Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter who was famous for being in the 1960s folk trio

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reper ...

; however, he has been known by his first name, Noel, throughout his life. Nowadays, he continues to work as a singer and an activist, performing as a solo artist, and occasionally with then-bandmate Peter Yarrow.

Early life

Stookey was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland, United States. His family moved to Birmingham, Michigan, when he was 12 years old, and he graduated from Birmingham High School (now

Seaholm High School Ernest W. Seaholm High School (simply referred to as Seaholm High School) is a public high school in Birmingham, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1951 and is part of the Birmingham Public Schools district. History Seaholm opened ...

) in 1955. Stookey is an alumnus of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

(MSU) in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

. While attending MSU, he joined

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North Americ ...

fraternity. Though he credits a deep spiritual core for his work, Stookey "dispelled reports that he was born a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, saying his mother was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and his dad was an ex-

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...

" and recalling the family's "eclectic attendance at church. I had no real spiritual sense until I was 30.'"

Personal life

Stookey married Elizabeth "Betty" Bannard in 1963 and they have three daughters. After raising their family in Blue Hill, Maine, the couple lived for several years in

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while Betty served as the

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP a ...

chaplain, and in 2005, they returned to Maine. Stookey originally recorded his solo albums in his private studio—a converted four-story henhouse—on his Maine property. This studio, known as "The Henhouse", was also the origin point of the first broadcasts of WERU upon that station's inception in 1988.

Music career

Peter, Paul and Mary

Performing as ''Paul'' in the Peter, Paul and Mary trio, he participated in one of the best-known ensembles of the 1960s phase of the

American folk music revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-B ...

, and included some of his solo songs and extended monologues in their performances and recordings. One of Stookey's songs, "Norman Normal", which appeared on '' The Peter, Paul and Mary Album'' (1966), inspired a Warner Bros. animated cartoon also titled '' Norman Normal'' (1968). Stookey co-wrote the story for the cartoon and voiced several of the characters. In addition to his recordings with the trio, he released a number of solo works, several albums with the ensemble Bodyworks, and some anthologies. He was an important artist in the young Jesus music movement, which would later bloom into the Christian music industry, although his generally liberal political views distinguish him from many such artists. In 1986, Stookey teamed up with Jim Newton, Paul G. Hill, and Denny Bouchard at Celebration Shop in Texas. The company, now known as Hugworks, uses original musical compositions as music therapy to address the special needs of children. The company has produced three award-winning children's CDs used in hospitals, medical camps and homes across the country. Stookey was awarded the Kate Wolf Memorial Award by the

World Folk Music Association The World Folk Music Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1983 by folk singer/songwriter Tom Paxton and Dick Cerri, a radio host from Washington D. C. The first chairman of the board was Paxton and Cerri served as president. Paxton ...

in 2000.

Solo career

During 1971 and 1972 Warner released an eponymous debut solo album by each member of the group. Each of these had similarly styled cover art. Stookey's album, titled "Paul, and", was the highest charting of the three. It reached #42 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...

chart in the United States in September 1971. Stookey's best-known composition " The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" was included on his debut solo album. The song was also released as a single which charted in the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

at #24. The song remains popular for performance during wedding services. He wrote the song as a wedding gift for Peter Yarrow, and refused to perform it for the public until Yarrow requested it at a concert where his wife was present. Stookey assigned the copyright of this song to the Public Domain Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)3 that facilitates the creation and impact of music for social change (M4SC). Generating over $1.5 million for charity worldwide, PDF has facilitated the creation of M4SC through its Music to Life (M2L) contest and other educational, entertainment and outreach activities, bringing together the global community, communicating how activism through music is alive and possible.

After Peter, Paul and Mary

Paul performed as a member of Peter, Paul and Mary until the death of Mary in September 2009. His work after

has emphasized his Christian faith, family life and social concerns. He remains active in the music industry, performing as a solo act, and also performing occasionally with Peter Yarrow. In 2000 Noel and his daughter, Elizabeth Stookey Sunde, founded the nonprofit Music to Life, which builds on the strong historical legacy of social movements' intentional use of music to educate, recruit, and mobilize. M2L revitalizes music to meet the challenges of the modern world and revolutionize the role activist artists can play in accelerating social change. Music to Life understands the complexity of contemporary causes and the diversity of musical genres. They blend this knowledge with multimedia technologies and programming techniques to develop unique musical experiences that amplify an organization's message, spark engagement with a cause, and empower activist artists to stand on the front lines of social change. In January 2011, centered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Stookey participated in several events at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

that celebrated King's life, including "Music for Social Change with Noel Paul Stookey and Company."

Production

He also has production credits on albums by several lesser-known singer-songwriters, including Dave Mallett and Gordon Bok. He was the founder of the Neworld Multimedia record label.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Peter, Paul and Mary official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stookey, Noel 1937 births Living people American folk guitarists American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Michigan State University alumni People from Blue Hill, Maine People from Greenwich Village People from Birmingham, Michigan American performers of Christian music Warner Records artists American baritones American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists Singer-songwriters from Michigan Guitarists from Michigan American banjoists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Singer-songwriters from New York (state)