Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger | |
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![]() Seeger playing the banjo in 1955 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Peter Seeger |
Born | New York City, U.S. | May 3, 1919
Died | January 27, 2014 New York City, U.S. | (aged 94)
Genres |
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Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Discography | Pete Seeger discography |
Years active | 1939–2013 |
Labels | |
Military career | |
Branch | Corporal |
Unit | United States Army Band |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – July 9, 2013) was an American
A prolific songwriter, his best-known songs include "
Seeger was one of the folk singers responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists), which became the acknowledged anthem of the civil rights movement, soon after folk singer and activist Guy Carawan introduced it at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960. In the PBS American Masters episode "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song", Seeger said it was he who changed the lyric from the traditional "We will overcome" to the more singable "We shall overcome".
Early years
Seeger was born on May 3, 1919, at the
Seeger's father, the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Professor_Charles_Louis_Seeger%2C_his_wife_Constance%2C_and_their_sons%2C_23_May_1921.jpg/220px-Professor_Charles_Louis_Seeger%2C_his_wife_Constance%2C_and_their_sons%2C_23_May_1921.jpg)
In 1912, his father, Charles Seeger, was hired to establish the music department at the University of California, Berkeley, but was forced to resign in 1918 because of his outspoken
Charles and Constance divorced when Pete was seven and in 1932 Charles married his composition student and assistant,
Career
Early work
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/35/Pete_Seeger-1979.jpg/220px-Pete_Seeger-1979.jpg)
At four, Seeger was sent away to boarding school, but came home two years later when his parents learned the school had failed to inform them he had contracted
watched square-dance teams from Bear Wallow, Happy Hollow, Cane Creek, Spooks Branch, Cheoah Valley, Bull Creek, and Soco Gap; heard the five-string banjo player Samantha Bumgarner; and family string bands, including a group of Indians from the Cherokee reservation who played string instruments and sang ballads. They wandered among the crowds who camped out at the edge of the field, hearing music being made there as well. As Lunsford's daughter would later recall, those country people "held the riches that Dad had discovered. They could sing, fiddle, pick the banjos, and guitars with traditional grace and style found nowhere else but deep in the mountains. I can still hear those haunting melodies drift over the ball park."[17]
For the Seegers, experiencing the beauty of this music firsthand was a "conversion experience". Pete was deeply affected and, after learning basic strokes from Lunsford, spent much of the next four years trying to master the five-string banjo.[17] The teenage Seeger also sometimes accompanied his parents to regular Saturday evening gatherings at the Greenwich Village loft of painter and art teacher Thomas Hart Benton and his wife Rita. Benton, a lover of Americana, played "Cindy" and "Old Joe Clark" with his students Charlie and Jackson Pollock; friends from the "hillbilly" recording industry; and avant-garde composers Carl Ruggles and Henry Cowell. It was at one of Benton's parties that Pete heard "John Henry" for the first time.[18]
Seeger enrolled at
During the entire trip the group never ate once in a restaurant. They slept out at night under the stars and cooked their own meals in the open, very often they were the guests of farmers. At rural affairs and union meetings, the farm women would bring "suppers" and would vie with each other to see who could feed the troupe most, and after the affair the farmers would have earnest discussions about who would have the honor of taking them home for the night.
"They fed us too well", the girls reported. "And we could live the entire winter just by taking advantage of all the offers to spend a week on the farm".
In the farmers' homes they talked about politics and the farmers' problems, about antisemitism and Unionism, about war and peace and social security—"and always", the puppeteers report, "the farmers wanted to know what can be done to create a stronger unity between themselves and city workers". They felt the need of this more strongly than ever before, and the support of the CIO in their milk strike has given them a new understanding and a new respect for the power that lies in solidarity. One summer has convinced us that a minimum of organized effort on the part of city organizations—unions, consumers' bodies, the American Labor Party and similar groups—can not only reach the farmers but weld them into a pretty solid front with city folks that will be one of the best guarantees for progress.[21]
That fall, Seeger took a job in Washington, D.C., assisting
From 1942 to 1945, Seeger served in the Army, as an Entertainment Specialist.[24]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/PeteSeeger2.jpg/300px-PeteSeeger2.jpg)
In 1949, Seeger worked as the vocal instructor for the progressive City and Country School in Greenwich Village, New York.
