Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary Dies

Peter
Yarrow,
who
was
part
of
Peter,
Paul &
Mary
and
helped
popularize
folk
music
in
the
early ’60s,
has
died.
He
was
86.

According
to


The
New
York
Times,
Yarrow
died
in
his
Manhattan
home
on
Tuesday.
His
death
was
confirmed to
the
paper
by his publicist,
who
noted
Yarrow
had
been
battling
bladder
cancer
for
the
past
four
years.
(His
daughter
had
been

posting
updates
about
his
health
recently.)

Yarrow
–
along
with
Paul
Stookey
and
Mary
Travers
–
formed
Peter,
Paul
&
Mary
in
New
York
City
in
the
early ’60s
and
found
fame
as
part
of
the
Greenwich
Village
folk
scene
that
helped
give
birth
to

Bob
Dylan
around
the
same
time.

READ
MORE:

Bob
Dylan
Albums
Ranked

The
trio
was
one
of
the
first
acts
to
have
a
hit
with
one
of
Dylan’s
songs;
their
1963
cover
of “Blowin’
in
the
Wind”
reached
No.
2
and
won
a
pair
of
Grammys
for
Pop
Vocal
Group
and
Folk
Record.

Even
though
Peter,
Paul
&
Mary
often
shared
lead
vocals
on
their
songs,
Yarrow
took
the
spotlight
on
a
few
of
the
trio’s
hit
singles,
including “Puff
the
Magic
Dragon,”
which
he
cowrote.

Yarrow
was
born
on
May
31,
1938,
in
Brooklyn.
In
addition
to
his
work
with
Peter,
Paul
&
Mary,
he
had
a
solo
career
in
the
early ’70s
that
yielded
a
pair
of
songs
that
hovered
outside
of
the
Top
100.
He
also
cowrote “Torn
Between
Two
Lovers,”
a
No.
1
single
for
Mary
MacGregor
in
1977.

He
was
also
an
activist
spanning
decades
and
subjects,
protesting the
Vietnam
War
in
the ’60s
and advocating
for
anti-bullying
programs
in
schools
in
more
recent
years.

In
1970
he
was
convicted
of
taking “improper
liberties”
with
a
14-year-old
girl
and
served
three
months
in
prison. “I
do
not
seek
to
minimize
or
excuse
what
I
have
done
and
I
cannot
adequately
express
my
apologies
and
sorrow
for
the
pain
and
injury
I
have
caused,” Yarrow
told

The New
York
Times
in
later
years. He
was
pardoned
for
the
crime
in
1981
by
President
Jimmy
Carter.

Peter,
Paul
&
Mary
broke
up
in
the
early ’70s following the
charges
against
Yarrow. 
All
three
members
pursued
solo
careers.

What
Songs
Did
Peter,
Paul
and
Mary
Sing?

Throughout
the
1960s,
Peter,
Paul
&
Mary
scored
more
than
a
dozen
Top
40
hits,
including
the
Top
10 “If
I
Had
a
Hammer”
in
1962
(also
a
Grammy
winner
for
Pop
Vocal
Group
and
Folk
Record), “Puff
the
Magic
Dragon,”
Dylan’s “Don’t
Think
Twice,
It’s
All
Right”
and
their
only
No.
1,
1969’s “Leaving
on
a
Jet
Plane,”
written
by
another
rising
artist
they
supported,
John
Denver.

Peter,
Paul
&
Mary
also
had
two
No.
1
albums:
a
self-titled
debut
in
1962
and

In
the
Wind
from
1963.
Their
1969
LP,

Peter,
Paul
and
Mommy,
won
a
Grammy
for
Children’s
Album.

Travers
died
in
2009
at
age
72
of
leukemia;
Stookey,
who
was
born
in
1937,
is
still
alive.

Stookey
issued
a
statement
(per

The
New
York
Times)
calling
Yarrow
his “creative,
irrepressible,
spontaneous
and
musical
younger
brother”
and
that
he “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.
…
Perhaps
Peter
was
both
of
the
brothers
I
never
had
and
I
shall
deeply
miss
both
of
him.”