PETER YARROW
LIVING
TRIBUTE
submit your tribute below
As you may know, our beloved father Peter Yarrow has been battling cancer for some time. He has kept his doctors in awe at his resilience as he has continued to perform and live life in his own generous and cause-driven way. It has been a long road and he has been a strong dragon, but right now he is very weak and, at 86, his dragon days are numbered.
We've asked friends and extended family to contribute a written story, video or audio message about how Peter’s humanity, music, unwavering social activism and generous heart had touched their lives in ways big and small. There is Peter Yarrow the folk activist legend, and then there is the man, a deeply compassionate man, who changed the lives of so many people in very personal ways.
Please share your stories and messages at the link above. They will be shared with Peter now and added to his website as a living tribute. Thank you for taking the time to honor him and contribute to this collective reflection of his spectacular, inspiring, singular LIFE.
These words and contributions are more than just stories – they are his true legacy which will endure long after he is gone. Puff the Magic Dragon is forever…
With peace and love always,
Bethany and Christopher Yarrow
❤️ visit www.peteryarrow.net to see all the updated tributes ❤️
Peter,
I am tiny, maybe 4, twirling around singing along with you, Paul and Mary. I love you.
I learn so much through the songs that you sing. You hold my tiny hand, and shape my voice, values and heart— even as we had not yet met.
My high school and college years at university of Oregon: I sing your songs to myself through moments of my life. Scary, hard, beautiful, resolved. Your voice and mine are merged.
I sing your songs to my babies. They learn about beauty and pain and their jobs as healthy citizens of this planet and stewards of the earth. Your voice still finds me, I am a young adult. Your words still teach me and help me become more courageous and stay kind.
I am sitting with you at the ranch. We sing together. My heart is home and filled with joy. We are in the same room. We are at the same table. We share food and words. You have become a dear, dear family friend. You are every bit as magical as my tiny self imagined— and more— and I love you— more.
I am at Sundance festival with you. You bring me places with you. I talk about bullying prevention. You teach me more. You feed me. You teach me new things. We see other artists and You show impeccable respect. You take me to my first Jewish experience. You are generous and kind and consistently humane. You are also very fun and funny.
You show up. You sing. You get the room laughing. After such an event at our la jolla home, people write me thank you’s for weeks. It is all you. You bring people to the center of our hearts, remind us of our souls, and flood the spaces that you are in with love. People write me, “it was a spiritual experience to be with you and Peter and everyone in that room.” People remember that they are each sacred around you— that we are each sacred.
You are my hero, my heartbeat and my beloved friend. I hold hands with you at the edge of a field of wildflowers, and I breathe us both. You are held as you have held. Your footsteps continue. I hear you around corners, in guitars, in record players, streaming, and in bubbling creeks in the mountain towns.
I love you forever and I am more me because I have had the privilege of being here with you.
I hear you in the children in the yard next door, they sing, “five, ten, fifteen, twenty…”
I love you, Peter Yarrow, my Uncle Peter. I am hugging and kissing you right now, feeling your goodness lift this world. We are better beings because you've been one of us. You have done so very well. So very, very well by all of us. A champion of humanity indeed.
Forever yours,
Nicole Jon Sievers
Peter -
It’s Jaimee King, Linda Carroll Barraud’s daughter.
I just want to thank you for all you’ve been to our family - to this world.
I don’t know if you recall the story, but long before we met you personally, I took my little boy to your concert at a park in San Francisco. You had all the kids come to the stage, and just as you started to play, the most horrible screeching of static occurred. To my horror, I loved and saw my 2year old holding both ends to the amp cord that he’d yanked out with delight making that awful noise. I was mortified and ran up to grab him, and you just smiled, plugged the amp back in, and went back to it. In inconsequential event, but a core memory.
And now, we have more. You playing music with your lovely children at the ranch and at mom’s house - you playing for mom at her birthday party this year by zoom. You show up so completely. You’re a gift to our world, a gift to my family - thank you for everything.
Much love,
Jaimee King
I first met Peter at a young and impressionable age. Once a year he would have a youth group of kids on the Circle Line and sing to us. There wasn’t one of us that didn’t know Puff the magic dragon. Peter loved kids. Later in life I had the privilege of working with Noel Stookey and got to know Mary as well. But it was Peter who always made me feel loved and appreciated. Last year we tried to collaborate on a project for the Children of Ukraine but his cancer kept him from working on it. We enjoyed dinner in his neighborhood, his concerts which I loved going to and hour calls and texts. One of his last texts to me in September said: I would’ve loved to have gotten together with you, my brother, but Cancer is like a chronic disease, one that is a race between the technology being developed to impede its progress and the ability of the disease in its own Darwinian struggle. Big hugs, my brother and thank you for checking in XO.
Peter.
When I called him he said, “This dragon is doing his best to stay strong.”
I love you Peter, you taught me so much about love and kindness and you will always be in my heart and life.
John Battiloro
Wow, Peter Yarrow, the happy dragon of Peter, Paul, and Mary was knocking on our door, waiting to carpool the neighborhood kids to Malibu Montessori school.
We’d never met before, but; we felt connected. While Peter was organizing, leading and singing in anti-Vietnam War protests, we were marching in those protests.
Over the next 50 years, our relationship grew in love and respect as we worked together against the nuclear power plant in Morro Bay, problems in the Philippines, and most recently against Gun Violence in Schools.
After Peter organized singer-songwriters to travel to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to help surviving students manage their grief, he asked us to document some students with their results.
And there’s also Peter's zany sense of humor. We’ll always remember Peter, dressed as the Easter Bunny, romping down the beach, delivering eggs to kids on Easter morning! Peter is family.
