Mary Travers Now In Honah Lee

How many times in the last few months have I turned on CNN in the morning, looked at the little bar scrolling across the bottom, and thought "Awww, shoot" as another icon has died? Too many times, I think - maybe it's a sign of my own getting older. The latest instance of me shaking my head sadly is the death this week of Mary Travers, best known as Mary from Peter, Paul and Mary. After successfully battling cancer since 2005, she died from complications from chemotherapy this week at the age of 72.

Mary Travers' importance to folk music and women musicians cannot be overstated. In the trio, she was the focal point, the pretty girl with the beautiful voice that captured more mainstream attention for the Greenwich Village subculture of the 1960s. Through her humanity and talent, she put a face on the folk music movement which had been largely ignored or ridiculed prior to that time. When the group did their own versions of important songs in the folk music subculture, suddenly, people took notice. Of course, it didn't hurt that she was beautiful, which may have been why mainstream culture was willing to listen. But Mary took that attention to heart, using her platform to advocate for political causes through music like Pete Seeger's "If I Had A Hammer" and the remake of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind", as well as through where the band chose to play, including the 1963 March on Washington and the voting-rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965. Throughout the rest of her life, she would be an advocate for civil rights, nuclear disarmament and other political causes.

Peter, Paul and Mary weren't entirely serious though. One of their most popular and beloved songs, "Puff The Magic Dragon", was a whimsical tale of the adventures of a misunderstood boy and the dragon who teaches him to be brave. It later became a children's television special, and then movies, extolling the values of imaginary friends, adventures, understanding creatures who are different than us, and being courageous. Doubtless it spawned many of my own imaginary friends. Ready for a singalong?