Jewish folk artist Peter Yarrow of trio Peter, Paul and Mary dies at 86

Peter Yarrow, the Jewish singer-songwriter best known as one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary, whose impassioned harmonies transfixed millions, as they lifted their voices in favor of civil rights and against war, has died. He was 86.

Yarrow, who wrote the popular Hanukkah song “Light One Candle” as a response to the First Lebanon War, died earlier today in New York, publicist Ken Sunshine says. Yarrow had bladder cancer for the past four years.

He also co-wrote the group’s most enduring song, “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. 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,” his daughter Bethany says in a statement.

During an incredible run of success spanning the 1960s, Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers released six Billboard Top 10 singles, two No. 1 albums and won five Grammys.

They also brought early exposure to Bob Dylan by turning two of his songs, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” into Billboard Top 10 hits as they helped lead an American renaissance in folk music. They performed “Blowin’ in the Wind” at the 1963 March on Washington, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Born May 31, 1938, in New York, Yarrow was raised in an upper-middle-class family that he said placed high value on art and scholarship. He took violin lessons as a child, later switching to guitar, as he came to embrace the work of such folk-music icons as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

He is survived by his ex-wife Mary Beth McCarthy and his daughter, as well as a son Christopher and granddaughter Valentina.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.