LOS ANGELES — Peter Yarrow, one of the prominent members of the celebrated folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has passed away at the age of 86. Known for his powerful contributions to music, Yarrow’s voice became a symbol of the civil rights movement and anti-war sentiments of the 1960s. He died in New York City on Tuesday, with his publicist Ken Sunshine confirming that he had been battling bladder cancer for the last four years.
In a touching statement, Yarrow’s daughter Bethany reflected on her father’s legacy, articulating that while many recognized him as a strident folk activist, he was also a deeply generous, creative, and wise individual, embodying the essence of his lyrical themes.
Together with his bandmates Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, Yarrow enjoyed tremendous success through the 1960s, during which the trio released six songs that reached the Billboard Top 10, won five Grammy Awards, and had two No. 1 albums. They were significant in popularizing Bob Dylan’s music, transforming his songs “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” into chart-topping hits. Notably, they performed “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the historic 1963 March on Washington, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
Yarrow was integral to the beloved Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when Bob Dylan made the controversial switch to electric music. Yarrow not only emceed the event but implored Dylan to return to the stage for an encore performance after his electrifying set, which is a poignant scene depicted in the 2024 biopic “A Complete Unknown.” Dylan famously picked up Yarrow’s acoustic guitar for his rendition of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”
After an extended split for solo projects that lasted eight years, the trio reunited in 1978 for a concert against nuclear power, which Yarrow had organized in Los Angeles. The partnership persisted until Travers’ death in 2009. Both Yarrow and Stookey continued to grace stages with their performances, either separately or together.
The group’s journey began to diverge after they recorded their last hit, a 1969 cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Shortly after, Yarrow faced legal troubles when he pleaded guilty to taking inappropriate liberties with a minor, resulting in a brief prison sentence. He resumed his career post-incarceration, receiving a pardon from President Jimmy Carter in 1981 and offering repeated apologies for his actions over the years.
Born on May 31, 1938, Yarrow grew up in a nurturing upper-middle-class family in New York, where a strong appreciation for art and education was fostered. He initially learned the violin, later gravitating towards the guitar as he delved into the works of folk icons such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Yarrow graduated from Cornell University in 1959 with a degree in psychology, yet discovered his passion for folk music while working as a teaching assistant in a course on American folklore.
Yarrow soon crossed paths with legendary music manager Albert Grossman, who was keen to assemble a folk group that could rival the Kingston Trio. Grossman sought a female vocalist and a comic element to keep the audience engaged. Yarrow suggested his friend Noel Stookey, and with the addition of Mary Travers, who initially had stage fright, the trio was formed. Their first performance together resulted in an immediate chemistry that led to powerful music collaborations.
After extensive rehearsals, Peter, Paul and Mary captured public attention with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1962, which soared to No. 1 on the charts. Their subsequent albums, including “In the Wind” and “Moving,” also enjoyed great success, solidifying their legacy as advocates for social change through music. They tackled issues of war and injustice through songs such as Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer,” Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In,” and Yarrow’s “Day is Done,” while also delivering emotional storytelling in “Puff the Magic Dragon,” a song he created with college friend Leonard Lipton.
The narrative of “Puff the Magic Dragon” reflects the bittersweet nature of growing up, telling the story of a boy and his imaginary dragon friend, which has led to various interpretations, though Yarrow maintained that it was fundamentally about the loss of innocence. Over the years, he contributed to multiple projects, including writing the civil rights anthem “No Easy Walk to Freedom” and co-writing “Light One Candle,” advocating for peace in Lebanon.
Following his initial marriage to Mary Beth McCarthy in the late 1960s, the couple welcomed two children but later divorced. They remarried in 2022. Yarrow is survived by his wife, his son Christopher, his daughter Bethany, and a granddaughter named Valentina.
