Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow, best known as part of the folk trio “Peter, Paul and Mary,” passed away on Jan. 7 at 86 years old.
His publicist, Ken Sunshine, confirmed the news of his passing at his home in New York City after battling bladder cancer over the last four years.
Yarrow’s daughter, Bethany Yarrow, said in a statement: “Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life.
“The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest.”
Through his website, his children recently set up a living tribute where fans, friends, loved ones, or those who worked with Yarrow can post their messages, pictures, or videos of remembrance.
Early Career
Born in 1938, Yarrow was raised in Manhattan and developed an early interest in musical instruments. He played the violin before switching to the guitar and began singing folk music while taking a course on the genre at Cornell University.
Soon after graduating from Cornell in 1959, Yarrow started singing in downtown New York City clubs and participated in the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. He met Albert Grossman, who would go on to manage and propel the musician’s career to the next level.
Grossman pitched the idea of putting together a folk trio with Yarrow and recruited fellow musicians Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers.
After forming in 1961, the trio rose to prominence overnight when their first album, “Peter, Paul and Mary,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart the following year.
The group brought notoriety to folk music in the United States and wrote original hits from time to time, including anti-war and injustice-related songs like “Day Is Done,“ “If I Had a Hammer,” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.”
Yarrow’s greatest contribution was “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963.
Together, the trio released six Billboard Top 10 singles throughout the 1960s. Their second album, “In the Wind,” reached No. 4, and their third, “Moving,” sent the group back to the No. 1 spot and earned five Grammy awards.
The group disbanded in 1970, with each member taking time to focus on their careers. Eight years later, they reunited for a concert in Los Angeles, California. During that time, Yarrow released four solo albums and continued to write and cowrite songs.
Stookey is the last living member of the trio; Travers died in 2009 during her battle with leukemia following complications linked to chemotherapy treatments.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Stookey remembered Yarrow as the brother he never had, thankful for his guidance and creativity.
“He was best man at my wedding and I at his. He was a loving ‘uncle’ to my three daughters,” he said. “And, while his comfort in the city and my love of the country tended to keep us apart geographically, our different perspectives were celebrated often in our friendship and our music.”