Early activism
In 1936, at the age of 17, Pete Seeger joined the
In the spring of 1941, the twenty-one-year-old Seeger performed as a member of the
A June 16, 1941, review in
While the U.S. had not officially declared war on the Axis powers in the summer of 1941, the country was energetically producing arms and ammunition for its allies overseas. Despite the boom in manufacturing this concerted rearming effort brought, African Americans were barred from working in defense plants. Racial tensions rose as Black labor leaders (such as
Now, Mr. President,
We haven't always agreed in the past, I know,
But that ain't at all important now.
What is important is what we got to do,
We got to lick Mr. Hitler, and until we do,
Other things can wait.
Now, as I think of our great land ...
I know it ain't perfect, but it will be someday,
Just give us a little time.
This is the reason that I want to fight,
Not 'cause everything's perfect, or everything's right.
No, it's just the opposite: I'm fightin' because
I want a better America, and better laws,
And better homes, and jobs, and schools,
And no more Jim Crow, and no more rules like
"You can't ride on this train 'cause you're a Negro,"
"You can't live here 'cause you're a Jew,"
"You can't work here 'cause you're a union man."
So, Mr. President,
We got this one big job to do
That's lick Mr. Hitler and when we're through,
Let no one else ever take his place
To trample down the human race.
So what I want is you to give me a gun
So we can hurry up and get the job done.
Seeger's critics, however, continued to bring up the Almanacs' repudiated Songs for John Doe. In 1942, a year after the John Doe album's brief appearance (and disappearance), the FBI decided that the now-pro-war Almanacs were still endangering the war effort by subverting recruitment. According to the New York World Telegram (February 14, 1942), Carl Friedrich's 1941 article "The Poison in Our System" was printed up as a pamphlet and distributed by the Council for Democracy (an organization that Friedrich and
Seeger served in the
Spanish Civil War songs
Seeger had been a fervent supporter of the Republican forces in the
Group recordings
As a self-described "split tenor" (between a tenor and a countertenor),
In 1950, the Almanacs were reconstituted as the Weavers, named after the title of an 1892 play by
The Weavers' performing career was abruptly derailed in 1953, at the peak of their popularity, when blacklisting prompted radio stations to refuse to play their records and all their bookings were canceled. They briefly returned to the stage, however, at a sold-out reunion at Carnegie Hall in 1955 and in a subsequent
In the late 1950s, the Kingston Trio was formed in direct imitation of (and homage to) the Weavers, covering much of the latter's repertoire, though with a more buttoned-down, uncontroversial, and mainstream collegiate persona. The Kingston Trio produced another phenomenal succession of Billboard chart hits and, in its turn, spawned a legion of imitators, laying the groundwork for the 1960s commercial folk revival.
In the documentary film
Banjo and 12-string guitar
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Pete_Seeger_banjos_at_the_American_Banjo_Museum.jpg/220px-Pete_Seeger_banjos_at_the_American_Banjo_Museum.jpg)
In 1948, Seeger wrote the first version of How to Play the Five-String Banjo, a book that many[who?] banjo players credit with starting them off on the instrument. He went on to invent the long-neck or Seeger banjo. This instrument is three frets longer than a typical banjo, is slightly longer than a bass guitar at 25 frets, and is tuned a minor third lower than the normal 5-string banjo. Hitherto strictly limited to the Appalachian region,[citation needed] the five-string banjo became known nationwide as the American folk instrument par excellence, largely thanks to Seeger's championing of and improvements to it. According to an unnamed musician quoted in David King Dunaway's biography, "by nesting a resonant chord between two precise notes, a melody note and a chiming note on the fifth string", Pete Seeger "gentrified" the more percussive traditional Appalachian "frailing" style, "with its vigorous hammering of the forearm and its percussive rapping of the fingernail on the banjo head".[40] Although what Dunaway's informant describes is the age-old droned frailing style, the implication is that Seeger made this more acceptable to mass audiences by omitting some of its percussive complexities, while presumably still preserving the characteristic driving rhythmic quality associated with the style.