Peter is LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Beth & George Gage
I had the great joy of meeting Peter at his home in Manhattan for a special event on June 5, 2019, through our mutual friend, John McKenna who worked with Peter on "Operation Respect". I attach a picture from that day of Peter with me. But my love of Peter, Paul, and Mary's music dates back to my childhood in South Africa and Australia, and their performance at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, CA I attended many years later. I attach with this tribute, an MP3 recording from an old reel-to-reel tape on July 3, 1966 made at our family home in Melbourne, Australia. In this recording, my three sisters, Lindsay, Celia and Wendy and I (Clive) sing one of our favorite songs, "Puff the Magic Dragon"... I was ten years old at the time, and fifty-eight years later, I still sing Peter's song. As long as we live, we should all sing "Puff the Magic Dragon"! We love you, Peter!
- Clive Roberts
Please enter your story or tribute here::
I first met Peter in the early 1970's when Alex Hassilev, with whom I was living, took me to McCabe's to see Peter do a solo gig. Alex thought we would appreciate each other politically and was he ever right! We went on to produce three Survival Sunday's at the Hollywood Bowel, anti-nuclear programs that featured a wonderful assortment of performers. Then we did a big rally up at Diablo Canyon, again with a star-studded cast of progressive performers. I learned so much about producing live events from Peter and we went on to do films together as well. I remember with great joy a fundraiser we did at 27 West 67th for our film about Allard Lowenstein. Peter went up and started singing and pitching at the same time, and when we got off stage, we had raised $60,000. Peter was also in the Lowenstein film and did a wonderful interview about Al, his dear friend. To cap it off, we used "Sweet Survivor" at the end of film and it was wonderfully emblematic of the whole project. So many memories, so many shows back stage, so many fundraisers. When Peter did a concert in Malibu by himself, he stopped midway and said "Everybody under 12 years of age, Julie and Carl (Rogers) please join me on stage. Carl and I got to sing Puff with the dragon himself. Flash forward to ONE STORY AT A TIME, the film we made with him and Linda Carroll during the pandemic. Having wonderful work at that time because of Peter, was such a gift. I love you Peter and have loved you for fifty years. Travel on, your songs will be sung forever!
- Julie Thompson
You were kind, generous, and professional when we first met at your guest artist spot at The Flagpole Radio Cafe show in Newtown, CT.
Two years later, when our lives and hearts were torn apart and we were so deep underwater in grief and sadness, you were selfless in your love and care for us. You came to our home and cried with us, held us, and sang with us. You kept us in your mind and heart in the years that followed and we are honored and so grateful to have had that time with you and your many healing gifts and those of your family. Your dedication to those who need help and a voice lifted in song is unparalleled and one of the greatest gifts the universe has given us is to have had you by our side when we could not stand. Thank you for everything, Peter, we love you very much.
—David and Francine Wheeler
Peter,
What can I say?
You (along with Mary and Noel) were the very first inspiration for my life of commitment to peace. I heard If I Had a Hammer while driving a truck on the TO a cattle ranch in Raton, MN before my freshman year in college, and it transformed me into an activist. Decades later, John Garamendi introduced us, and we a have been partners ever since. Knowing you, traveling with you, and working with you has been a tremendous privilege and a personal joy. Operation Respect, your creation, has been among the most valuable new initiatives to build peace and promote cooperation in our lifetime, and the impact will be realized in the lives of tens of thousands of young people as they mature and throughout their lives.
Your legacy will be revered and it will endure for generations. Few people in any walk of life has made a greater impact for good.
We love you, and we are with you every step of the way. Be sure Bethany, Christopher, and Mary Beth know we are ready to help in any way we can. We will come to NYC to visit if you are up to it, but we don't want to intrude.
Take good care of yourself, and know you are loved and honored for all that you have done and for the amazing human you are. You and your spirit live on and on in all of us.
XOXOXO, Chic
Peter Yarrow raised me from a child (although he would not have been aware of that until I was nearly 60, when I met him in person for the first time.) Like Peter, Paul and Mary, I was “formed” in 1961. Luckily for me, my brother Dale Jones was 13 at that time, and it was he who introduced me to so many of the most important things in my life, including the magical music of PPM. I cannot recall a time in my life when the music of PPM was not playing somewhere in our home or our car - if not ringing out on our record player (and later on other formats!) then through my brother’s guitar and voice. Many of my earliest lessons in justice and humanity came as my brother explained PPM’s powerful lyrics to me starting in the 60s. When our daughters were born in the 1990s, I paid this forward by playing Peter, Paul and Mommy and then Peter, Paul and Mommy Too. I finally got to meet Peter in 2019 at Harvard Business School, of all places. I found myself sitting at a conference with mostly other “business people”, who shared a desire to leave the world a better place than we found it. Many participants had invited guests who shared that goal. To my overwhelming surprise, I saw Peter Yarrow (THE Peter Yarrow!!) sitting several rows in front of me. As a New Yorker, I at first played it cool and resisted the urge I felt to run up and fanboy him, but when he rose to walk at a break, I shamelessly threw myself at him, explaining to him how he had raised me. Peter, being Peter, hugged me and could not have been more engaging. Picking up on the theme of the conference, I asked what he was working on, and - as always - he was engaged in many wonderful causes, but he raised with me the work he was doing with “the Parkland Kids”, the survivors of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy. Less than a week later, he had enlisted me to help in my small way. In the ensuing years, Peter has made my family and me feel part of his family, even completing the circle during COVID by singing to my brother over Zoom on his birthday and giving him a guitar with a loving inscription and marvelously whimsical self portrait! Dragons live forever, and this dragon, Peter, will live forever through the love that he showered on so many people. We love you, Peter!
