A sampling of the reactions to Mary Travers' passing

Yes, I'm taking a slightly more dignified tack in discussing the death of Mary Travers than I did in discussing the death of Jim Carroll. You see, their music was quite different. And all that I'm really doing here is providing links to others' thoughts on Travers' music.

Popeater: "Travers' voice helped carry the trio's greatest hits including 'Puff the Magic Dragon,' 'If I Had a Hammer' and 'Leaving on a Jet Place.'"

New York Times: "Ms. Travers brought a powerful voice and an unfeigned urgency to music that resonated with mainstream listeners. With her straight blond hair and willowy figure and two bearded guitar players by her side, she looked exactly like what she was, a Greenwich Villager directly from the clubs and the coffeehouses that nourished the folk-music revival."

The Music's Over: "Mary Travers is best remembered as one-third of the iconic folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary. Formed in 1961, the trio gained world-wide acclaim during the ’60s folk revival with such hits as “If I Had A Hammer,” “Puff The Magic Dragon,” and their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind.” They were one of the premier folk groups for many years to come."

HistoricUpstart: "I had two records of them growing up, and I used to crank up the volume and lay down right next to the speaker and sing my heart out to the beautiful harmonies." (H/T Myrna)

The Guardian: "Prettier than Bob Dylan, less hectoring than Joan Baez, she made the idea of sipping overpriced coffee in a downtown dive, while a guitar player sang songs of freedom seem like the greatest thing in the world."

Life in Claremont: "We had several of their records which I would listen to at bedtime on my Sears record player next to my bed. Mary's voice was particularly enchanting to me."

Political Byline: "On a personal note, My mother loved this group as a young lady and still does to this day. With my Mom and many of the other young people at the time; politics was the farthest thing from their minds. They were just enjoying the good music and singing. I am also well aware of the politics of this woman and the other members of the group. However, I do believe a bit clarification is in order. I believe that the liberalism of this woman’s era was not the same stripe of the liberalism of today. It is sort of hard to explain, there has been books written about it. It was the Kennedy Liberalism and not the kind of Liberalism of Barack Obama." (H/T The Atlantic Wire, which also links to the Guardian piece and several others)

(Unfortunately, neither Flickr nor Wikipedia had pictures available for commercial use. Stands to reason.)