Peter, Paul and Mary is the first album by Peter, Paul and Mary, released in 1962 on Warner Bros. Records. Released in both mono and stereo on catalog no. 1449, It is one of the rare folk albums to reach US#1 – staying for over a month. The lead-off singles “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree” reached numbers 10 and 35 respectively on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It was the group’s biggest selling studio album, eventually certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. sales of more than two million copies. (More from Wikipedia)
Major and minor artists alike often have spiritually themed songs or overtly Christian songs on their albums. The first cut on Simon and Garfunkel’s debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is a gospel song called “You Can Tell the World” that was written by Gibson & Camp (Bob Gibson and Bob Camp – later known as Hamilton Camp). Peter, Paul and Mary had numerous gospel songs on their albums, including “This Train” on their first album, Peter, Paul and Mary. Also on this album, under the name “If I Had My Way”, is a traditional song also called “Samson and Delilah” that is based on the Biblical account. Many other rock musicians have recorded this song, notably the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Ike and Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, and Garbage front woman Shirley Manson.
(July 2014)