- Alan (AJ) Jones
Peter, You have touched and influenced my life since I was 11 years old. I could play guitar back then (1964) and I tried to emulate all of your wonderful finger-picking guitar passages. In that same year I had my first paying gig, playing; Blowing in the Wind, If I had a Hammer, etc. I was paid five bucks which felt like a fortune. Fast forward to a year ago when you called me to invite me to accompany you & Noel on mandolin and guitar. During that initial call, I relayed the above story to you and without missing a beat, you said:"So where's my commission?"....your sharp-witted, gentle, humor had me in an instant. I already knew that I loved your musicality, and you were one of the guiding beacons of social justice that has helped to illuminate a path for me...and for all of us, really, so I knew that working with you was going to be really special, but I didn't yet know how truly special it would be. You welcomed me in like a long lost brother. I treasure the times we sat in your apartment, playing guitars, eating Chinese food, discussing the world. You were a "hero' when I was 10, and now at age 71, you remain a hero to, but more importantly, a friend that I love. Weave me the Sunshine, dear Brother Peter, you're forever in my heart. -Gordon
Dear Peter, you are a dear friend to so many people and I am honored to be one. After loving Peter, Paul and Mary for decades, I had the honor of volunteering at the National Association of Elementary School Principals convention in San Francisco when Peter, Paul and Mary introduced the anti-bullying program, Operation Respect, based on the Steve Seskin and Allen Shamblin song "Don't Laugh At Me" . Shortly after, you presented it to the California State PTA (Parent Teacher Association) Convention. As the San Francisco PTA president, I turned to the friend next to me and said I want to get Peter to our Founder's Day dinner and forgetting that magic happens, I added, "yeah, right!" Of course it did happen and you presented the program to the San Francisco Unified School District back to school rally for all of the teachers. Peter, you fill my heart with joy and love. You are the best hugger! I love you for all that you are including your strong commitment to social justice. One of your projects that moves me deeply, because it helps immigrant families in multiple ways, is One Story At a Time. My talks and meals with you are important moments in my life. My son Coleman, has known and loved you since he was in 5th grade and I love how you connected with Coleman from the start. A bonus of being your friend has been getting to know some of your family, friends, and fans, including Bethany, Valentina, and Tony Arancio. I love Brenda Goldman and her family. The most recent time we saw one another was in March, 2024 in Monterey, California where you and Noel performed. After the concert you greeted us at the front of the stage and you said to me, Sherrie, come here. You have to meet these amazing musicians who live near you, Judi Jaeger and Bob Reid. You are going to love them. Of course, you are right. I've been to two of their concerts virtually already and hope to see them in person soon. I love you deeply, Peter, and am eternally grateful that you are in the world making it a better place and in my life bringing me joy and so much more.
- Sherrie Rosenberg
So many stories to share!!!
We grew up on Peter, Paul and Mary. From the day their first album was out their music filled our home. My late mother taught elementary school music and although she studied opera and concert piano she loved folk music.
Peter has said she was a product of her times…a “closet Commie”…remember??? as she taught us the entire Pete Seeger canon as well. But Peter, Paul and Mary was her go to and ours….we learned and still them all…every last one and since I also know his latest.
As I grew older their songs took on more and more meaning for me and by the time I was a teenager and involved in Anti-War activities their songs and singing were my prayers and still are. I seriously wore out the grooves in my LPs.
I got married and moved to Israel. In June of 1983 they gave a concert in the Sultan’s Pools under the wall of the Old City. We were there…with a big crowd and a bottle of wine. It was magic. And then, as I recalled, it, Peter took a piece of paper and taped it to the mike. He explained that he had written a new verse and wanted to make sure he got it right. He then said…I have denied my heritage for many years….under the walls of the Old City, in the Holy City of Jerusalem I declare that I am back. And then they sang “Light One Candle” which has become our Chanukah theme song and we have been blessed by Peter singing it for/with us, in “modern times” at our home on Chanukah as well.
Bottom line….so I remembered the story. I might also add that my wife’s, Debbie, late father was a well-known Israeli government official of the time. He met them before the concert and brought us home a signed LP…
We continued our love for their music. Taught our children every song. Never met them. always from a distance.
Then, Peter…this is where the real story starts…..David Broza….Peter’s dear friend and fellow musician…called me and asked if I’d like to meet Peter…knowing my obsession with the music.
After I hyperventilated I said…hell yes and a new chapter in our lives was written.
When we met, I asked Peter..if I remembered the story correctly….he teared up and gave me the whole amazing back story and we have been together ever since and Peter will be forever!!!
That day began the most amazing Friday Night Shabbat Dinners at our place with your holy singing….great stories for another post…I could write a book…..meetings in diners….Italian restaurants….your apartment on the UWS.
You brought me into powerful projects like Better Angels….fighting Anti-Semitism…..political activism – where you would begin, on zoom, with a song of course, I’d speak about the power of voting and getting the vote out and of course you’d end with a song….If I had a Hammer and Blowing In The Wind always….Debbie used to listen and said it was like watching a movie about the 6o’s it was so powerful.
And so much more!!!! not to mention my Birthday Parties!!!! LOL……blew everyone’s mind that Peter Yarrow sang and ended by leading the crowd already singing with you in Happy Birthday.
Peter, you bless us….make our life’s better…..increase our conscience……changed us……you are the Holy Dragon and “Dragons live forever”!!!!!
We love you!!!!! Dear Pessach….we love you!!!!!!
