St. Clair Productions presents Peter Yarrow, the “Peter” of Peter, Paul and Mary, on Thursday, January 31, 8 p.m., at the Unitarian Fellowship, 87 4th St., Ashland. Tickets are $25/advance, $28/door, $10/12-17 and free under 12. Tickets available at the Music Coop in downtown Ashland, www.stclairevents.com or 541-535-3562.
“We’re part of a long train ride,” is the way Peter Yarrow visualizes the many events that have highlighted a career spanning more than four decades. Yarrow began to sing with Mary Travers, in December, 1960; when (Noel) Paul Stookey joined them, they chose the name "Peter, Paul and Mary" for their folk trio. Yarrow's songwriting helped to create some of Peter, Paul & Mary's most famous songs, including "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Day is Done", "Light One Candle" and "The Great Mandala." As a member of the renowned musical trio, Yarrow earned multiple gold and platinum albums, as well as numerous GRAMMYs.
Yarrow was instrumental in founding the New Folks Concert series at both the Newport Folk Festival and the Kerrville Folk Festival. His work at Kerrville has been called his "most important achievement in this arena."
Over the years, many issues have moved Yarrow to commit his time and talent: equal rights, peace, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care and education. His current project Operation Respect: "Don't Laugh At Me" is based on his passionate belief that music, with its power to build community and catalyze change, can be a particularly powerful organizing tool as well as a source of inspiration for children.
The project is built around the song, "Don't Laugh at Me," written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin and recorded by Mark Wills, to create a climate of respect in the schools of America. It struck Yarrow that the song with its arresting lyrics, "Don't laugh at me, don't call me names; don't get your pleasure from my pain," when properly positioned in a classroom-based character education, social/emotional learning program, could serve as an anthem for the growing movement to build safer and more respectful school environments for children.
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