Pour a little out for Mary Travers this morning; the Peter, Paul and Mary member died yesterday at 72. (Worst headline: “Mary Travers is Gone. Puff! Just Like That.”)

Peter, Paul and Mommy, the group’s first children’s album, was the first album I really loved. My favorite song was the first one, “The Marvelous Toy.” So I thought last night that I would listen to some of its songs.

Big mistake!

How did this little-man-named-Rumplestiltskin style of singing ever capture the boomers’ hearts?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIl8JMkPylM]

However, on the video below, you can see why Travers’ voice was so important to the group’s sound. She turns an excruciating song choice into very nearly a pleasure.

Major caveat: This clip is freaking weird. PP&M, the Smothers Brothers, and DONOVAN all perform snippets of their songs in the round. I believe this was on network television.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNppAsmQ8qg]