Peter Yarrow, one of three singers in the 1960s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, has died. He was 86.
Yarrow passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 7, after a four-year battle with bladder cancer, his publicist confirmed to the Guardian.
His daughter Bethany said in a statement, “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.”
The Post has reached out to Yarrow’s rep.
Before his death, Yarrow’s kids set up a “living tribute” website for the famous musician. They asked fans and friends to submit messages, photos or videos in Yarrow’s honor.
The website also includes updates from Yarrow’s family that they were sharing before he passed away. The latest message was shared by Bethany on Jan. 3 about the family celebrating Hanukkah together.
“Peter is very weak physically, but his spirit is strong and his light is growing brighter every day,” Bethany also said. “We won’t let the light go out! We love you Peter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers were members of one of the most famous folk groups in music history.
With Lenny Lipton, Yarrow co-wrote the group’s iconic song “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” which came out in 1963.
Peter, Paul and Mary released 13 albums from 1962 to 2004. They won five Grammys out of 16 nominations.
After Travers’ death in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey, now 87, continued performing as a duo both together and separately.
Yarrow was also a major political activist who opposed the Vietnam War.
In August 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary performed a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington.
In 1970, Yarrow was convicted of “taking indecent liberties” with a 14-year-old girl in a Washington, DC, hotel room.
According to the Washington Post, Yarrow said at his sentencing hearing that the encounter was consensual.
He was sentenced to one to three years in prison but only served three months before being released. He was later pardoned by President Jimmy Carter in January 1981, one day before Carter’s term ended. Ironically, Carter passed away at age 100 just over a week before Yarrow died.
Yarrow reportedly said in his petition to Carter that a presidential pardon would help his young kids understand that “society has forgiven their father” and may help lessen the “sense of shame that they will inevitably feel.”
In 2021, Yarrow was accused in a lawsuit of raping an underage girl in an NYC hotel in 1969. The lawsuit was settled privately, per the Washington Post.
Yarrow had two children, daughter Bethany and son Christopher, with his ex-wife Mary Beth McCarthy. They were married from 1969 to 1981.