The great Mary Travers of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary has died.
The cause was side effects from chemotherapy for leukemia, a disease she had battled since 2004. She rallied after a bone marrow transplant in 2006, but faded this year.
Here’s a lovely 1969 video that pretty much says it all about Travers and “the boys,” as she called Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. (The fourth dude is John Denver, who wrote “Leavin’ On a Jet Plane.”)
As great as her voice is, Mary’s real magic shows at about the 0:59 mark, where she passes the lead to Denver — the way she tosses her head to watch him, and then beams while he sings. She’s the bright dot of paint that pulls the whole portrait together.
And that’s a sweet little peck she gives Denver there at the very, very end of the clip.
(Image supplied by WENN. See more Mary Travers photos.)