Mary Travers, whose ringing, earnest vocals with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary made songs like "Blowin' in the Wind," "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" enduring anthems of the 1960s protest movement, died Wednesday at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. She was 72 and lived in Redding, Conn.
The cause was cancer, said Heather Lylis, a spokeswoman.
Travers brought a powerful voice and an urgency to music that resonated with mainstream listeners. With her straight blond hair and willowy figure and two bearded guitar players by her side, she looked like what she was, a Greenwich Villager from the clubs and the coffeehouses that nourished the folk-music revival.
Travers' voice blended seamlessly with those of her colleagues, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, to create a rich three-part harmony that propelled the group to the top of the charts. Their first album, "Peter, Paul and Mary," which featured the hit singles "Lemon Tree" and "If I Had a Hammer," reached No.1 shortly after its release in 1962.
The group's interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" translated his raw vocal style into a smooth, more commercially acceptable sound. They also scored with pleasing songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon" and John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
They quickly became one of the world's most popular folk-music groups. The albums "Moving" and "In the Wind," both released in 1963, rose to the top of the charts and stayed there for months.
Over the years they performed frequently at political rallies and demonstrations in the United States and abroad. After the group disbanded, in 1970, Travers continued to perform at political events around the world as she pursued a solo career.
Mary Allin Travers was born on Nov. 9, 1936, in Louisville, Ky. When she was 2, her parents moved to New York. Unique among the musicians who emerged from Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, Travers actually came from the neighborhood.
