Peter Yarrow

Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was an American singer. He was known for his songs such as "Puff, the Magic Dragon", "Lemon Tree", and "I'm In Love with a Big Blue Frog". He was also a political activist and supported veterans' rights.

Peter Yarrow
Yarrow in 1970
Background information
Born	(1938-05-31)May 31, 1938 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2025(2025-01-07) (aged 86) New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter Guitarist Record producer
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1950s–2024
Labels	Warner Bros. Records

Yarrow was born on May 31, 1938 in New York City, New York to a Ukrainian-Jewish family.^[1] He studied at High School of Music and Art and at Cornell University. Yarrow was married to Mary Beth McCarthy (niece of Eugene McCarthy). They had two children.

In 1970, 14-year-old Barbara Winter went to visit Yarrow's hotel room in Washington, D.C. with her 17-year-old sister to look for an autograph. Winter said that Yarrow answered the door naked and made her masturbate him until he ejaculated. Yarrow served three months of a 1–3 year prison sentence.^[2][3][4] He apologized for the incident and was granted a presidential pardon by Jimmy Carter on January 19, 1981, the day before Carter's presidency ended.^[5][6]

Yarrow died of bladder cancer on January 7, 2025, at his New York City apartment, at the age of 86.^[7]