Peter, Paul & Mary

The brainchild of Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary (Peter Yarrow, Noel "Paul" Stookey and Mary Travers) formed in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s.

The folk revival was in full bloom at the time, and groups such as the Kingston Trio and The Weavers were popularizing folk standards to the masses with their radio-friendly harmonies and cheery arrangements. Though Peter, Paul & Mary weren't as sugary as some of their folk revivalist peers, they did boast great harmonies and a great selection of tunes in their repertoire. Dylan covers, not surprisingly, were a part of their setlist, but they also notably sang the original "Puff the Magic Dragon" and had a No.1 hit with the John Denver-penned "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Though many of these tunes ("Lemon Tree," "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone") were recorded endlessly by the folk groups of the time, more often than not the P,P&M versions are the finest.

They split in 1970 but reformed in 1978, and continue to tour and record to date, though there was a break in 2004-2005 to accommodate Travers' leukemia. In their career they have amassed a respectable five Grammys, 13 Top 40 hits, eight gold and five platinum records. They consolidated that success when they were awarded the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.