Peter Yarrow — the singer-songwriter known best as one-third of '60s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary — has died. Yarrow's publicist confirmed to multiple outlets the artist passed away Tuesday in New York following a four-year battle with bladder cancer. He was 86.
Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers formed Peter, Paul and Mary in 1961 and achieved success as prominent figures of the American folk music revival. During the decade, the trio won five Grammy awards, released two No. 1 albums, and had Top 10 hits with their takes on "If I Had a Hammer" by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver.
The group were also involved in the era's social and political movements, performing during the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and during the Selma to Montgomery marches. Yarrow also helped organize concerts in opposition to the Vietnam War, including 1970's Festival for Peace at New York's Shea Stadium with Janis Joplin, Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and more.
Yarrow also co-wrote the group's original song "Puff, the Magic Dragon," whose lyrics about a magic dragon living by the sea were based on a poem by his former Cornell University classmate Leonard Lipton. The co-authors have repeatedly rejected speculation that the song contained veiled references to drug use.
Peter, Paul and Mary broke up in 1970 to pursue solo careers, and that same year, Yarrow pleaded guilty to taking "immoral and improper liberties" with a minor. The songwriter was sentenced to one to three years in prison, though ended up serving less than three months.
Yarrow received a presidential pardon in the case from Jimmy Carter in 1981, though additional allegations would surface against the artist decades later.