From the late 1950s on, Seeger also accompanied himself on the
Interest in steelpan
In 1956, then "Peter" Seeger (see film credits) and his wife, Toshi, traveled to Port of Spain, Trinidad, to seek out information on the steelpan, sometimes called a steel drum, or "ping-pong". The two searched out a local panyard director, Isaiah, and proceeded to film the construction, tuning and playing of the then-new national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. He was attempting to include the unique flavor of the steelpan in American folk music.
McCarthy era
In the 1950s, and indeed consistently throughout his life, Seeger continued his support of civil and labor rights, racial equality, international understanding, and anti-militarism (all of which had characterized the Wallace campaign), and he continued to believe that songs could help people achieve these goals. However, with the ever-growing revelations of Joseph Stalin's atrocities and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he became increasingly disillusioned with Soviet Socialism. He left the CPUSA in 1949, but remained friends with some who did not leave it, although he argued with them about it.[42][43]
On August 18, 1955, Seeger was subpoenaed to testify before the
In 1960, the San Diego school board told him that he could not play a scheduled concert at a high school unless he signed an oath pledging that the concert would not be used to promote a communist agenda or an overthrow of the government. Seeger refused, and the American Civil Liberties Union obtained an injunction against the school district, allowing the concert to go on as scheduled. Almost 50 years later, in February 2009, the San Diego School District officially extended an apology to Seeger for the actions of its predecessors.[48]
Folk music revival
To earn money during the blacklist period of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Seeger worked gigs as a music teacher in schools and summer camps, and traveled the college campus circuit. He also recorded as many as five albums a year for
Seeger toured Australia in 1963. His single "
The long television blacklist of Seeger began to end in the mid-1960s when he hosted a regionally broadcast educational folk-music television show,
In November 1976, Seeger wrote and recorded the anti-death penalty song "Delbert Tibbs", about the death-row inmate
Seeger also supported the Jewish Camping Movement. He came to Surprise Lake Camp in Cold Spring, New York, over the summer many times.[55] He sang and inspired countless campers.[56]
Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan
Pete Seeger was one of the earliest backers of
I couldn't understand the words. I wanted to hear the words. It was a great song, "Maggie's Farm," and the sound was distorted. I ran over to the guy at the controls and shouted, "Fix the sound so you can hear the words." He hollered back, "This is the way they want it." I said "Damn it, if I had an axe, I'd cut the cable right now." But I was at fault. I was the MC, and I could have said to the part of the crowd that booed Bob, "you didn't boo Howlin' Wolf yesterday. He was electric!" Though I still prefer to hear Dylan acoustic, some of his electric songs are absolutely great. Electric music is the vernacular of the second half of the twentieth century, to use my father's old term.[60]
Vietnam War era and beyond
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Pete_Seeger_Stern_Grove.jpg/220px-Pete_Seeger_Stern_Grove.jpg)
A longstanding opponent of the arms race and of the Vietnam War, Seeger satirically attacked then-President Lyndon Johnson with his 1966 recording, on the album Dangerous Songs!?, of Len Chandler's children's song "Beans in My Ears". Beyond Chandler's lyrics, Seeger said that "Mrs. Jay's little son Alby" had "beans in his ears", which, as the lyrics imply,[61] ensures that a person does not hear what is said to them. To those opposed to continuing the Vietnam War, the phrase implied that "Alby Jay", a loose pronunciation of Johnson's nickname "LBJ", did not listen to anti-war protests as he too had "beans in his ears".
