Paul Stookey

Paul Stookey
Stookey (left) as part of Peter, Paul and Mary.
Background information
Birth name	Noel Paul Stookey
Also known as	Paul Stookey, Noel Stookey
Born	(1937-12-30) December 30, 1937 (age 79) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1950s–present
Associated acts	Peter, Paul and Mary, Peter and Noel Paul
Website	noelpaulstookey.com
Notable instruments
"Sebastian", a casket-style twelve-string guitar built by Maine luthier, Nikos Apollonio, "Benjamin", a "bell-style" twelve-string guitar also built by Nikos Apollonio

Noel Paul Stookey (born December 30, 1937) is an American singer-songwriter. Stookey is known by his stage name, Paul, in the folk trio, Peter, Paul and Mary; however, he has been known by his first name, Noel, throughout his life. He continues to work as a singer and an activist, performing as a solo artist, and occasionally performing with Peter Yarrow.

Stookey was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His family moved to Birmingham, Michigan, when he was 12 years old, and he graduated from Birmingham High School (now Seaholm High School) in 1955.

Stookey is an alumnus of Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan. While attending MSU, he joined Delta Upsilon fraternity. Though he credits a deep spiritual core for his work, Stookey "dispelled reports that he was born a Buddhist, saying his mother was a Roman Catholic and his dad was an ex-Mormon" and recalling the family's "eclectic attendance at church. I had no real spiritual sense until I was 30.'"

Stookey married Elizabeth "Betty" Bannard in 1963 and they have three daughters. After raising their family in Blue Hill, Maine, the couple lived for several years in Massachusetts while Betty served as the Northfield Mount Hermon School chaplain, and in 2005, they returned to Maine. Stookey records in his private studio—a converted chicken coop—on his Maine property. This studio, known as "The Henhouse", was also the origin point of the first broadcasts of WERU upon that station's inception in 1988.

Stookey is a born again Christian. He does not sing songs that interfere with his faith.

Performing as Paul in the Peter, Paul and Mary trio, he participated in one of the best-known ensembles of the 1960s phase of the American folk music revival, and included some of his solo songs and extended monologues in their performances and recordings.