Blowin' In The Wind By The Chad Mitchell Trio

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The Chad Mitchell Trio performs what was the first commercial recording of the Bob Dylan classic other than by Dylan himself. The song had been brought to the CMT by their musical director and arranger, Milt Okun, and the Trio (already famous for its satirical political songs) was eager to record the number, release it as a single, and title what would be their third album after it. An old school producer at the group's Kapp Records label vetoed the ideas, however, maintaining that "no song with death in the lyrics was ever a hit," and the album was released as "The Chad Mitchell Trio In Action."

Okun, however, was also the musical director and arranger for another young and eager folk trio called Peter, Paul, and Mary, and he brought the song to them. PP&M did everything that the CMT had wanted to do with the song. They titled an album "In The Wind," released the song as a single (it sold a million copies and hit #2 on the "Billboard" charts) and performed the number before ML King's "I have a dream " speech during the August, 1963 civil rights March On Washington. The success of the song made both Dylan and PP&M household names in the U.S.

The Chad Mitchell Trio still performs with its original lineup, and its fans often wonder "what if....?" about the group's stirring version of the song.