During 1966, Seeger and Malvina Reynolds took part in environmental activism. The album God Bless the Grass was released in January of that year and became the first album in history wholly dedicated to songs about environmental issues. Their politics were informed by the same ideologies of nationalism, populism, and criticism of big business.[62]
Seeger attracted wider attention starting in 1967 with his song "
At the November 15, 1969, Vietnam Moratorium March on Washington, DC, Seeger led 500,000 protesters in singing John Lennon's song "Give Peace a Chance" as they rallied across from the White House. Seeger's voice carried over the crowd, interspersing phrases like "Are you listening, Nixon?" between the choruses of protesters singing, "All we are saying ... is give peace a chance."[67]
Inspired by Woody Guthrie, whose guitar was labeled "This machine kills fascists",photo Seeger's banjo was emblazoned with the motto "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender."[68]
In the documentary film The Power of Song, Seeger mentions that he and his family visited North Vietnam in 1972.[69]
Being a supporter of progressive labor unions, Seeger had supported
In 1980, Pete Seeger performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The performance was later released by Smithsonian Folkways as the album Singalong Sanders Theater, 1980.[72]
Hudson River sloop Clearwater
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Sloop_Clearwater3_-_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg/220px-Sloop_Clearwater3_-_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg)
In 1966, Seeger and his wife Toshi founded the
Reflection on support for Soviet communism
In 1982, Seeger performed at a benefit concert for the 1982 demonstrations in Poland against the Polish government. His biographer David Dunaway considers this the first public manifestation of Seeger's decades-long personal dislike of socialism in its Soviet form.[74] In the late 1980s, Seeger also expressed disapproval of violent revolutions, remarking to an interviewer that he was really in favor of incremental change and that "the most lasting revolutions are those that take place over a period of time".[74] In his autobiography Where Have All the Flowers Gone (1993, 1997, reissued in 2009), Seeger wrote, "Should I apologize for all this? I think so." He went on to put his thinking in context:
How could
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Pete_Seeger_1.jpg/150px-Pete_Seeger_1.jpg)
In a 1995 interview, however, he insisted that "I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more what Russia made of it than Christianity is what the churches make of it".[78] In later years, as the aging Seeger began to garner awards and recognition for his lifelong activism, he also found himself criticized once again for his opinions and associations of the 1930s and 1940s. In 2006,
In 2007, in response to criticism from historian
I'm singing about old Joe, cruel Joe.
He ruled with an iron hand.
He put an end to the dreams
Of so many in every land.
He had a chance to make
A brand new start for the human race.
Instead he set it back
Right in the same nasty place.
I got the Big Joe Blues.
Keep your mouth shut or you will die fast.
I got the Big Joe Blues.
Do this job, no questions asked.
I got the Big Joe Blues.[82]
The song was accompanied by a letter to Radosh, in which Seeger stated, "I think you're right, I should have asked to see the gulags when I was in U.S.S.R. [in 1965]."[77]
Later work
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c0/Pete_Seeger_%26_Kabir_Suman.jpg/220px-Pete_Seeger_%26_Kabir_Suman.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Pete_Seeger2_-_6-16-07_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg/220px-Pete_Seeger2_-_6-16-07_Photo_by_Anthony_Pepitone.jpg)
Seeger appears in the 1997 documentary film
On March 16, 2007, Pete Seeger, his sister
In September 2008, Appleseed Recordings released At 89, Seeger's first studio album in 12 years. On September 29, 2008, the 89-year-old singer-activist, once banned from commercial TV, made a rare national TV appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, singing "Take It From Dr. King".
On January 18, 2009, Seeger and his grandson Tao Rodríguez-Seeger joined Bruce Springsteen and the crowd in singing the Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land" in the finale of Barack Obama's inaugural concert in Washington, D.C.[85][86] The performance was noteworthy for the inclusion of two verses not often included in the song, one about a "private property" sign the narrator cheerfully ignores, and the other making a passing reference to a Depression-era relief office. The former's final line, however, "This land was made for you and me", is modified to "That side was made for you and me".[85][87]
Over the years, he lent his fame to support numerous environmental organizations, including South Jersey's Bayshore Center, the home of New Jersey's tall ship, the oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald. Seeger's benefit concerts helped raise funds for groups so they could continue to educate and spread environmental awareness. On September 19, 2009, Seeger made his first appearance at the 52nd Monterey Jazz Festival, which was particularly notable because the festival does not normally feature folk artists.
