of folk singer mary travers of peter, paul and mary dead at 72

Folk singer Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dead at 72: Mary Travers died after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72.


Mary Travers of the famed folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, with her Peter Yarrow (left) and Noel Paul Stookey.

Mary Travers, a striking figure of power and glamour in the early-1960s folk music movement, died Wednesday at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut after suffering from leukemia for several years. She was 72.

She was best known as the blond with the bangs who commanded the middle microphone with Peter, Paul and Mary, a trio that brought folk music from coffeehouses to top-40 radio.

They also gave much of America its first taste of the young Bob Dylan by helping to turn his "Blowin' in the Wind" into a national anthem.

The group reunited several years ago to begin touring, and Travers performed with them until a few months ago, even when she needed assistance on stage.