- David Sable
It's with a heavy/loving heart I look back at my beautiful memories of my precious friend Peter. When I was 13 (1963) attended my first P, P & M concert. Exiting down a back stairwell, Peter appeared, spoke with me, offering a memorable moment. In later years we became friends seeing him a few times a year. He and his kids were my Thanksgiving guests in Vail, CO. Friendship allowed invitations on a few Human Rights Project congressional delegations. One to the middle east leading him to start his own 501c3, "Operation Respect" after witnessing the separation of young people due to religious differences. He knew more joined than separated them. God bless Peter! Can't imagine the world without him and all his love for humanity. Love and endless blessings my dearest, precious friend. When you leave for your new dimension I pray to feel your presence every day!! XOXO
- Michelle Jourdak
My friendship with my very dear friend Peter has been an important part of my life for the past 20 years. He represents so much that is good and needed in the world, and I admire him as much as anyone I have ever known.
Intelligence. Humor. Veracity, Integrity. Action. Bravery. These all describe Peter. But the word I most associate with him is passion. Make that Passion, with a capital P.
Not long after we met, Peter asked me to be on his Operation Respect Board. "But do not join unless you have passion for it," he said. "I want people with a passion for what we do."
I was honored to be asked, and happy to accept. However, on the day I was to first go to Peter's house to meet the rest of the board, my marriage exploded. In shock and dismay, I called Peter and told him I was unable to go. Not only did he offer words of solace and wisdom, but continued to do so in the months ahead, helping me through a very difficult time.
And that is Peter. Known for his musical and humanitarian work on a global scale, he is also able to relate on an intimate, personal one, showing that he hears you and he cares. He is truly one of a kind.
There are many individuals who speak of the concerns of the world; Peter acts upon them. He has been tireless in his work with the downtrodden, the underserved, the oppressed. And it is always with a song, a song that he shares with us all, and in doing so, he gives us hope.
He is also my phone buddy, with whom I can discuss politics and other shared interests for long periods of time.
I love Peter. I hope he knows it, because I truly do.
- Dolores Eyler
While Peter and I had a long overlapping history (for example, we were both at the Washington DC Vietnam War protest in 1971), we did not actually meet until 2010 when he was invited to Ukraine by Peace Corps Volunteers when I was their country director. At his first concert for the Volunteers, I ended up on stage joining him on “If I Had a Hammer.” I uploaded a photo of that memorable occasion! Peter inspired the Volunteers with his Operation Respect messages and came back many times over the next few years.
Peter and I reconnected in 2019 when he did a benefit concert with Noel Paul Stookey at the Lebanon (NH) Opera House. He greeted me with a warm hug and told me about Braver Angels (then called Better Angels), the national citizens movement that brings Americans together to bridge the partisan divide. Embracing values of respect, humility, honesty, and responsible citizenship, the goal is not to change people’s views of issues, but to change their views of each other. I have been involved ever since!
Thank you, Peter!
Dearest Peter,
You are a special person for so many reasons. You are an important part of our lives and always will be so. When Burt was ill, you came to our home and performed your magic for him to relieve him from his pain and suffering. You and Puff the Magic Dragon lifted all our spirits. You generously have given to the entire world a heart filled with love and the joy of living. Your legendary music inspired us whenever we heard you, Paul and Mary sing, in Brooklyn and at Tanglewood. You made us feel special when Burt and I walked down the aisle at Carnegie Hall when you would yell out and, of course, at the top of your voice, “Here Come the Fendelman’s”. Your social activism was and is still an inspiration to me and to so many others! Know that you are beloved by so many! Sending you love and peace! Helaine
I am 66 years old, and have been a Peter, Paul & Mary fan since I was about five (c. 1963). My mother passed on two of the early albums, and I played them continually, learning all the lyrics and melodies by heart. Because of Peter (and Paul and Mary) I became a firm folk devotee, later picking out many of the songs on guitar. Their stunning rendition of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" eventually led me to John Denver. In the summer of 1991 I had the pleasure of meeting Peter at an event at Great Adventure Theme Park in New Jersey, where I had come with my partner, David Gordon, and a Peace Child contingent. PP&M were performing, and we were also accompanied by Trudy Mason of NYC, then Peter's girlfriend. I met Peter after the show, and he gave me a great big hug. It was an honour and pleasure to meet one of my childhood idylls. Love, peace, and godspeed to you, Peter. xxx
- Caroline Smith
My dearest friend and “Uncle” of 43 years. Where to begin? I write this to you through tears because of the love that I have for you and our friendship. You have been such an important part of my life, and for that I will always be grateful. I so admire the warm, generous, compassionate, genuine person that you are. Your humor is one of a kind, we have shared so many laughs throughout the years, we really do “get” each other. My life will forever be better because you’ve been a part of it. I wish we could have more time together, but I wanted you to know that I will always cherish the times we’ve had and the time we still have. Thank you for being you and for being a blessing in everyone’s life, especially mine and my family. I have loved our back and forth texts that are more like novels with our silly pics/emojis that you and I appreciate even if we don’t always know what they are or what they mean, lol.
You’ve done so many incredible things in your life—for your family, in your career, and for all of us who care about you. What a difference you’ve made. A person like you doesn’t come along very often. You made so many tough times easier and the best times even better. I will hold every memory we’ve made together close to my heart forever. Thank you for everything. I love you with all my heart. ~Lisa
Oh dear Peter -
The last time we saw you was in June of this year and your parting words to me were “Please keep in touch, I want to be there for you in this challenging time”. I reached out to share the news that Mike and I are both employed now and when I didn’t hear back from you, I knew something was not as it should be. I learned that you were home from the hospital but very weak. Today, Bethany’s email offering an opportunity to send a living tribute hit me hard as there is no way to sum up the impact you’ve had on my life but I will try to bring some highlights here.