In 2010, still active at the age of 91, Seeger co-wrote and performed the song "God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You" with Lorre Wyatt, commenting on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[94] A performance of the song by Seeger, Wyatt, and friends was recorded and filmed aboard the sloop Clearwater in August for a single and video produced by Richard Barone and Matthew Billy, released on election day, November 6, 2012.[95]
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On October 21, 2011, at age 92, Pete Seeger was part of a solidarity march with Occupy Wall Street to Columbus Circle in New York City.[97] The march began with Seeger and fellow musicians exiting Symphony Space (95th and Broadway), where they had performed as part of a benefit for Seeger's Clearwater organization. Thousands of people crowded Pete Seeger by the time they reached Columbus Circle, where he performed with his grandson, Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, David Amram, and other celebrated musicians.[98] The event, promoted under the name OccupyTheCircle, was livestreamed, and was dubbed by some "the Pete Seeger March".
In January 2012, Seeger joined the Rivertown Kids in paying tribute to his friend Bob Dylan, performing Dylan's "Forever Young" on the Amnesty International album Chimes of Freedom.[99] This song, Seeger's last single, marked Seeger's only music video, which went viral in the wake of his death two years later.[100]
On December 14, 2012, Seeger performed, along with Harry Belafonte, Jackson Browne, Common, and others, at a concert to bring awareness to the 37-year-long ordeal of Native American activist Leonard Peltier. The concert was held at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.[101]
On April 9, 2013, Hachette Audio Books issued an audiobook entitled Pete Seeger: The Storm King; Stories, Narratives, Poems. This two-CD spoken-word work was conceived of and produced by noted percussionist Jeff Haynes and presents Pete Seeger telling the stories of his life against a background of music performed by more than 40 musicians of varied genres.
On August 9, 2013, one month widowed, Seeger was in New York City for the 400-year commemoration of the Two Row Wampum Treaty between the Iroquois and the Dutch. On an interview he gave that day to Democracy Now!, Seeger sang "I Come and Stand at Every Door", as it was also the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki.[105][106]
On September 21, 2013, Pete Seeger performed at Farm Aid at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Joined by Wille Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews, he sang "This Land Is Your Land",[107] and included a verse he said he had written specifically for the Farm Aid concert.
Personal life
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2023) |
Seeger married Toshi Aline Ohta in 1943, whom he credited with being the support that helped make the rest of his life possible. The couple remained married until Toshi's death in July 2013.[108] Their first child, Peter Ōta Seeger, was born in 1944 and died at six months, while Pete was deployed overseas. Pete never saw him.[109] They went on to have three more children: Daniel (an accomplished photographer and filmmaker), Mika (a potter and muralist), and Tinya (a potter), as well as grandchildren Tao Rodríguez-Seeger (a musician), Cassie (an artist), Kitama Cahill-Jackson (a psychotherapist), Moraya (a marriage and family therapist married to the NFL player Chris DeGeare), Penny, and Isabelle, and great-grandchildren Dio and Gabel. Tao, a folk musician in his own right, sings and plays guitar, banjo, and harmonica with the Mammals. Kitama Jackson is a documentary filmmaker who was associate producer of the 2007 PBS documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song.
When asked by Beliefnet about his religious or spiritual beliefs, and his definition of God, Seeger replied:
Nobody knows for sure. But people undoubtedly get feelings which are not explainable and they feel they're talking to God or they're talking to their parents who are long dead. I feel most spiritual when I'm out in the woods. I feel part of nature. Or looking up at the stars. [I used to say] I was an atheist. Now I say, it's all according to your definition of God. According to my definition of God, I'm not an atheist. Because I think God is everything. Whenever I open my eyes I'm looking at God. Whenever I'm listening to something I'm listening to God. I've had preachers of the gospel, Presbyterians and Methodists, saying, "Pete, I feel that you are a very spiritual person". And maybe I am. I feel strongly that I'm trying to raise people's spirits to get together. ... I tell people I don't think God is an old white man with a long white beard and no navel; nor do I think God is an old black woman with white hair and no navel. But I think God is literally everything, because I don't believe that something can come out of nothing. And so there's always been something. Always is a long time.
