Fame, Fortune, and Faith

"The Only Common Denominator Is Love"

Photos by Steven Lawrence

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In early June of 2024, Peter Yarrow and I co-hosted an event at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, welcoming two of our guitars into their instrument collection. These were the original guitars that appeared on the cover of Peter, Paul and Mary's first album and subsequently figured predominately in many of our performances during the first 10 years of the trio's history. 

Peter had created a brief introductory video for the occasion that helped the audience to recall our participation in the March on Washington, our Newport Folk Festival appearances, and the subsequent rallies in support of the anti-war, anti-nuke and women's rights initiatives as well as the opposition to the American involvement in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

About 200 invited guests attended the ceremony at the MET where we shared with them not only some of the music but some special lesser-known moments in the “life" of those two Martin guitars that had served us so well.  During the interview, Jayson Dobney, the MET representative asked about the sudden fame that the group accrued in the early 60’s, and it caused Peter to move responsively into what was to me an apt reflection on fame as a concept.  He said (and I'm paraphrasing) that “fame” was something that might occasionally occur, BUT if pursued as an end purpose, was ultimately destructive. 

I found his statement of that awareness incredibly perceptive. Peter, Paul and Mary never chased after “fame” per se. Case in point, when we were offered a chance to join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we demurred—particularly because our world-wide popularity at the time had evolved from being continually referenced by the news and public media as part of an involvement in current social concerns and NOT because our music was part of the latest pop craze.  

Peter went on to say,

In our case, what we created sprang in large part from the music and the convictions of the pioneer folk singer-activists who sparked the “Folk Renaissance” of the 50s and 60s, such as Pete Seeger, the Weavers, Josh White, Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly). Our “teachers” emerged from hundreds of years of mostly anonymously written songs that were NOT written because of the desire for profit or fame. These songs are truly the “music of the people.”

As that topic evolved on-stage at the MET that night, I couldn’t help but consider the fact that in my personal life and musical expression, I had also followed my heart and not the pocketbook. “The Wedding Song” seems to be a “poster child” in that regard.  Here we are, almost 60 years after the success of the popular version of the song, and we find that it is still an integral part of many contemporary weddings. When Guideposts published my essay about the origin of "The Wedding Song," the editor titled it "The Song I Had to Give Away."

Curiously, one of the most revealing confessionals from my songs written in the '70s is "The Means Are the End," which in the spirit of transparency, mentions the architectural credo of form following function.  And as Peter and I left the stage following the Metropolitan Museum event that evening, I was once again thankful that so many of the decisions that the trio and I have made in our 50 years together have been in deference to a higher calling…

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CONNECTIONS 

Learn more about Noel’s and Peter’s guitars in the MET’s official announcement.

VIBRATIONS

Discover the “common denominator” by listening to Noel’s “The Means Are the End.”

RESONANCE

When you visit a museum and see instruments that have belonged to famous musicians, how and why does that experience move or engage you?

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