Noel Paul Stookey

by Craig HarrisNoel Paul Stookey is best known as one-third of the folk trio, Peter, Paul And Mary. Stookey has balanced his involvement with the trio, however, as a solo singer-songwriter, record producer and political and spiritual activist. His tune, "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)," written for Peter Yarrow's marriage to Marybeth McCarthy, the niece of senator and one-time presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, has become a nuptial classic.
Stookey's earliest inspiration came from the rock and roll of the 1950s and he played electric guitar with several teenage rock bands. His witty personality made him popular as a stand-up comic and he worked as an emcee in night clubs while attending Michigan State University. Although he moved temporarily to Pennsylvania, following his graduation, he soon continued on to New York in hopes of becoming an entertainer. Supporting him and his family by working during the day at a chemical factory, Stookey continued to emcee shows in Greenwich Village clubs. On Sundays, he spent hours playing guitar and singing during informal folk music jam sessions in Washington Square Park.
A turning point came when Stookey was invited, along with Yarrow and his upstairs neighbor Mary Travers, to join a folksinging trio that was being formed by Albert Grossman, manager of Yarrow and, later, of Bob Dylan and record producer Milt Okun. Performing their debut concert at the Bitter End in New York, Peter, Paul and Mary embarked on a decade of non-stop touring and recording. One of the few commercially successful folk acts, the trio recorded eight million selling albums including their self-titled debut album, which reached the top of the charts and remained in the top twenty for two years. In addition to performing several of Stookey's compositions, Peter, Paul and Mary helped to introduce and popularize the songs of Dylan, Tom Paxton, Gordon Lightfoot and John Denver. The trio remained politically involved, as well, performing at Civil Rights rallies, with Dr. Martin Luther King, in Birmingham, Alabama and Washington, D.C., and, at numerous antiVietnam War demonstrations, fund-raisers and teach-ins.
In 1968, Stookey underwent a religious transformation and became a "born again" Christian. Two years later, after the release of a greatest hits album, "Ten Years Together", the trio disbanded with each member going on to pursue solo projects. Stookey's debut solo album, "Paul And...," included "The Wedding Song (There Is Love)" and was the most successful of the solo efforts.
Moving with his family to South Blue Hill, Maine in 1973, Stookey opened a recording studio and launched a record label, Neworld. Among the albums that he produced and released were the first two albums by Maine-based singer-songwriter David Mallet.
Stookey didn't collaborate again with Yarrow or Travers until 1978 when the trio reunited for a benefit concert, Survival Sunday, that Yarrow organized and produced at the Hollywood Bowl. Their performance was so encouraging that they agreed to resume their partnership. In the two decades since, Peter, Paul And Mary have balanced their solo careers with trio recordings and approximately forty-five concerts each year. Stookey's song, "El Salvador," inspired by a trio tour of Central America, was released as a single in 1985. His tune, "For The Love Of It All," was recorded with Emmylou Harris and included on the trio's 1996 album, "Lifelines."
In addition to his busy musical career, Stookey has continued to oversee a multi-media organization that specializes in children's computer software, television shows and music. Stookey also currently serves as sysop for a computer bulletin board run by Celestat.