Last week, I was showing Noah, now almost 14, a photo of himself at age 2 with Pete Seeger at my alma matter when Pete came to do a talk with song shortly after Toshi passed away. Noah has no recollection of this meeting. I am grateful to say that Noah has many memories of you, dear Peter, and he is at an age where those memories will stay with him.
When you invited me to come and work with Operation Respect, I went and spoke with the principal of the school I was teaching in and explained that I needed to leave my position as working with the DLAM program was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She understood and jokingly said “but he has to come sing for the kids first”. I relayed that message and within a couple of days, you were in a taxi on your way up to the Bronx to sing for/with a handful of the classes that I had already started introducing the DLAM curriculum to. This was a classic Peter. Someone, somewhere has a need and you do what you can to help. Over the years, the work of Operation Respect has remained dear to my heart but dearer is the truly remarkable man I got to know. Seeing you over the years has kept some part of my inner need to know things were really going to be okay, alive. The hope was ignited each time. Not only personal hope but hope for our communities, our country and the world. Each time, a reminder that there are people like you, the very best humanity has to offer, who live being lead by their heart and making the connections that need to be made to make change happen!
Fast forward to March of 2020 and the world came to “the great pause”. We didn’t know which end was up or where we were going. Your zoom calls, where we all talked and sang together, had more of an impact on my family than you could ever know. My mom joined in from Massachusetts and we joined in from Connecticut as we were not gathering together in person in those early days because we didn’t want to risk doing anything that could risk my octogenarian mother’s life. Those zooms kept our spirits up and gave us hope that despite all else, we would all be okay and carry on as the sweet survivors we are!
Just last week, Noah’s music teacher reached out to say that the class is going to transition from orchestra to guitar classes as "the 8th grade class curriculum delves into the rich heritage of The American Civil Rights Era. This shift in musical focus will allow students to study, play and sing songs that embody the spirit of this pivotal time in our history, fostering both musical growth and cultural understanding.” She went on to say that what they have planned is “historically significant and thought provoking music of Pete Seeger, Wood Guthrie and more”. Noah and I talked about your role in The Civil Rights Movement. Noah grew up with your presence in his life and understands how remarkable you are in the bigger picture, far more than just the man who called himself “Uncle Peter” when Noah was a younger boy. The first thing I thought of when I got the email from Noah’s teacher was - I know that if Peter was well and I asked, he would hop in a car and share with Noah’s class his first hand experiences with what they are studying and sing with them, just like he hopped in that taxi to sing in the Bronx.
My mother wrote a “Letter to The Editor” last month, they accepted it and held it until after the election. In the letter, she talked about how we need to come together and heal and not live in the divide. She introduced people to Braver Angels and provided a link to their site. This was another part of our lives that came thru you; my mom is involved with Braver Angels as a result of your sharing about the work you were doing with them and introducing us to them.
With that, I want to thank you for being the shining star that you have been in my life and my family’s life! We are grateful for you and all the better for the connection to you!
With much love and admiration,
Tahri (Gang)
I saw the photo of you singing to my brother in his hospital bed with a circle of family and friends around you. I was devastated that I had not been there. And Lo And Behold a year after my brother’s death, I was singing Puff the Magic Dragon with you, at Alex’s gravesite in 2003 for my brother’s yartzeit.
This memory added to so many others shines with your love and generosity. Your remarkable way of engaging moments of sorrow and turning them towards strength, towards unity, celebration and tenderness, in the spirit of we shall overcome. You walk into the grieving Spaces after a school shooting and create healing magic You dare to bring that twinkle in your eyes and face down monstrosities.
Of all the times that I have sung your songs through the years and all the ways your songs have carried me since I learned to play the guitar when I was 12 years old, my favorite memory is singing all the songs in Peter, Paul, and Mommy over and over again with Emily when she was four or five years old and we were driving back-and-forth to the ranch from our cabin in the mountains. The time would fly by. In these last days and hours I pray that your soul travels well, knowing that you will be remembered with great love and that your songs will continue to flow through us in sorrow and in joy. Dearest Peter, thank you for being in my life.
Sarah Brightwood
Peter doesn't know me, but his music, both with Peter, Paul & Mary and with his solo performances, has been the soundtrack of my life. My parents were both big fans, and we had all of the albums (and, yes, I mean actual albums) playing on our RCA stereo all of the time. My sister and I grew up knowing all of the words of...and singing along with...all of Peter's iconic songs. It was a great thrill to see Peter, Paul & Mary performing live in NYC, along with my dad, not too long before Mary's passing. There are moments you remember all your life...and that performance was one of them for me. And, then, of course, I appreciated so many of Peter's appearances on PBS, both his performances and during the fundraising drives. His music, his passion, his dedication to good causes have been a source of true inspiration and admiration and respect for me. When I read about his work with Operation Respect, I saw how very closely it aligns with the some of the work we are doing at Temple Beth Tikvah (Wayne, NJ) with our Shine a Light program. Thank you, Peter, for all you have meant to me and my family...without ever knowing us. Thank you for modeling your good works for your son and daughter, who, no doubt, will carry on your legacy with honor. I shall continue to keep you in my mishabeirach prayers. Wishing you strength and, most importantly, comfort and peace.
