Peter Yarrow of the popular 1960s folk singing trio Peter, Paul, and Mary has died at the age of 86, per the Associated Press. Yarrow, along with his colleagues Mary Travers and Noel Paul Stookey, never hesitated to use their gentle, lilting melodies and powerful lyrics to make a statement about some of the key social issues of the day, like the Vietnam War and civil rights.
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According to the outlet, "Yarrow, who also co-wrote the group's most enduring song, 'Puff the Magic Dragon,' died Tuesday in New York, publicist Ken Sunshine said. Yarrow had bladder cancer for the past four years."
Yarrow's daughter, Bethany, issued a respectful and compassionate statement paying tribute to her dad as an amazing person and a gifted troubadour. "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."
Peter, Paul, And Mary Were Wildly Successful
Their Music Was Deeply Relevant And Very Popular
The Associated Press noted that during the group's heyday, they were extremely successful, artistically and commercially. They "released six Billboard Top 10 singles, two No. 1 albums and won five Grammys." That was an enviable track record indeed for artists in any genre.
They Popularized Two Songs By Bob Dylan
Those Songs Catapulted Into The Spotlight
"Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" both surged into the Billboard Top 10, thanks to the trio. In fact, they sang the former song at the 1963 March on Washington. That historic event is known for the stirring address delivered by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is now famous as the "I Have A Dream" speech.
The Group Had A Long Hiatus
They Parted Ways For Eight Years
The three got back together in 1978 for a special cause. "Survival Sunday" was "an anti-nuclear-power concert that Yarrow had organized in Los Angeles," per the outlet. They kept singing as a group, then Mary Travers died in 2009. Stookey and Yarrow maintained the spirit of the trio by performing solo and as a duo.
Peter Yarrow Graduated From Cornell University In 1959
A New Yorker, He Cultivated An Early Love Of Music
Yarrow studied the violin, then took up the guitar, motivated by the examples of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. He was a typical "struggling Greenwich Village musician," then he joined artistic forces with Travers and Stookey. It was history in the making.
Yarrow felt the tide turning - and wanted to be closely involved. "I saw these young people at Cornell who were basically very conservative in their backgrounds opening their hearts up and singing with an emotionality and a concern through this vehicle called folk music. It gave me a clue that the world was on its way to a certain kind of movement, and that folk music might play a part in it and that I might play a part in folk music."
He Was Touched By Scandal In 1969
Yarrow Later Apologized
Per the outlet, "...Yarrow had pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl who had come to his hotel room with her older sister to ask for autographs. The pair found him naked when he answered the door and let them in." He did three months in jail. Yarrow was pardoned in 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.
He seemed sincerely contrite. Six years ago, Yarrow said the following to The New York Times via the Associated Press. "I fully support the current movements demanding equal rights for all and refusing to allow continued abuse and injury — most particularly of a sexual nature, of which I am, with great sorrow, guilty."
