Peter and Paul singer Mary dies
Mary Travers from the Sixties American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary has died aged 72.
With Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey, Travers was behind hits Leaving On A Jet Plane and Puff, The Magic Dragon.
The group were as well known for their political activism as their music, supporting the civil rights movement and opposing the Vietnam War.
Their version of If I Had A Hammer became an anthem for racial equality. Travers and her bandmates collected five Grammy Awards and had huge chart success for a folk act. At one point in 1963, three of their albums were in the top six of the America charts.
The group broke up in 1970, and Travers recorded five albums on her own, but they reformed in 1978. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Travers died in hospital yesterday after a long battle with leukaemia. She is survived by her fourth husband, Ethan Robbins, two daughters and two grandchildren.
