link to find it).

The first band I really wanted to hear was Blitzen Trapper. Formed in 2000 in the Pacific Northwest, this is a flannel-wearing sextet who have a hard-to-describe sound that is a little folkish, a little bluesish & a little rockish. The folk really comes out on gentle songs like "Furr," and the rock rocks on songs like "Love U;" with the lyrics "I love u like a shoe's got soooouuuuuullllllllll!" screamed out with a spine-tingling banshee wail. Next up was Pharoahe Monch, an MC & singer who's worked with Mos Def and had a song, "Simon Says," featured in the movie "Charlie's Angels." I'm no authority on Hip-Hop, but I thought he was pretty good. The "Monch" part of his name derives from the monchichi doll, so he must have a sense of humor. The woman singing backup had a great voice, and the DJ wasn't "pushing buttons back here," but spinning actual vinyl.

I took a break to visit the various food and beverage booths for refreshment, and then it was time for The Thermals, a trio (2 guys & a gal) from Oregon with a punk-pop sound that the website describes as "neo-grunge." They ably covered Nirvana's "Make You Happy" and Green Day's "Basket Case." After more food, NY band The Walkmen were up with one of the most impressive sets of the day. They have a noisy garage-rock sound similar to The Strokes and sounded great outdoors, especially the vocals. I thought the "The Rat" and "In the New Year" were two of the best performances of the day. M83 was the last new act of the day for me. Named after Messier 83, a spiral galaxy discovered in 1752, their electronic music - created with synthesizers, guitar, and drums - could be described as "spacey" or "ethereal" and was excellent chill out music.

Grizzly Bear did not sound so great outdoors, partly because the crowd was growing larger and more rowdy in anticipation of the Flaming Lips. Their beautifully harmonized vocals got lost in the hubbub, and the only song of theirs that I recognized was "Two Weeks. I think they'd play better in an indoor venue like the Chicago Theatre. I stuck around The Flaming Lips of course, but I've heard them before. Their shows are a lot of fun - much like their trippy music - filled with bouncing beach balls, confetti, and lead singer Wayne Coyne rolling out into the crowd in a giant hamster ball.

One downside to a music festival like Pitchfork is that some of the shows happen simultaneously on different stages. That meant that I missed a few bands that I would really have liked to hear. Three bands that I caught a just couple of minutes of, but that I think are worth checking out are: The Vivian Girls, Frightened Rabbit and Japandroids.

All in all, it was not a bad way to spend a Sunday and I also satisfied (temporarily, at least) my craving for new music.

Up Next in Rock Docs: Bob Dylan, No Direction Home

Wednesday July 8 at 7:00 PM (part 1); Wednesday July 15, 7:00 PM (part 2)

How does it fee-eel? Dylan fans will recognize this line from the benchmark song, "Like a Rolling Stone", which symbolizes the changes documented in Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home. This 208 minute film, which will be shown at the library in 2 parts, focuses on Dylan's early career, covering the period from 1961 to 1966.

Early in 1961, Bob Dylan appeared on the New York folk scene and quickly became its darling with his strong and original protest songs like "Blowin' in the Wind," "Only a Pawn in Their Game," and "Masters of War." Embraced by the queen of political folk music, Joan Baez, Dylan soon became a major figure of the genre. The film documents this early phase of Dylan's career and traces his transition from folk to electrified rock musician, to the extreme displeasure of his folkie fans.

Working with hours of previously filmed interview tapes and performance clips, Scorsese puts together an analysis through interviews of Dylan's initial rise to fame and his infamous transition to rock and roll in 1965 with the electric backing of Chicago's Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Among those interviewed on film are Odetta, Joan Baez, Woodie Guthrie, Muddy Waters, the Clancy Brothers, Pete Seeger, Allen Ginsberg, and Johnny Cash.

In retrospect, it is clear that Dylan was too dynamic a musician, song writer, and poet to be boxed into the narrow folk genre. Roger Ebert in The Chicago Sun Times, has the words for it:

"His songs led to change, but they transcended it. His audience was uneasy with transcendence. They kept trying to draw him back down into categories. He sang and sang,and finally...found himself a hero who was booed.... His music stands and it will survive."