Best,
Janice Paul
Wayne, NJ
As I surveyed the devastation of November 5th this year, I wondered whether I could retreat from the battlefield of social justice and turn my attention exclusively to private pleasures: family, music, photography, travel. I realized I couldn't and then started to survey the origin of my passion for achieving a just society. It certainly didn't come from my parents who, my G-d, voted for Richard Nixon in 1960. I then realized that it came from the soft and insistent music and lyrics of the folk music which I imbibed throughout the 1960's and, of course, Peter, Paul & Mary was the first among the folk artists to whom I listened: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "Blowin' in the Wind?". These songs and others by P, P &M (as well, of course, the recordings, of Joan, Judy and Phil) imbedded themselves into my very being and made me the person who I am today and have been my entire life.
Without your music, Peter, I may well have become that big law attorney that my father wished me to be.
I want to thank you, Peter, for that and for the personal relationship we developed while I was at Warner Bros Records and afterwards. It was the thrill of a lifetime to become friends with one of the icons of my adolescence. Not just friends, but also colleagues, as you engaged me in your activities on behalf of, anti-bullying and gun control and safety. Also, thank you for your beautiful tribute to me on the occasion of my receiving The Spirit of Liberty award from People for the American Way.
Thank you, Peter, for turning my life toward the work of peace and justice. You are in substantial part responsible for the life I have led and the person I became.
Peace, Brother.... David Altschul
You can't say Peter Yarrow without also saying Charlotte Frank because both of them worked so well together to found the organization which has brought Israel and the people of the United States closer together. Peter first met Charlotte when he came to her office at the Board of Education where she was in charge of curiculum and asked her if he could sponsor a contest where the students could win prizes for their essays. Shortly after that when Peter learned that Charlotte was bringing students to Israel and was also bringing Principals from various schools throughout the Country he said he'd like to join her and bring his music to Israel. All of his songs were translated into Arabic and Hebrew and most of the classes had students of both denominations.
I came to know Peter after Charlotte and I were married and joined with them on a couple of trips and was amazed to hearth children in singing Hebrew and Arabic. As to my own relationship with Peter it was well known that he and I were very far apart politically but we were able to overcome our differences by simply agreeing to disagree as his view of the world and mine were totally different. Not withstanding that we used to go to the Board Meetings at his apartment and he asked me to join the Board which I did. At each meeting he would go around the room and each of the people in attendance would say who they were and what they were doing and what they would like the organization to accomplish. Eventually they put together a curiculm to be taught to school children and it was very successful.
Peter is a very talented and loves his music and he enjoys being with people especially at his apartment. Peter is a larger than life figure and I doubt that I will ever again meet somebody who has his talent and his ability to do well by doing good.
With Respect,
-Marvin Leffler
NYC
Peter, you are my treasured partner in crime in all things Nantucket – whether at Harris Wofford's wedding on the beach where you played so magnificently, or at our home in Sconset where you graced us for several years as our most accomplished and fun and musically gifted chef and house guest. The concerts there which you always welcomed enthusiastically transported so many lucky Nantucket friends who talk about them all the time and wonder when are we doing another with the fabulous Peter Yarrow. Best of all among so many memories is the time you sang for our supper literally – on the docks with the astounded and thrilled fisherman family, which talks about you to this day– you sang the whole of Puff and we were given about 15 huge freshly caught bluefish fillets and you kindly sat for hours in our kitchen and made them into a gigantic bowl of fabulous bluefish salad which we shared widely! I play your music all the time and you are with me so often therefore. Love you love love love love love you, my dearest dragon friend for so many decades. Thank you for the incredible joy you've brought to me and to so many lucky people on this planet. Your music always has the ability to make me float and laugh and smile and it always will.
Love you to bits and pieces, dearest friend Peter,
Elizabeth Vale
Peter you are a deeply dear and beloved friend to me and my family. I’ll never forget the first time I met you. I was around 20 years old, and I was a bit nervous. You had become friends with my parents who spoke adoringly of time spent together, but still I knew you from having grown up with your music, and I knew you as a famous and brilliant musician and activist. I’ll never forget how you immediately disarmed me with an abundant and playful generosity of spirit. You extended to me the most welcoming open-heartedness, and you took my hand and spun me around while singing my name in an intentionally goofy voice. My nerves disappeared and to me, you were family.
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that this moment was essentially you. You have an absolutely extraordinary capacity for loving kindness, and you bring this out in other people. Your inner child greets the inner child of another. We often go through the world distancing ourselves from others, and both expecting and creating exclusion. To know you is to experience the gift and the power of inclusion, and to be inspired to share that with others.
I’ve been in awe of how your intent and practice are to expand your circle of love. As I think back on the amazing times spent with you, and with Bethany and Valentina, and with my parents and brothers and my niece and nephew… talking, listening, singing, laughing, supporting each other, being together … and the many wonderful concerts, and your touching work to prevent bullying and the countless impactful events you performed at to support good causes and good friends and to stand up for those who need it…. I can see it all framed this way. We have been so incredibly lucky to gather together in a circle of love, in your circle of love. I am so deeply grateful to you.
The circle of love is ever expanding. It has become a transformative force of its own. You are forever the source of its profound radiance.
Peter- thank you for your presence, your heart, your friendship, your music, your love, and for showing all of us the way to each other.
-Jordanna Polis Schutz
Peter, you changed the trajectory of my life. The Trio came to San Antonio and performed at the Hemisfair Area in 1969. I attended with my college girlfriend. The next year you came back. I bought tickets and thought she would be my date. There was a death in her family so I invited my brother (Christopher) to come with me on the prepurchased ticket. I learned somewhere that you and Noel and Mary would come out and talk to folks after the show if we waited until the crowd cleared out. About 45 minutes later, the three of you came out and went to different places on the arena floor. I went to you because I was a wantabe guitarist and I loved some of the songs you had written. You talked about your recent trip to India and gradually even the hangers-on began to drift away. I thing there were three or four others besides Chris and myself still there when a security guard appeared and told us that we couldn't be there. You said, "I'm Peter Yarrow and we performed tonight." He said, "You can go to the dressing room. These people have to leave. At that time, you invited us to meet your for breakfast before you had to fly out. Chris and I went home. I set an alarm, but my mother (knowing that we didn't get in until close to 4 am) turned the alarm off.
