“...Albert doesn’t want us to record this song. He thinks it’s too controversial.”  Would you guys like to do it?”

     It was Peter Yarrow, and we were in the apartment on Fifth Street off of Second Avenue in Manhattan that Paul Potash and I shared. Our second Columbia album, ‘Hangin Drinkin and Stuff’ had just been released and was going nowhere, The Brothers Four had suddenly become the darlings of Columbia, winter was upon us, and Paul and I had started looking to the budding west coast folk scene for salvation.

We had met Peter at the Café Wha? in Greenwich Village a year earlier. We sang nightly and Peter and I had formed a friendship. When he first hit town, I had gotten him a gig replacing me in an Israeli folk-dance group as the guitarist/singer. Now he was in the process of forming a new group, Peter Paul and Mary. Peter Yarrow is pure folksinger top to bottom.  I remember marveling at him when he’d solo at the Wha?’. Once he started singing, the funny looking Jewish kid disappeared. There was only this energy on stage rocking back and forth as the music surged through the room. If I ever had visions of following in the footsteps of my hero Pete Seeger, I was sure that Peter Yarrow would be in front of me in the line.     
     It was 1961. Folk music was spreading and money was hunting for talent. No wonder Albert Grossman singled Peter out and paired him with Noel Stookey. Noel was also a regular at the Wha? and his comedy, rich voice and sincere talent made him a natural. But they needed a girl to round out the package. I remember having been impressed by Mary Travers after seeing her at a midnight concert at one of the local Village theaters a few weeks earlier. When Peter asked me if I knew any girl folk singers one night while we were sitting at the bar at Minetta’s Tavern across the street from the Wha?’, I asked if he’d heard of her and that he should look her up if he hadn’t.  Now I have no idea whether he did right then, later, or because of me at all, but sooner or later they found each other. That was the way things happened back then. We were all ingredients in one big cauldron of soup called the folk scene and who knows who was responsible for what, but things happened the way they were supposed to I suppose, and it’s a lucky thing because otherwise there’d be jerks standing on stage every night taking credit for discovering Elvis. Actually, there are.

     Anyway, Peter grabs a guitar, yanks out a sheet of paper, unfolds it, and sings “Puff The Magic Dragon” to me and Paul. What’s so controversial? we asked. That’s how naïve we were. Peter had written it as a children's song and I guess there was some question for some people but to us it was a children's song and we always thought so. Knowing Peter as I did then, I still think so.
     We loved the song.  I mean l-o-v-e-d the song. Not even a question.Within a day, we had an arrangement, and within the week we were singing it at Mike’s Pub in Boulder, Colorado. It became our theme song.  We even had a fan, an exchange student at U of C who translated it into Swedish. “Puff Der Hemske Dragon”.  I’ll post it if I can find it.
     A month later at a sold-out concert at the University in Boulder, we sang it and at the time, we had no idea someone was recording the concert.  After the concert, we headed for Los Angeles, our new song, salvation and summer in our dreams.
     On to Los Angeles – The Troubadour, The Ice House…. Art and Paul and their hit song ‘Puff The Magic…’.  Next time you are at The Coffee Gallery, ask Bob Stane. He remembers.

Then…

“...Art, there’s a phone call for you”

     I was standing next to the back door of the Troubadour in Los Angeles waiting to go on with Paul. Dickie Davis was holding the pay phone receiver in his hand.
     “Peter?” Where are you? New York? … he what?  …wants you to record Puff after all? ... I see, we can’t record it first but we can record it afterwards if we like.  …tell you what.  If it isn’t a hit after you guys do it, then we’ll give it a shot. No problem ..gotta go…..”

     Some years later, I found out that the recording made at the 1961 Boulder concert had surfaced on a bootleg record label. Click the link below to hear it.

     And there you have it. The true story so help me God. Oh yes, Peter, if you are reading this, please let me know where to send the royalties. I’ve lost your address.

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