Peter Yarrow, Peter, Paul and Mary musician, dies at 86

Peter Yarrow, the titular Peter of 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, has died. His daughter issued a statement to the musician’s representatives (via Deadline), confirming that Yarrow had died today in New York City from bladder cancer. He was 86 years old. 

“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life,” his daughter Bethany wrote, referencing perhaps the group’s most famous song “Puff The Magic Dragon.” “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.” Added bandmate Paul Stookey in his own statement, “I was five months older than Peter – who became my creative, irrepressible, spontaneous and musical younger brother – yet at the same time, I grew to be grateful for, and to love, the mature-beyond-his-years wisdom and inspiring guidance he shared with me like an older brother.  Politically astute and emotionally vulnerable, perhaps Peter was both of the brothers I never had — and I shall deeply miss both of him.” 

Peter, Paul, and Mary broke through in 1962 with their rendition of “If I Had A Hammer (The Hammer Song)” and went on to score six top-ten hits over the course of the decade. Aside from “Puff The Magic Dragon,” the group’s biggest hits were a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” and their chart-topping “Leaving On A Jet Plane.” 

Yarrow was born in Manhattan in 1938 and began creating music as a student at Columbia. In 1961, Peter, Paul and Mary was formed after an audition process by music manager Albert Grossman. They quickly became a known presence as the folk craze took hold in American pop music in the 1960s, releasing eight albums over the course of the decade, two of which topped the U.S. album chart. 

In 1970, the group broke up to pursue solo careers. The same year, Yarrow admitted to and was convicted of molesting a 14 year old girl, serving about three months in jail. He was eventually pardoned in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter in the final hours of his presidency. In 2021, The Washington Post published an investigation on the subject, suggesting that this was the only time in U.S. history where a presidential pardon was used to wipe away a sexual conviction involving a child. The paper also reported that at least one other woman came forward in 2021, alleging Yarrow molested her in 1969. 

In 1978, Peter, Paul, and Mary reunited for a tour, which proved successful enough to continue playing and touring as a group until Mary Travers’ death in 2009. Yarrow later appeared in Noah Baumbach’s 2015 film While We’re Young, and remained politically active, campaigning for President Barack Obama and lending support to the Occupy Wall Street movement.