Two years later, you came back to San Antonio with a group called Lazarus. Rod Kennedy promoted the tour. We reconnected briefly and you said to me, "You have to be in Kerrville on Memorial Day Weekend. We are starting a festival up there and you would love it." I started making plans. I went to the festival for Saturday night. You and Charlie Sumners invited everyone to come to the "Folk Mass" on the Schreiner Campus the next morning. I was by myself. I slept in my car and was there.
I had just graduated from college. I was running a construction company. I did not have fond feelings for the church-- not hostile, just irrelevant. You and Allen Damron and Charlie brought a whole new perspective to worship, and I returned to the church as a youth director trying to help the kids in the church understand the relevancy. (There were other things happening in my life but a whole lot of it came together at Charlie's service.) I continued to come to the Kerrville Festival. Three years later, my commitments to the church and to my business collided and I had to make some hard choices. I shut my company and went to seminary. In that decade, I missed two festivals. In those days, KFF was only one weekend.
To make a long story shorter, I went to seminary in 1975. I was ordained in 1979. That year, Rod Kennedy invited me to join "the staff" and I was deeply involved with construction and maintenance on the festival grounds. When the festival was expanded to 11 days in 1981, I was invited to lead worship on the second weekend. I have a picture on my wall of you singing over my shoulder in 1983. For almost a decade, you were a major part of our worship services.
Kerrville became a significant part of my life. When Rod and Nancylee Kennedy sold Quiet Valley Ranch and the Folk Festival to a group of patrons, I was one of the original investors. That was in 1997 and 1998. Within five years, the new Executive Director had burned through the half million dollars we (collectively) paid, but had saddled the two corporations with an additional half million dollar debt. Skipping the details, you, Stuart Vexler, Vern Crawford, Lenore Langdorf and myself worked for three months to find a way to save the festival. We talked several times a week. In the end, it all worked out. We formed the Quiet Valley Stewardship Group and raised enough money to escape foreclosure on the land. It was in those days of 2002 that I think we became more than friendly acquaintances and became friends.
In 2011, I received a call from my brother Christopher who was a dean at the University of WIsconsin in Madison. He said to me, "We were sitting in the dean's lounge bemoaning how Scott Walker was working to break the public sector unions in Wisconsin. There are tens of thousands of people wandering the streets, not knowing what to do. One of the other deans said, we need to find a way to bring them together. If we could get Bono here, he could do it." Another said, "U2 is on tour in Africa. That won't work." Someone said, "Peter, Paul and Mary could bring them together but Mary's gone." Chris said, "All of a sudden, every eye in the room was on me. Someone said, "you've told us that your brother is a friend of Peter Yarrow. Can he get him to come?" There was silence on the phone and brother Chris broke it saying, "Well, can you?"
My heart sank. I had a sinking feeling and I didn't want to cash in all the chips that I may or may not have had. I said, "Send me some information and I'll look at it tonight." I was in the choir room at the church when I got my brother's call. I walked back to my office, and thought, there is nothing my brother can send me that will make any difference. My brother has asked me to do something and I either can or I can't. It was about four o'clock on a Monday after noon. I called your cell phone and you answered on the third ring. I said, "Peter, this is Walter Lee." He almost shouted at me, "What are you doing in Lybia. Don't you know it's dangerous there." I said, "Peter, I'm in Texas." You said, "Oh, goodness that's good. I thought you were Skyping from Lybia. What can I do for you?" I said, "Are you aware of what's going on in Madison Wisconsin.? You said, "Yes, we're following it very closely." I related my conversation with my brother and then asked the question, "Is there any chance that you might be able to go?" There was dead silence on the phone. I don't know how long it lasted. Then you spoke. "Walter, I don't think I can leave today." You turned to your staff and said, "When can you get me in and out of Madison this week." You came back within a minute and said, "I can be there Wednesday. I'll stay over night. Tell your brother that I'm staying with him and I'll need to fly out Thursday morning. Or I can fly in and out on Friday." I'll never forget calling my brother back within 20 minutes of his call and telling him that he could have you Wednesday evening or mid-day Friday. You went on Friday and sang to a crowd estimated to be 100,000 people in frigid temperatures. Your songs and your message are still up on youtube.com. It's a shame that the people did not prevail.
Peter, you have done so much for so many. I will be eternally grateful for our friendship. Thank you, my friend, my brother. You will live ever in my heart.
- Walter Lee
I’ve known Peter for almost 15 years and admire his spirit and dedication as well as his incredible music. Last April my son my only son, suffered a cardiac arrest and since is in a coma. As you can imagine we were desperately looking for medical help information assistance. Peter was one of the first people who immediately responded by offering his contacts in the medical field. I will never forget his support. My son is still in a coma but one of the tools that is recommended is music therapy and I include in the playlist some of Peter’s songs as well as Bethany’s
- Elena Mischel
To my dear friend, Peter. I know people around the world will be sharing stories about how much your iconic songs have meant to them. Having grown up in the 60s, your powerful lyrics and anthems have meant so much to me too. As I have grown older, however, it’s been your unyielding activism and fight for civil rights that have meant even more. Few people have dedicated their lives -- their ever-waking hours -- to continue to fight for peace and social reform.
