Remembering Mary Travers

Some old time pop music is on my mind today because of two big events associated with early folk and rock and roll. September 16th was the 45th anniversary of the 1964 concert given in New Orleans by a relatively new group called "The Beatles". Yep, that same still popular and probably everlasting Fab Four. Local TV stations have shown footage of the crazy scene at City Park Studio when thousands of teenage girls rushed the stage as the Beatles sang (no one could hear a thing, as the screaming from teenage fans drowned out the music.

Paul McCartney once said in an interview that the Beatles quit performing in those big stadium shows because the band was fed up with the hysterical reaction of the listeners. Mc Cartney said even he and the other Beatles could not hear a word of what they were singing. So, "what was the point in performing that way. We weren't making music. We were an event." So New Orleans was one of the cities that had one of those shows. When radio stations here play back audio of the show one can most prominently hear the screams, not the songs the Beatles played.

Rock was new then and the frantic reaction from kids was there way of protesting the established music and culture of the day. It was a loud protest because it was the first time kids had their own music. Too, that kind of cultural change is what made for the wonderful chaos and change in the 60's.Also today Mary Travers died. Travers joined forces in the late 50's and early 60's with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey to form the greatest folk music group ever, 'Peter Paul and Mary'. Peter Paul and Mary was all about protesting social injustice, and they too paved the way for changes in music style, as did the Beatles. Their Song, "If I had a Hammer' is a classic protest against racial injustice. Bob Dylan's song 'Blowing in the Wind' was recorded by Peter Paul and Mary and made into a timeless tune. It was a protest song against the Vietnam War. Hmmmmmm Perhaps their best known song is "Puff the Magic Dragon". It's still commonly played for small children today.

It was quite a day to remember performers who were simple, who displayed such greatness and who thankfully are timeless.