Who is Noel Paul Stookey? What we know about the last surviving member of folk music trio Peter, Paul, and Mary

Noel Paul Stookey was born on December 30, 1937. He is a singer-songwriter who is known for being the "Paul" in the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. Following fellow member Peter Yarrow's death in January 2025, he is now the last surviving member of the musical group that took part in the important folk music revival of the 1960s, which was very popular for socially conscious themes.

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Who is Noel Paul Stookey?

In the 1960s, the songwriter Stookey used to tour with Peter, Paul, and Mary. He took a sabbatical in 1970 to spend more time at home with the family. He relocated to Maine and spent some quality time while working on his solo career as his family life was nurtured.

Stookey also wrote the love song in 1971 for Peter Yarrow's wedding. It might be his best-known composition to date and continues to feature prominently in many contemporary weddings.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Stookey continued to record solo albums and worked with other artists. His work during this period was often filled with social justice, spirituality, and community issues.

In 1986, he co-founded the company Hugworks, whose work involves therapy through music for children. This venture brought out a set of award-winning children's CDs played in hospitals and medical camps around the country.

Stookey has been a strong activist for social causes. In 2011, he participated in the events at Dartmouth College to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. He showed the world his passion for using music as a tool for social change. Much of his music reflects his deep-seated belief in love, compassion, and unity.

Stookey was very engaged in the 2020s, not unlike everyone else during the pandemic, with agile performances and online collaborations across the country. He composed lyrics on some of his newest songs like Reverence, which expresses the dependency of all living beings on each other.

In 2023, at age 84, Stookey published Fazz: Now & Then, an album that combines jazz elements with his folk origins.

Stookey has also established a recording studio known as “The Henhouse” in Blue Hill, Maine. This creative space has served as a hub for local artists and was integral to the founding of WERU-FM, a community-supported radio station that amplifies diverse voices in the region.

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Noel Paul Stookey's early life

Stookey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved to Birmingham, Michigan, later in life. In 1955, he graduated from Birmingham High School and attended Michigan State University, where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

His early musical experiences were rooted in R&B and folk traditions, influenced by artists such as Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Stookey's folk music background started in Greenwich Village, where he made lifelong contacts with other artists that would result in the trio Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Stookey met Mary in the late 1950s while performing in the Greenwich Village when they initially began as a folk duo. Their big break came when Albert Grossman, a prominent manager, recognized their potential and sought to create a trio by adding another singer.

In 1961, Grossman introduced Yarrow to Stookey and Travers, whose tenor and the other two voices harmonized perfectly, giving rise to the trio. They made their first performance at the famous Bitter End in Greenwich Village, attracting fans with exciting performances and well-harmonized voices.

They were signed by Warner Bros. Records in 1961, releasing their debut self-titled album, featuring such hits as "Puff, the Magic Dragon." The band's music reached a generation seeking socially conscious themes during this period of change.

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Stookey is the only surviving member of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary

While Mary from the trio passed away in the year 2009, Peter Yarrow, the other bandmate of Stookey, died on January 7, 2025, at the age of 86. His publicist, Ken Sunshine, confirmed that Peter had been fighting bladder cancer for four years before passing away at his home in New York City. Stookey is now the only surviving member of the trio.