Peter, Paul and Mary - Early Morning Rain (1965) Live Performance (SHQ)

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Here for you today and always is a wonderful performance by Peter, Paul and Mary singing "Early Morning Rain"

The song sometimes styled as "Early Mornin' Rain," was written, composed, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. The song appears on his 1966 debut album Lightfoot! and, in a re-recorded version, on the 1975 compilation Gord's Gold.

Lightfoot wrote and composed the song in 1964, but its genesis took root during his 1960 sojourn in Westlake, Los Angeles. Throughout this time, Lightfoot sometimes became homesick and would go out to the Los Angeles International Airport on rainy days to watch the approaching aircraft.

The imagery of the flights taking off into the overcast sky was still with him when, in 1964, he was caring for his 5-month-old baby son and he thought, "I’ll put him over here in his crib, and I’ll write myself a tune." "Early Morning Rain" was the result.

The version by Ian & Sylvia reached #1 on the Canadian AC charts, August 2, 1965.

Peter Paul and Mary's version of the song was recorded in August 1965, reaching No. 39 in Canada, and No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The next year, George Hamilton IV's version hit No. 9 on the US country chart In April 1971, Oliver's version hit No. 38 on the US adult contemporary chart.

Paul Weller took the song to No. 40 in the United Kingdom in 2005.

Notably, Elvis Presley recorded and played the song live dozens of times. Under the title "Dans la brume du matin" (in the morning mist), the French cover of this song was a hit in France by Joe Dassin.

Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), and Mary Travers (contralto vocals).

The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan, and covers of other folk musicians. They were enormously successful in the early- and mid-1960s, with their debut album topping the charts for weeks, and helped popularize the folk music revival. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.

Mary Travers said she was influenced by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers. In the 2004 documentary Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On — A Musical Legacy, members of the Weavers discuss how Peter, Paul and Mary took over the torch of the social commentary of folk music in the 1960s.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Peter, Paul and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.

It's a lovely song, brings back wonderful memories.

Eddy EVB @thesquaredisc