Thursday, September 17, 2009

Jackie Paper Comes No More

Category: Obituary/News

There was something magical about the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" when Peter, Paul and Mary sang it. Some people claimed it was a drug reference (they must've been smoking what they accused the song of promoting) and called for it to be banned, but fortunately most people accepted the song for what it was: great.

Mary Travers, the Louisville, Kentucky native who went to Greenwich Village and hooked up with Peter (Yarrow) and Paul (Stookey) to form one of the greatest folk groups of all time, died Wednesday (9/16) after a long bout with leukemia. In the end, it was not the actual disease that took her life but the complications from the treatment.

The iconic folk group also gave a young songwriter named Henry John Deutschendorf a foot in the door when they recorded his song "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Deutschendorf changed his name professionally to John Denver and went on to great success in the pop, country, and folk fields.

Mary Travers was 72.

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