Peter Yarrow who was part of the legendary 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul, And Mary who are best known for iconic song Puff The Magic Dragon is dead at 86.
The controversial musician passed away after battling bladder cancer for four years his publicist confirmed.
He was the lead vocalist of the hit track Puff The Magic Dragon – which was released in 1960 – as he denied that the song was about drugs for years which is what many had believed.
Yarrow staunchly denied that it was about drug taking and has maintained that the actual meaning of the song is about the hardships of growing up.
The musician has previously said that the song ‘never had any meaning other than the obvious one’ and is about the ‘loss of innocence in children.’
Yarrow had also been embroiled in controversy as he was sentenced to three months in jail over a 1969 incident in which the 14-year-old and her 17-year-old sister went to his hotel seeking an autograph and he answered the door naked.
Peter Yarrow who was part of the legendary 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul, And Mary who are best known for iconic song Puff The Magic Dragon is dead at 86; the trio is pictured in 1968
Peter Yarrow is seen performing in New York in July 2014
Barbara Winter, who was 14-years-old at the time, said that Yarrow had made her masturbate him until he ejaculated and he ultimately served three months of a one to three year prison sentence.
He had apologized for the incident as he explained: ‘It was an era of real indiscretion and mistakes by categorically male performers. I was one of them. I got nailed. I was wrong. I’m sorry for it.’
Former president Jimmy Carter pardoned Yarrow in 1981 the day before his presidency ended.
Back in 2019, Yarrow was set to perform at the Colorscape Chenango Arts festival in New York state which was promptly cancelled due to resurfaced awareness of the conviction.
The other two members of Peter, Paul, And Mary were Paul Stookey who played guitar and provided baritone vocals and Mary Travers who provided the contralto vocals.
Stookey is now the last surviving member of the group as Mary Travers died at the age of 72 in 2009 amid a leukemia battle.
The group’s heyday was in the early and mid 1960s as their self-titled debut album topped the charts for weeks as they were even credited for popularizing the folk music revival.
During that time they had an impressive six Top 10 singles in the US including a No. 1 which was a cover of John Denver’s Leavin’ On A Jet Plane.
The other two members of Peter, Paul, And Mary were Paul Stookey (left) who played guitar and provided baritone vocals and Mary Travers (center) who provided the contralto vocals; they are pictured in 1968
Yarrow (pictured in 2015) had also been embroiled in controversy as he was sentenced to three months in jail over a 1969 incident in which the 14-year-old and her 17-year-old sister went to his hotel seeking an autograph and he answered the door naked
Barbara Winter, who was 14-years-old at the time, said that Yarrow had made her masturbate him until he ejaculated and he ultimately served three months of a one to three year prison sentence; Yarrow is pictured in 1968
The group’s heyday was in the early and mid 1960s as their self-titled debut album topped the charts for weeks as they were even credited for popularizing the folk music revival; they are seen in New York back in 1962
Their popularity also lead them to five Top 10 albums including the aforementioned 1962 debut album, (Moving) (1963), In The Wind (1963), A Song Will Rise (1965), and See What Tomorrow Brings (1965).
The trio eventually called it quits in 1970.
In 1978, the group reunited and released a further five albums over the next few decades before launching their last record in 2003.
Peter, Paul, And Mary were also very politically involved as they joined the Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington and even sung a cover of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
The trio eventually called it quits in 1970. In 1978, the group reunited and released a further five albums over the next few decades before launching their last record in 2003; they are seen in August 2003
Yarrow was a political activist that also supported causes including the opposition to the Vietnam War and school anti-bullying programs.
He was born in Manhattan, New York City and was the son of Ukranian Jewish immigrants Vera Wisebrode and Bernard Yarrow.
Yarrow went on to graduate from Cornell University with a degree in psychology in 1959.
He began singing in public during his last year in university as he participated in Harold Thompson’s American Folk Literature course which was known on campus as ‘Romp-n-Stomp.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .