''Mary'' is the debut solo album by Mary Travers of

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

. It was the most successful of the five solo albums she recorded between 1971 and 1978. The album was released on CD for the first time in 2008 as part of the "Solo Recordings" three-CD set released by

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

and sold exclusively at

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

. The three-CD set contains the self-titled debut solo albums of all the three members of the group.

Reception

'' Sounds'' gave the album a resoundingly positive review, praising the warmth and variety of Travers's vocals, applauding the choice of Lee Holdridge as the arranger and conductor, and saying that the songs "are all natural reflections of Mary's outlook on life, love and herself and are handled by everyone connected with the album with delicacy and feeling."

Track listing

Side one

#"The Song is Love" 3:00 ( Paul Stookey,

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Yarrow co-wrote (with Lenny Lipton ...

, Mary Travers, David Dixon, Richard Kniss) #"I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" (2:06) ( Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert) #"Children One and All" (3:17) (

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen ( ; ; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide ...

) #"

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his third wife. At that time, MacColl was still married to his second wife, Jean Newlove. ...

" (2:50) ( Ewan MacColl) #" I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" (3:25) (

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

, Dick Dallas) #"Erika with The Windy Yellow Hair" (1:15) (Mary Travers, Lee Holdridge) #"Rhymes and Reasons" (2:37) (

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

)

Side two

#"Follow Me" (2:36) (John Denver) #"On the Path of Glory (La Colline Au Whisky)" (2:15) (Kris Ife, Guy Magenta,

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

Pierre Delanoë Pierre Charles Marcel Napoléon Leroyer (16 December 1918 – 27 December 2006), known professionally as Pierre Delanoë (), was a French lyricist who wrote thousands of songs for dozens of singers, including Dalida, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavou ...

, Hal Shaper) #"Circus" (3:16) (John Denver, Michael Johnson, Laurie Kuehn) #"Song for the Asking" (2:03) (

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

) #" Indian Sunset" (6:59) (

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist and visual artist. He is best known for his songwriting partnership with Elton John, recognised as one of the most successful partnerships of its kind in history. Taupin co-wrote th ...

)

Personnel

*Mary Travers –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

- guitar *Sal DiTroia - guitar * Paul Griffin - piano *Frank Owens - piano *Margaret Ross - harp ;Technical * Milton Okun - producer * Lee Holdridge - arranger, conductor *

Phil Ramone Philip Rabinowitz (January 5, 1934March 30, 2013), better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion ...

- associate producer and recording engineer *

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...

- design *Carl Fischer - photography

Charts

Album - ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' (United States) Album - ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' (Canada)

References

{{Authority control 1971 debut albums Mary Travers albums Albums produced by Phil Ramone Warner Records albums Albums produced by Milt Okun Albums arranged by Lee Holdridge Albums conducted by Lee Holdridge Albums with cover art by Milton Glaser