Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul and Mary folk music trio dies aged 86

The folk singer and his trio were best known for their hits ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ and ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone’

Peter Yarrow (Getty Images)

Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary has died at the age of 86.

The singer died on Tuesday (January 7) at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Yarrow’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Ken Sunshine, who shared that Yarrow died from bladder cancer, which he had been battling for the past four years.

The tenor was known for bringing his gentle vocals to the group, which became one of the most popular folk acts of the Sixties.

Formed in 1961 by Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, the three-piece act is best known for their hits “Puff the Magic Dragon,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane,” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”

Yarrow often co-wrote their songs with Stookey, who is now the last surviving member of the group. Travers died of leukemia in 2009, aged 72.

Peter Yarrow died from bladder cancer (Getty Images)

In a statement, per The New York Times, Stooky remembered Yarrow as a “creative, irrepressible, spontaneous and musical younger brother” who he “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.”

“Perhaps Peter was both of the brothers I never had,” Stookey added, “and I shall deeply miss both of him.”

While the group often split vocals equally, Yarrow did take the lead on several of the songs, including “Puff,” “Day Is Done” and “The Great Mandala.”

Several of Peter, Paul and Mary’s songs charted on Billboard, with their cover of John Denver’s “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane” landing at No. 1.

They eventually split up in 1970 to pursue solo careers; however, they continued collaborating on music and reuniting for benefit concerts in the decades to follow.

“This is a relationship, with all three of us, that has gone through terrible fights and wonderful making up,” Yarrow told The New York Times in 1986. “These days, Noel and I write the songs, and Mary writes the poetry and the speeches.’’

Born on May 31, 1938 in New York City to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Yarrow graduated from Cornell University in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

During his final year at Cornell, he began singing and playing guitar after taking an American folk literature course taught by the folklorist and historian Harold William Thompson.

Upon graduating, he moved back to New York City and joined the folk music scene of Greenwich Village.

Yarrow was married to Mary Beth McCarthy, the niece of Democratic presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, for 12 years before they divorced in 1981. They later remarried in 2022.

He is survived by McCarthy; a son, Christopher; a daughter, Bethany; and a granddaughter.