Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary Fame Dead at 86

According to a New York Times report, Peter Yarrow has passed away at the age of 86. Yarrow was a principal singer in the lauded, influential folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary.

Born in New York in 1938 to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Yarrow became a graduate of the High School of Music and Art (contemporarily known as Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) as well as Cornell University. Along with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, Yarrow became a crucial piece of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, a musical movement that saw the rise of Bob Dylan and nurtured the careers of Joan Baez, Dave van Ronk, Phil Ochs and Judy Collins.

While much of Peter, Paul and Mary’s work consisted of folk standards, Yarrow wrote “The Great Mandala,” “Day is Done” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” the latter of which became a #2 hit. The trio found success throughout their decade together before disbanding in 1970. Along with each member pursuing solo endeavors, their break-up was partially motivated by Yarrow’s criminal conviction in 1970, where he was charged with “taking indecent liberties with a minor” at a concert in Washington, D.C. in 1969. The victim was 14 years old, and Yarrow spent three months in prison. Jimmy Carter gave him a presidential pardon on the day he left office in 1981.

Yarrow was preceded in death by his bandmate Mary Travers, who passed away in 2009.