A FORWARD MESSAGE
As anyone with even the most remote knowledge of popular music will attest, Peter, Paul and Mary played an essential role in bringing folk music to the masses. Among the first artists to record the early work of the still emerging Bob Dylan, John Denver and other soon-to-be musical icons, the trio immersed themselves in the broad sweep of cultural and societal transformations that took hold both here at home and throughout the world.
Journals have been written about this essential era in the modern musical trajectory and the impact played by these three remarkable individuals whose nuance and harmonies literally defy the test of time. Their music brings back memories of a specific time and place, when the fight for racial equality and putting an end to war offered a priority and a purpose that inspired young people of that activist generation.
It stands to reason then that the trio’s seminal appearances at the Newport Folk Festival is considered an integral part of that evolution. Folk music had a purity and passion that predated the electrified anthems that came later and helped move the masses simply on the strength of three voices and two guitars. With a new release on both DVD and CD, one that boasts 18 heretofore unreleased performances spanning the years 1963 to 1965, folk music fans are offered an enlightening look at the essential effort that helped transform innocence into awareness and made America a better place as a result.
Looking at back at this archival footage, all in black and white with Peter Yarrow’s narrative providing anecdotal insights, one gets a general feel for the tempo of
