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BeyondGeography

(40,140 posts)
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 12:55 PM Jan 7

Peter Yarrow of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary dies aged 86

Source: The Guardian

Peter Yarrow, vocalist with US folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died aged 86. The cause was bladder cancer, which Yarrow had been battling for four years, a publicist confirmed.

Yarrow took lead vocals on Puff the Magic Dragon, The Great Mandala and Day Is Done, songs he either wrote or co-wrote with Noel Paul Stookey. Stookey is the last surviving member of the group; Mary Travers died in 2009. In their 60s heyday, the group had six US Top 10 singles and one No 1, a cover of John Denver’s Leavin’ on a Jet Plane, as well as five Top 10 albums.

They were also politically significant. In August 1963, the progressive trio joined the March on Washington and sang a cover of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind on the steps of the Lincoln memorial, which cemented the song’s legacy as an anthem of the civil rights movement.

Yarrow’s songs were often political, telling the story of a war objector on hunger strike in The Great Mandala, from 1967, and suggesting to his son, on Day Is Done, that his generation could make a better world.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jan/07/peter-yarrow-of-folk-trio-peter-paul-and-mary-dies-aged-86?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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Peter Yarrow of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary dies aged 86 (Original Post) BeyondGeography Jan 7 OP
Requiescat in pace, brave soul, and thank you for the music. niyad Jan 7 #1
Sad loss. A great group. Their holiday special still gets played periodically Raven123 Jan 7 #2
Cross gently SheltieLover Jan 7 #3
R.I.P. Marthe48 Jan 7 #4
This message was self-deleted by its author Botany Jan 7 #5
This message was self-deleted by its author Self Esteem Jan 7 #6
The essence of folk BumRushDaShow Jan 7 #7
I Know He was Pardoned coffeebeforepants Jan 7 #8
And to the poster, now deleted, that mentioned it. NoRethugFriends Jan 7 #9
Pedophilia, hebephilia, etc. progressoid Jan 7 #11
it is a very different thing and one should use the correct word NoRethugFriends Jan 7 #29
Welcome to DU orangecrush Jan 7 #17
I understand your anger. Boomerproud Jan 7 #25
Since I and many others can't read this article, here's a no paywall link. ShazzieB Jan 7 #27
I met him in Mexico in 2019, during the first Trump migrant detentions ... Auggie Jan 7 #10
RIP. area51 Jan 7 #12
... 2naSalit Jan 7 #13
I'm in tears again. ChazInAz Jan 7 #14
Assaulting a 14-year-old is pretty ugly. WhiskeyGrinder Jan 7 #15
As a kid Sequoia Jan 7 #16
He will be missed. What a legendary trio. Evolve Dammit Jan 7 #18
RIP Demovictory9 Jan 7 #19
Peter, Paul and Mary, were icons as I was growing up. Loved all their songs. Fla Dem Jan 7 #20
Was just listening to a 4-CD compilation of their work yesterday. ificandream Jan 7 #21
Theirs was the music of my youth. I had every album. 3catwoman3 Jan 7 #22
Peter Paul & Mary at the March On Washington in 1963. ificandream Jan 7 #23
RIP LeftishBrit Jan 7 #24
I got to see Yarrow and his daughter perform at my Temple a long time ago LetMyPeopleVote Jan 7 #26
Theirs was the first album I ever bought. Loved their music, which was so meaningful. Liberty Belle Jan 7 #28
This is what folk/protest music is... LakeVermilion Jan 7 #30

Marthe48

(19,929 posts)
4. R.I.P.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 01:20 PM
Jan 7

I notice that even the oldies channels don't play the hit protest songs from the 1960s. I understand why (90% of media is owned by 6 companies, who want the jaugernaut of the military-industrial-kristo complex to roll over all of us) , but aside from the message, they were well-written, well-performed hits.



Response to BeyondGeography (Original post)

Response to BeyondGeography (Original post)

Boomerproud

(8,576 posts)
25. I understand your anger.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 04:16 PM
Jan 7

No, it wasn't a "mistake", and was a permanent stain on his life and legacy. I don't know what else to say. I cried when Mary passed.

ShazzieB

(19,281 posts)
27. Since I and many others can't read this article, here's a no paywall link.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 04:32 PM
Jan 7
https://archive.ph/1ce7Z

Now that I've had a chance to read it, and everyone else can as well, we can all form our own impressions. I won't share mine except to point out that the events that transpired in that hotel room took place in August 1969, which was over 55 years ago. A year later, he was convicted and sentenced, he served out the time he was sentenced to, and Carter pardoned him more than a decade later, in January 1981. (Was it too light of a sentence? Maybe? But if so, that's on the judge. The point is, Yarrow had served out that time long before he was pardoned by Carter, so it's not like he got off scot free.)

So, imo, this is all water under the bridge at this point, and there doesn't seem to be any solid evidence that he was a serial offender. (Unsubstantiated allegations =/= solid evidence.) I therefore see no need to smear a man who is now dead and can't defend himself. I am sorry Winter's life has been so negatively affected by this, but I don't see how dragging Peter Yarrow's name through the mud posthumously would be helpful to her.

Furthermore, it seems to me that he still deserves credit for his contributions to the music world, as well for his decades of political activism. Whatever mistakes he made over half a century ago, this man gave the world a great deal, and I for one would prefer to focus on that.

Auggie

(32,029 posts)
10. I met him in Mexico in 2019, during the first Trump migrant detentions ...
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 02:00 PM
Jan 7

he was performing at a spa, but took off for a few days to entertain detainees either on the U.S. side of the border or their families on the Mexican side. He sang them songs of hope, peace and love.

ChazInAz

(2,828 posts)
14. I'm in tears again.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 02:50 PM
Jan 7

Their music shaped my life. From their first recording of Lemon Tree when I was a teenager in the early Sixties...they were there: my soul's soundtrack.
In the early Eighties, I had the pleasure of hearing Mary perform and the privilege of chatting with her afterwards. She was a doing a benefit at Congregation Anshei in Tucson for Russian refuseniks. It's not obvious in photos or videos, but she was amazingly tall, towered over me.

Sequoia

(12,595 posts)
16. As a kid
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 03:07 PM
Jan 7

I tolerated this type of music but never liked it and even less as I grew older. Roll your boat ashore, Michael and fade into the sunset while you puff your magic drag on.

Fla Dem

(26,223 posts)
20. Peter, Paul and Mary, were icons as I was growing up. Loved all their songs.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 03:25 PM
Jan 7

Thank you Peter Yarrow for helping to make my young life special. Your songs will always be with me.
Got teary eyed listening to these.

Just a few of their wonderful songs.

Puff the Magic Dragon

Blowing in the Wind

Leaving on a Jet Plane

ificandream

(10,999 posts)
21. Was just listening to a 4-CD compilation of their work yesterday.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 03:30 PM
Jan 7

They were true patriots. I remember their work being played a lot during the Vietnam War era. I wish folk music had the power now that it did during their heyday in the '50s and '60s. R.I.P.

3catwoman3

(26,072 posts)
22. Theirs was the music of my youth. I had every album.
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 03:43 PM
Jan 7

We saw him in concert a few years ago at a local community college in Elgin IL. He and my husband looked like they could have been brothers.

My favorite album cover was Peter, Paul, and Mommy which featured 3 adorable little kids.

LakeVermilion

(1,249 posts)
30. This is what folk/protest music is...
Tue Jan 7, 2025, 05:25 PM
Jan 7

While the performance is mostly Paul, we can enjoy the performance of the group as they comment on another right wing atrocity:

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