An Engineering Major's Unfinished Poem Became "Puff the Magic Dragon"

Lenny Lipton was studying electrical engineering at Cornell University when he wrote a poem that turned into a song. That song eventually became a hit, thanks to Lipton's roommate who later became Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Find out how all that came about in this short story by Sheldon Zoldan. Here, you can watch a 1965 recording of Peter, Paul and Mary performing "Puff the Magic Dragon." The thumbnail photo of Lipton is a self-portrait that he shot with a Pixel 3 phone in 2021. It's available on Wikimedia under the license CC BY-SA 4.0. The artwork framing two sides of the photo was created by Bob Jones.Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this piece about Lipton, who died in 2022. Yarrow passed away in 2025. You can listen to Yarrow's story by going to the episode titled "Day Is Done" Songwriter Peter Yarrow's Moment of Infamy Dealt a Blow to His Musical Legacy.Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day also deserves a tribute. The good thing is that the tributes live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.