Staff Writer
Noel Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame will join Tim Sample and the Shaw Brothers as part of the “New England Sampler” performance at the Caribou Performing Arts Center, to take place on Saturday, Nov. 7. The event, sponsored by Key Bank, will benefit the “Healthy You” program at Cary Medical Center. “Healthy You” is an award winning community health education program. Key Bank has been a major sponsor of the program since its inception in 2008.
Stookey, was a member of the well-known group, Peter (Yarrow), Paul, (Stookey), and Mary (Travers), the best known vocal ensemble of the 1960s phase of the American Folk Music Revival.
The group performed throughout the 1960s and recorded their first album, “Peter, Paul and Mary,” which went to number one on Billboard Magazine and stayed there for seven weeks. The popular album featured songs including: “If I Had A hammer,” “500 Miles,” the “Lemon Song,” and “Where have all the Flowers Gone.”
The group also performed during the peace march on Washington in 1963, best remembered for Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a Dream” oration. The group broke up in 1970, allowing members to pursue individual careers. Peter, Paul and Mary held several reunion concerts until the death of Mary Travers in September of this year.
Stookey’s post Peter, Paul and Mary works have emphasized his Christian faith, family life and social concerns. His most famous solo work was the, “Wedding Song,” which he wrote for Peter Yarrow’s wedding. Stookey stated, “When Peter asked me to write a song for his wedding, I was unsure if I would be able to do so, — I prayed for a song and that’s how it came to be, I didn’t feel right earning royalties from the song when it became popular so I created a non-profit Public Domain Foundation, donating all the proceeds from the ‘Wedding Song,’ to charity.”
To date, Stookey’s Public Domain Foundation has made charitable contributions of more than $1.5 million. Currently Stookey’s daughter runs the foundation and funds are dispersed through insights from personal observations and sociologically awareness from Stookey and a board of directors.
Stookey said he was looking forward to coming to Caribou and to the New England Sampler performance at CPAC, performing on stage with Tim Sample and the Shaw Brothers. Regarding his music, Stookey suggested that his popular, “Fuzzy Wuzzy” song would perhaps be sung during Saturday’s concert promising that there are two other verses to that particular favorite.
Concerning music and life, Stookey stated, “We need to become re-acquainted with our hearts.”
Stookey has performed with Tim Sample over a number of years. Sample, the famous, Down East comic and storyteller has put together a traveling show featuring various Maine-based artists.
Deemed, “Maine’s humorist Laureate,” by author Stephen King, Tim Sample has sold well over a million books, albums and videos. He has appeared on popular programs including Good Morning America and the Today Show.
Sample has also brought his talent to thousands of shows in venues as diverse as the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Mall of the Americas, New York City Yacht Club and of course to the Caribou Performing Arts Center a number of successful times.
“I am really pleased that Paul and Rick and Ron Shaw will be joining myself at CPAC,” said Sample, “the New England Sampler is something I’ve envisioned doing and I’m exciting to bring it to Caribou.”
“People need to laugh,” said Sample, “I once told my daughters when they were younger and I was on the road a lot, “I have the best job in the world, I make arrangements to meet with a whole roomful of strangers, the lights are turned down, they laugh and I get a paycheck.” An audience with a sense of appreciation is a lovely thing to a comedian and you don’t find a better audience than at CPAC.”
Bill Flagg, director of community relations and development at Cary Medical Center said that joining Sample with Stookey and the Shaw Brothers will make for an “unforgettable’ evening. “What a privilege it will be to have Noel Paul Stookey here at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. Noel, like Tim Sample is a true icon and someone who has created a lasting legacy of great music and social consciousness. Never before have we assembled such a dynamic array of performers all on one night,” Flagg added.
The Shaw Brothers, Rick and Ron, have most recently appeared at Harrods in London, but are well remembered for earlier performances on “Hoot ’n’ Nanny”, a popular TV show in the 1060s with the Brandywine singers and of course from the 1970s and the Hillside Singers and the their famous song, “I’d like to teach the world to sing”
Rick and Ron Shaw, designated as “musical ambassadors to the world” from their native New England, both stated that they were at the Northern Maine Fair, a long time ago, when they were the opening act for Bobby Darin. “We have heard great things about the Caribou Performing Arts Center and we are looking forward to being there and meeting all the fine people.”
Tickets for the Saturday, Nov. 7, show are available at Caribou One Stop and Food Trend; Presque Isle Food Trend; Ezzy’s Music Shop in Van Buren; the Harvest Market, Fort Fairfield; Paul’s Sub Shop, Limestone; and the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle.
For more information contact the Cary Medical Center at 498-1112 or the Caribou Performing Arts Center at 493-4278.
Tickets are $14 in advance and $16 at the door.
