Mary Allin Travers was born on 9 November 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky USA, to Robert Travers and Virginia Coigney, journalists and organizers for the The Newspaper Guild union. She was a singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the ’60s folk music trio “Peter, Paul and Mary”. She passed away in 2009.
A famous singer, how rich was Mary Travers? According to sources, Travers had established a net worth of over $3 million, her wealth having been earned during her music career which began in the early ’50s.
Mary Travers Net Worth $3 Million
Travers’ family moved to New York City’s Greenwich Village when she was two years old and she attended Manhattan’s progressive Little Red School House. However, she dropped out in her junior year to focus on her singing career. She became a member of the Song Swappers folk group, which sang background vocals for a founding member of the Weavers, Pete Seeger, on several albums in the mid ’50s. In 1958 Travers appeared as a folk singer in the short-lived Broadway musical “The Next President”. Her net worth was established.
In 1961, during the American folk music revival phenomenon, music manager Albert Grossman formed a folk group, consisting of Travers, Paul (Noel) Stookey and Peter Yarrow. The group, simply named “Peter, Paul and Mary”, started at NYC’s popular folk music venue, The Bitter End Coffee House. Within a year, their debut self-titled album came out, containing several hit singles, such as the Seeger tunes “If I Had a Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”. Their second album “Moving” spawned another hit, “Puff, The Magic Dragon”. The group’s third album called “In the Wind” featured Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin”, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Blowin’ in the Wind”, which dominated the charts, with the latter single becoming one of the group’s biggest hits and an anthem for the civil rights movement. Several albums followed, scoring hits such as “I Dig Rock and Roll Music”, “Day Is Gone” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, with the latter song becoming their thirteenth and final top 40 hit. All added to Travers’ net worth.
By 1970 “Peter, Paul and Mary” disbanded in order to pursue solo ventures; although each had gone their separate way, they reunited for many tours and concerts. Travers went on to release five solo albums during the ’70s: “Mary”, “Morning Glor”, “All My Choices”, “Circles” and “It’s in Everyone of Us”, which intensified her wealth. She also sang with symphony orchestras and lectured on university campuses.
In 1978 the group reunited and went on to release a number of new albums. In 2004 Travers was diagnosed with leukemia. She died after complications with chemotherapy in 2009, being aged 72. During their long and successful career as “Peter, Paul and Mary”, the group earned five Grammys and had 13 Top 40 hits, with eight of their albums being certified gold and five platinum, which enabled Travers to establish significant personal wealth. The trio was also known for their involvement in the peace movement, and various human rights protests.
In her personal life, Travers was married four times. Her first marriage was to John Filler in the 50s, with whom she had one child. During the 60 she was married to photographer Barry Feinstein, with whom she also had one child. Her third marriage was to a publisher of National Lampoon, Gerald Taylor, in the 70s. In 1991 Travers married restaurateur Ethan Robbins, with whom she remained until her death.
Mary Travers wealth seems reasonable for her popularity and hard work.