RIP Mary Travers. Fly to the Angels, sweet lady... 09/16/09

Okay, this one hurts. You'll excuse me if I step pretty far away from the usual classic rock theme for a second here (wait, Kay? You've actually posted an on-topic blog thus far?). Those who listen regularly to 'EXPOSED' know that I'm a singer/actor and that I have some pretty diverse musical influences ranging from The Beatles to Lloyd-Webber and beyond.

Welp, growing up I was also rather roundly indoctrinated with folk music, courtesy of my mom. Dad might have been a DJ in the late 70s/early 80s, but he was never too keen on the "overtly political" messages of one of mom's favorite acts- Peter, Paul and Mary. Didn't matter to me. I loved the singable melodies, the stories that the songs told and... those harmonies, man! I ate up the harmonies. In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that I have PP&M to thank for my sense of pitch. It's not perfect, but I can pick out lines in a three-part no sweat, and without "Blowin' in the Wind", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Puff, The Magic Dragon", I know I wouldn't be able to say that.

So to say hearing about Mary Travers' passing yesterday at the age of 72 shocked me would be putting it mildly. I honestly felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I was instantly 5 years old again running around Grandma Barber's living room watching funny Paul sing "Right Field"... giggling at Peter's "mistasche" and thinking how pretty Mary's long blond hair was. I wanted Mary to be my third grandma... yeah, I had no idea how these things worked, obviously. lol

I was blessed to see the group perform live twice in my life. Also, thanks to my wonderful fiancee Packy, I met Peter Yarrow two years ago:

(I was pretty much choking back tears the whole time. I'm a sap, I know.)

... but I never met Mary herself. A huge regret for me now.

If I had the chance to say something to her right now... it seems so plain, but mostly, I'd say thank you. Thank you for being such a big part of my childhood and showing me that a woman can be smart, passionate and sing the hell out of a song as well as any old man! YEAH, BABY!

In October, 'EXPOSED' will be featuring the women of classic rock in connection with Breast Cancer Awareness month. Look for me to say something about Mary in that time. She might not have been "classic rock", but she definitely embodied why the women of music kick @ss!

- Kay