Peter Yarrow, prominent member of folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary and co-writer of "Puff the Magic Dragon," passed away at 86 in New York after a four-year battle with bladder cancer.

As one-third of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Yarrow helped shape the American folk music scene throughout the 1960s. The group achieved remarkable success with six Billboard Top 10 singles, two No. 1 albums, and five Grammy Awards. They were instrumental in bringing Bob Dylan's music to mainstream audiences through their covers of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

Their commitment to social activism was evident when they performed "Blowin' in the Wind" at the historic 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Born in 1938 in New York, Yarrow graduated from Cornell University with a psychology degree in 1959. He discovered his passion for folk music while working as a teaching assistant for an American folklore class. After graduation, he pursued music in Greenwich Village, where he eventually met Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers.

The trio separated in 1970 but reunited in 1978 for the "Survival Sunday" anti-nuclear-power concert organized by Yarrow. They continued performing together until Travers' death in 2009, after which Yarrow and Stookey performed both individually and as a duo.

Yarrow's influence extended beyond his music. He played a significant role in Bob Dylan's famous electric guitar transition at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, a moment recently depicted in the 2024 Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown."

His daughter Bethany remembered him as "generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise," noting that the human behind the legend lived up to the spirit of his legendary lyrics.

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