Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary Dead at 86

[Quad Linda]

RIP

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/peter-yarrow-peter-paul-mary-dead-1236268691/

 

[4-earredwonder]

Saw them LIVE years ago at a relatively intimate venue and Ms Judy Collins was in the audience. R.I.P. Peter

 

[par4ken]

So many well remembered folk hits of the sixties! As a child I especially liked "Puff the Magic Dragon".

An interesting story about the song "Cruel War". It was recorded by Winnipeg group "Sugar and Spice" and was a major hit in Canada. It was number one in Winnipeg for weeks. The Murphy sisters had been singing the song in church for years and it was thought to be a very old folk song in the public domain. It was credited as such on the record but was actually written and recorded by Peter Paul and Mary. Peter Paul and Mary sued. Sugar and Spice made no money on the record and it's release on "White Whale" in the US was short lived.

 

[ar surround]

So many well remembered folk hits of the sixties! As a child I especially liked "Puff the Magic Dragon".

That last verse where Puff realizes that Jackie Paper has abandoned him still kicks me in the gut to this day.

 

[elmer]

Yarrow’s legacy was stained by a conviction for taking indecent liberties with a child — a 14-year-old girl — in the late 1970s. The incident reemerged when reporters brought to light that President Jimmy Carter had pardoned Yarrow on the day before Ronald Reagan assumed the office. Wrote the Washington Post in a 2021 article investigating the aftermath, the newspaper wrote that “this pardon by Carter — perhaps the only one in U.S. history wiping away a conviction for a sexual offense against a child — escaped scrutiny when it happened. It was granted just hours before the American hostages in Iran were freed, which captured headlines for weeks. … Yarrow’s crime was mostly forgotten after he served less than three months in jail,” with the rest of his one-to-three-year sentence suspended.

Another woman filed suit in 2021, claiming she had been raped by Yarrow in 1969, when she was a minor. The Post reported that she settled with Yarrow soon thereafter.

Good Riddance

 

[hafquark]

I was a young teenager during the folk boom. My mom really liked Peter, Paul and Mary and owned their first few albums. I listened to those records over and over, learned how to strum a few of their simpler songs on an awful f hole archtop Silvertone guitar. Those were the days.

RIP Peter Yarrow

 

[barfle]

We saw the trio live at the Universal Amphitheater shortly after they reunited. A great show.

Rest in Peace, Peter, and thank you for some incredible music.

 

[ar surround]

Yarrow’s legacy was stained by a conviction for taking indecent liberties with a child — a 14-year-old girl — in the late 1970s. The incident reemerged when reporters brought to light that President Jimmy Carter had pardoned Yarrow on the day before Ronald Reagan assumed the office. Wrote the Washington Post in a 2021 article investigating the aftermath, the newspaper wrote that “this pardon by Carter — perhaps the only one in U.S. history wiping away a conviction for a sexual offense against a child — escaped scrutiny when it happened. It was granted just hours before the American hostages in Iran were freed, which captured headlines for weeks. … Yarrow’s crime was mostly forgotten after he served less than three months in jail,” with the rest of his one-to-three-year sentence suspended.

Another woman filed suit in 2021, claiming she had been raped by Yarrow in 1969, when she was a minor. The Post reported that she settled with Yarrow soon thereafter.

Good Riddance

I did not know this. Thanks for the enlightenment, elmer. So sad that he did this and essentially got off easy. It's surprising that someone of Jimmy Carter's faith would pardon him. So sad.

 

[par4ken]

I did not know this. Thanks for the enlightenment, elmer. So sad that he did this and essentially got off easy. It's surprising that someone of Jimmy Carter's faith would pardon him. So sad.

That really surprised me too! Without knowing any details I won't cast judgment. Sad that Jimmy's gone now as well.

 

[elmer]

That really surprised me too! Without knowing any details I won't cast judgment. Sad that Jimmy's gone now as well.

A simple google search will fill in any gaps of info. No reason to belabor this as it is lurid and sad.