Peter Yarrow, renowned folk singer-songwriter and member of Peter, Paul, and Mary, died at age 86 in New York after a four-year battle with bladder cancer, his publicist Ken Sunshine confirmed. Yarrow was best known for co-writing "Puff the Magic Dragon" and his activism through music.

As part of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Yarrow helped shape the 1960s folk music scene, achieving remarkable success with six Billboard Top 10 singles, two No. 1 albums, and five Grammy Awards. The trio played a crucial role in popularizing Bob Dylan's music, turning his songs "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "Blowin' in the Wind" into Top 10 hits.

The group's commitment to social justice was evident in their performance at the 1963 March on Washington, where they sang "Blowin' in the Wind" before Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

Born in 1938 in New York, Yarrow graduated from Cornell University in 1959 with a psychology degree. He discovered his passion for folk music while working as a teaching assistant for an American folklore class. After graduation, he established himself in Greenwich Village's music scene before forming the legendary trio with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers.

After an eight-year break, Yarrow organized the "Survival Sunday" anti-nuclear-power concert in 1978, which led to the group's reunion. They continued performing together until Travers' death in 2009, after which Yarrow and Stookey continued performing both individually and as a duo.

His daughter Bethany's statement captured his essence: "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."

Yarrow's influence extended to historic moments in music, including Dylan's controversial electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, recently depicted in the 2024 biopic "A Complete Unknown." His legacy encompasses not just musical achievements but a lifetime of artistic activism and social change.

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