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Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. It was Yarrow who cowrote the group's most famous song, "Puff the Magic Dragon."
Yarrow's parents were Jewish, born in the Ukraine; the family name was changed from Yaroshevitz to Yarrow after immigrating to Providence, Rhode Island. [1]
Yarrow received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Cornell University in 1959. He began singing with Mary Travers in December 1960; when Noel "Paul" Stookey joined them, they chose the name "Peter, Paul and Mary" for their folk trio.
While campaigning for 1968 presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, Yarrow met McCarthy's niece, Mary Beth McCarthy. They were married in October 1969.
Beginning in September, 1970 he served three months in prison for taking "immoral and indecent liberties" with a 14-year-old girl prior to a 1969 concert. Yarrow described this as the most terrible mistake he ever made. In 1981 he was given a presidential pardon. [2]
Yarrow's involvement in politics continued throughout the ensuing decades. He also had a variety of contacts with politicians; he played at John Kerry's wedding. Yarrow has also cited Judaism as one of the roots of his liberal views.
In December 2000, Yarrow's Larrivee acoustic guitar was stolen while on an airplane flight. In early 2005, the guitar was spotted by fans of Yarrow on eBay. The guitar was recovered in the suburbs of Miami and returned to Yarrow. Charges were not filed against the thieves at Yarrow's request.
In an effort to combat school violence, Yarrow started Operation Respect, which brings children in schools and camps a curriculum of tolerance and respect for each other's differences.
In February of 2005, Yarrow was invited by the Anderson, Indiana Chamber of Commerce to perform a concert. At that event, he encountered a lifelong fan, Debbie Archer (Ragle), who cried upon seeing him and whom he hugged for several minutes. She then told him of her own local coffeeshop, Camerata, and that it was in part due to the influence of Yarrow's work with Peter, Paul, and Mary. At the beginning of his concert for the city, Yarrow chastised the gathered assembly for their lack of support for Camerata and walked off the stage, saying they could find him on Camerata's stage instead. For an intimate group of only around 30 people, Yarrow performed Camerata's final concert.
Yarrow and his daughter Bethany Yarrow, who is also a musician, often perform together.
External links
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