Peter Yarrow

Folk songwriter, musician and performer Peter Yarrow is best known for his participation in the trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Born in New York City on May 31, 1938 into a Ukrainian family, he studied psychology at Cornell University and frequented the folk clubs of Greenwich Village, where he met impresario Albert Grossmann, who was looking for talent to form a new group. After Mary Travers was hired, Noel Paul Stookey completed the trio, which met with success in 1962 with a debut album that spent seven weeks at the top of the charts, and the following year with his cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind". Peter Yarrow was the trio's main composer, contributing iconic songs such as "Puff the Dragon", "Day Is Done" and "Light One Candle". In 1976, he wrote Mary MacGregor's "Torn Between Two Lovers", which remained at No. 1 for two weeks. Between Peter, Paul and Mary reunions, he produced the albums Peter (1972), That's Enough for Me (1973), Hard Times (1975) and Love Songs (1976). In 1978, he produced the Emmy-nominated animated film Puff the Dragon for CBS. He continues to campaign for peace with the Survival Sunday festival he organizes, and reunites with his two former partners for the TV broadcast 25th Anniversary Concert and a new series of albums up to 2003's In These Times. In 2008, with his wife Bethany Yarrow and cellist Rufus Cappadocia, he formed the trio Peter, Bethany and Rufus, who recorded the album Puff & Other Family Classics. Stricken by bladder cancer, Peter Yarrow died after a four-year battle on January 7, 2025, at the age of 86.

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