Peter Yarrow, one third of the chart-topping 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary — which helped popularize Bob Dylan as the voice of a generation — co-writer of the song “Puff, the Magic Dragon” and a prominent social activist, died Tuesday morning at his home in New York City “with his family by his side,” a rep confirms to Variety. Yarrow had been battling cancer for four years; he was 86.
Peter, Paul and Mary were a leading light of the booming folk-music scene of the early 1960s, which famously centered around the nightclubs and cafes of New York’s Greenwich Village. Yarrow had begun singing while a student at Cornell University and performed in New York and at the Newport Folk Festival, where he was spotted by manager Albert Grossman, who had a vision of “an updated version of the Weavers,” the legendary folk group featuring Pete Seeger. Singers Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers were soon recruited and, using Stookey’s middle name, Peter, Paul and Mary were born.
The trio signed with Warner Bros. Records and achieved success quickly with their first singles, “The Lemon Tree” and “If I Had a Hammer” and won two Grammy Awards in 1962. But it was their cover of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” released in June of 1963, and which they performed while standing beside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the historic March on Washington that August, that truly made them into a cultural force, not to mention superstars. (Not coincidentally, Dylan was also managed by Grossman; Yarrow’s character appears in the recent Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” played by Nick Pupo.)
The trio would score many hits over the following years — including with the Yarrow co-written “Puff the Magic Dragon” — yet that would remain indelibly associated with those early years. Later in his life Yarrow would focus intensively on social activism and spoke often against the war in Vietnam and other subjects.
His daughter Bethany said: “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.
“Driven by a deep belief that a more compassionate and respectful world is possible, my father has lived a cause driven life full of love and purpose. He always believed, with his whole heart, that singing together could change the world. Please don’t stop believing in magic dragons. Hope dies when we stop believing, stop caring, and stop singing. He may have been a dyed in the wool progressive, but his passion and music touched people of all ages and political stripes around the world.
“To honor my father and his legacy In lieu of flowers or any other kind of gift, please consider making a contribution to his not-for-profit, Operation Respect, an anti-bullying program that has been implemented in over 22,000 schools internationally, helping to create the next generation of empathetic, caring, respectful citizens. It would bring him great joy and peace to know that his life’s work of will continue on.”
His longtime bandmate, Noel Paul Stookey (“Paul” of Peter, Paul and Mary) stated: “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. He was best man at my wedding and I at his. He was a loving ‘uncle’ to my three daughters. 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. 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.”
He is survived by his wife Marybeth, son Christopher, daughter Bethany and granddaughter Valentina.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
More to come…
English (US) ·