Folk singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary dies at 86

Peter, Paul and Mary the band. Image from Instagram

American singer and songwriter Peter Yarrow, who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died on Tuesday at the age of 86, his publicist said.

Yarrow died in the morning at his New York home surrounded by family following a four-year battle with bladder cancer, publicist Ken Sunshine said in a statement.

“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life,” Yarrow’s daughter Bethany said in a statement provided by Sunshine. “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.”

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Yarrow formed Peter, Paul and Mary with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. The group helped popularize the early work of Bob Dylan and sang hits such as “Puff, The Magic Dragon,” which Yarrow co-wrote.

The group’s version of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” helped transform the song into a civil rights anthem and introduced his music to a wider audience. The group also scored big hits with “If I Had a Hammer” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” co-written by folk artist Pete Seeger.

The group’s other hits included “Lemon Tree,” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

The trio’s members were noted for their political activism. They performed at the 1963 civil rights March on Washington and at demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War.

Throughout his life, Yarrow campaigned for social change and various causes, including equal rights, peace, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care, public broadcasting and education.

Stookey, the only living member of the trio, praised Yarrow’s creative influence and said he would deeply miss his former bandmate.

“Being an only child, growing up without siblings may have afforded me the full attention of my parents, but with the formation of Peter, Paul and Mary, I suddenly had a brother named Peter Yarrow,” Stookey 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,” he added.

Yarrow is survived by his wife, Marybeth, son Christopher, daughter Bethany and granddaughter Valentina.