Peter Yarrow Dies: Peter, Paul & Mary Singer-Songwriter Was 86

deadline.com:

Peter Yarrow, a five-time Grammy winner who co-founded the hitmaking folk-pop trio Peter, Paul & Mary and co-wrote its memorable “Puff the Magic Dragon,” died Tuesday of bladder cancer at his New York City home.

He was 86. His daughter Bethany announced the news via reps. “Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life,” she wrote. “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.” Read a statement from bandmate Paul Stookey below.

Featuring Yarrow, Stookey and Mary Travers, Peter, Paul and Mary rode the folk-pop tsunami of the early 1960s, scoring six Top 10 singles that culminated with their sole chart-topper, the John Denver-penned “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” in 1969.

The trio broke out in 1962 with its take on the Pete Seeger-Lee Hays standard “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song),” which drove their eponymous debut studio album to spend seven weeks atop the Billboard 200 and go double-platinum.