But having the rare opportunity to have gotten to know you through The Carter Center has meant even more. I treasure our conversations that were filled with love and laughter. I will forever value our shared work to promote respect and tolerance in schools. I think of you every day as I admire the painting you did for me. It proudly has a place in my home.
So, among the countless contributions to your legacy, your music is uniquely positioned at the center of American culture and your life’s work in social justice will continue to inspire generations. But it’s your friendship and generosity, Peter, that have touched me the most.
Peace and love,
Gail Shore
Peter provided so much of the sound track of my life--not only in his music and voice, but with his indomitable spirit and values driven commitment.
Of course, If I Had a Hammer--I'd hammer out justice!, for the civil rights movement.
For Peace in Vietnam with The Great Mandala
For health care, for people with disabilities, for immigration reform, for every good cause for freedom and decency--Peter's music was there.
And PETER was there.
He often came at my request. And he most often came at his generous suggestion.
He was there to offer humor, whimsy and joy (Puff the Magic Dragon) and hope (Stewball)
He was there to call us to our better angels (Don't Laugh At Me)
and he was there to build the movement.
His children's books now populate my own grandchildren's shelves.
His voice in in my mind, his spirit in my heart. And I hope to carry on his commitments to making this a more just and caring world in all I can do.
Love you, Peter
--from Heather Booth
Peter has been on my musical radar since the early days of Peter, Paul and Mary. My parents had several of their albums, and I listened to them regularly. Their music is still in my rotation, in fact. My fondest memory, however, is a fundraiser he attended for Senator Tammy Baldwin in 2012. Thanks to weather issues (at least I was thankful for them) he was not able to travel to his next destination after his first scheduled fundraiser. He then agreed to add a second fundraiser for Tammy in Green Bay, WI. I was fortunate to attend, and I, along with everyone else in attendance, were awed and inspired my his music, his performance, and his emotional exhortations to get out and work Tammy and President Obama. Exactly one week later, his inspiration (and the work he inspired) led to both of them emerging victorious. Despite the sorrow of the most recent presidential election, Senator Baldwin was re-elected. To me, this year's success still owes a debt to Peter from 12 years ago. Thank you, and God bless, Peter!
- Jim Morgenstern
Dear Peter, precious friend and brother,
There are so many ways in which you have touched Trina and me and our children and grandchildren through your music, art, storytelling, and heartful sharing. You have done the same for millions of people across the world. We have seen you leverage the opportunity and responsibility that your talent, celebrity, and social capital give you to be a positive force and role model for people and groups. We have seen you give people hope, enabling them to embrace their common humanity and their connectedness to and with people whom they have never met. We have seen you uplift and unite many disparate people and groups-- even when people have been in places of grief, frustration, and despair. And we have seen you touch the hearts of leaders so that they could connect to their values and be more motivated them to do good.
Peter, you had a profound and humanizing impact on others, both directly and through others, including Trina and me. Let us share one such occasion. The setting was Dakar, Bangladesh in 2012, during a general strike. The context was work that Trina and I were doing with a wonderful NGO, BRAC. The specific occasion was a weeklong co--constructive collaboration between two Jewish Americans and 20 Islamic Bangladeshi BRAC staff. Our goal was incorporate culturally responsive social emotional learning into the 64,000 primary schools that BRAC ran for first-generation students in rural Bangladesh. The last session included a summative closing. The closing started with participants sharing what they had learned, how they felt about what they had learned it, and what they would do with what they learned. We concluded the intentionally evocative closing by listening to Palestinian and Israeli singers, Amal Murkus and David Bozer join you in singing “Don’t Bully Me” and “We Shall Overcome,” recordings that came out of your peace building work in Palestine and Israel, that you had often shared with us and others. We shared that historical context with our Bangladeshi colleagues as it was resonant with group conflict in Bangladesh. They spontaneously joined in the final song, singing We Shall Overcome in Bangla while you, Trina and I were singing in English, and Amal and David sang in Arabic and Hebrew. That 2012 memory has remained a vivid memory of an experience that reflected your biculturalism, multiculturalism, internationalism, and peacebuilding. Although we did not tape that memorable moment, we found a version of “We Shall Overcome” being sung in English, Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu, which was recorded to uplift people during Covid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9EOKKyKy54 We share with you in recognition of your bountiful love and great work.
Peace and love,
David and Trina Osher
My Dear Brother Peter,
I am so sorry to hear that your battle with cancer has not been going well. The note I received from Christopher and Bethany has led me to do a lot of reflecting on our great friendship of the last almost 10 years. When we first met at a Carter Center event in California I was excited to tell you that Peter Paul and Mary's first record album was the first one I bought with my own money as a high school student in back in1963 and that I remember listening to it whenever I possibly could. Our friendship developed from
there and it would take a few typewritten pages to describe all of the wonderful interactions I have had with you since then. Even though we have lived far apart I have been so very grateful that we have been able to stay in close touch through subsequent Carter Center events, your concert dates in Minnesota (during one of which you introduced me to Noel Paul Stookey!), regular
texts and occasional phone calls. You have had a tremendous positive influence on my son Curt and his family and I can't thank you enough for that-Curt will never forget the glowing critique you provided after I shared a video of his version of "Don't Laugh at Me". I am aware of many of your humanitarian efforts over the years but am certain that I am not aware of many others. It is mind
boggling to me when I try to contemplate all of the lives you have had such a positive effect on throughout your life. I can truthfully say that there is no other human being that I admire more than you and I am eternally grateful that you have honored me with your friendship. I love you Peter Yarrow! Your Forever Brother Bob XXXXXXOOOOOO