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Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (PP&M)

19 Feb 07 - 10:28 PM (#1973209)
Subject: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,Gerry

I recently picked up the Peter, Paul and Mary album, Moving, on CD. I loved this album back in the day, and I still do. A couple of odd things about it:

They give some very familiar songs some very unfamiliar names. The song that's usually called Shule Aroon or Buttermilk Hill or Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier, they call it Gone The Rainbow. The song that's usually called Fair and Tender Ladies, they call Tiny Sparrow.

But that's neither here nor there.

They also take credit for a lot of traditional songs. E.g., it says, Gone The Rainbow (Stookey/Travers/Yarrow/Okun). Stookey, Travers, and Yarrow are Peter, Paul, and Mary (though not in that order), and Okun is Milt Okun, their "Musical Director." Well, that was a common practice in the 1960s, and it has been discussed in this forum in detail, and I'm not here to rehash those discussions.

But for 7 of the 12 songs the credits include Mezzetti - in fact, for the song Morning Train, the only credit is Elaina Mezzetti. And that, at long last, brings me to the question I want to raise: who is/was Elaina Mezzetti?


19 Feb 07 - 10:54 PM (#1973223)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: katlaughing

According to this site she was Yarrow's sister.


20 Feb 07 - 05:36 PM (#1974184)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,Gerry

Thanks!


20 Feb 07 - 05:45 PM (#1974205)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: katlaughing

You're welcome. Thanks for checking back for an answer. Sometimes folks don't seem to find their way back.:-)


02 Oct 10 - 03:08 PM (#2998237)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,Bruce Beatlefan

I've also read that Elaina Mezzetti was Peter Yarrow's sister, but what is curious is that inspecting the album's song credits, she seemed to work much more intensely with Paul than with Peter.


02 Oct 10 - 03:55 PM (#2998256)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: Mary Katherine

She didn't "work" at all. Her name was put on the song credits by her brother Peter Yarrow, in order to allow her to collect royalties. Sometimes her name was added to the trio's names, but more ofter her name appeared in place of Peter's (i.e. collecting his share of the royalties), making it look like she, rather than Peter, wrote or arranged the songs with Noel Paul.


02 Oct 10 - 10:25 PM (#2998446)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: open mike

now there is a great plan....get your name added to credits for a share of the royalties...lucky girl!! and nice, generous brother!!


14 Mar 15 - 12:40 PM (#3693942)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,breanna

She is his sister. She actually did write songs. She was older than him by 2 years. Hope I could help.


14 Mar 15 - 01:32 PM (#3693957)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: pdq

Looks like Ms. Mezzetti is given copyright credit for 28 songs.

One is a standard from the Bahamas.

Another song he takes credit for writing "Lily of the West" by re-naming it "Flora".

Takes credit for writing "Fair and Tender Ladies" by calling it "Tiny Sparrow."

Does anybody think they should have to pay her for doing traditional songs including "Stewball" and "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier"?

Everybody else correctly credits Libby Cotton with writing "Freight Train", yet there is the name Mezzetti once again.

Looks like every claim she makes is bogus.

Note how greedy Liberals get when they smell money.


14 Mar 15 - 10:11 PM (#3694106)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: Elmore

PDQ: Libby Cotton?


14 Mar 15 - 10:18 PM (#3694107)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,Tony G.

Elizabeth Cotten wrote Freight Train. Common nickname was Libba, not Libby.


15 Mar 15 - 01:57 AM (#3694111)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: Joe Offer

PP&M "peterpaulandmarificated" almost every song they recorded, especially in the early years. All were changed, some beyond recognition. And yes, they registered their versions, as did many other performers. It's a real chore to sort out and prove which claims are valid and which are not. In working on the Rise Again songbook we found we had to pay royalties on a number of songs I could prove were traditional, but it was just too much of a hassle to try to fight it - especially with Carter Family songs, and songs collected by the Lomaxes.
-Joe-


08 Dec 17 - 07:34 AM (#3892786)
Subject: RE: Who is Elaina Mezzetti? (P P & M)
From: GUEST,Join Burt-Knapps

How interesting! Yes, Elena and Peter are siblings. She is still alive, living in Italy. I am their cousin. I was surprised by what I read... this was news to me.