He was a member of a Unitarian Universalist Church in New York.[111]
Seeger lived in
Toshi died in Beacon on July 9, 2013, at the age of 91,[108][113] and Pete died at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City on January 27, 2014, at the age of 94.[114]
Legacy
Response and reaction to Seeger's death quickly poured in. President Barack Obama noted that Seeger had been called "America's tuning fork"[115] and that he believed in "the power of song" to bring social change, "Over the years, Pete used his voice and his hammer to strike blows for workers' rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation, and he always invited us to sing along. For reminding us where we come from and showing us where we need to go, we will always be grateful to Pete Seeger."[116] Folksinger and fellow activist Billy Bragg wrote that "Pete believed that music could make a difference. Not change the world, he never claimed that – he once said that if music could change the world he'd only be making music – but he believed that while music didn't have agency, it did have the power to make a difference."[117] Bruce Springsteen said of Seeger's death, "I lost a great friend and a great hero last night, Pete Seeger," before performing "We Shall Overcome" while on tour in South Africa.[118]
Tributes
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- A proposal was made in 2009 to name the Walkway Over the Hudson in his honor.[119]
- A posthumous suggestion that Seeger's name be applied to the replacement Tappan Zee Bridge being built over the Hudson River was made by a local town supervisor.[73][120] Seeger's boat, the sloop Clearwater, is based at Beacon, New York, just upriver from the bridge and frequently sails down to Manhattan to continuing spreading Seeger's message and music.[121]
- Oakwood Friends School, located in Poughkeepsie New York, not far from Seeger's home, performed "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" at one of their worship meetings. The collaboration was with three teachers (playing guitar and vocals) as well as a student harmonica player and a student vocalist.
- A free five-day memorial called Seeger Fest took place on July 17–21, 2014, featuring Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow, Harry Belafonte, Anti-Flag, Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, Steve Earle, Holly Near, Fred Hellerman, Guy Davis, DJ Logic, Paul Winter Consort, Dar Williams, DJ Kool Herc, The Rappers Delight Experience, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, David amram, Mike + Ruthy, Tom Chapin, James Maddock, The Chapin Sisters, Rebel Diaz, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Elizabeth Mitchell, Emma's Revolution, Toni Blackman, Kim & Reggie Harris, Magpie, Abrazos Orchestra, Nyraine, George Wein, The Vanaver Caravan, White Tiger Society, Lorre Wyatt, AKIR, Adira & Alana Amram, Aurora Barnes, The Owens Brothers, The Tony Lee Thomas Band, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, New York City Labor Chorus, Roland Moussa, Roots Revelators, Kristen Graves, Bob Reid, Hudson River Sloop Singers, Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, Betty & The baby Boomers, Work O' The Weavers, Jacob Bernz * Sarah Armour, and Amanda Palmer.[122]
- In 2006, thirteen folk music songs made popular by Pete Seeger were reinterpreted by Bruce Springsteen on his fourteenth studio album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.
- In 2014, Wepecket Island Records recorded a Pete Seeger tribute album called For Pete's Sake.
- In 2020, Kronos Quartet released Long Time Passing, an album of all new arrangements of Pete Seeger's music commissioned by the FreshGrass Foundation and released on Smithsonian Folkways.
- On July 21, 2022, the United States Postal Service issued a Pete Seeger "Forever" stamp. The stamp is based on a photograph of Seeger playing a long neck banjo, taken by Seeger's son Daniel some time in the early 1960s. It's a commemorative in the Music Icons series, with a print quantity of 22,000,000.[123]
Awards
Seeger received many awards and recognitions throughout his career, including:
- Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1972)[124]
- The Eugene V. Debs Award (1979)
- The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award (1986)
- The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1993)[125]
- The National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts (1994)
- Kennedy Center Honor (1994)
- The Harvard Arts Medal (1996)
- The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal (1996)[126]
- Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1996)
- Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album of 1996 for his record Pete (1997)
- The Felix Varela Medal, Cuba's highest honor for "his humanistic and artistic work in defense of the environment and against racism" (1999)
- The Schneider Family Book Award for his children's picture book The Deaf Musicians. (2007)
- The Mid-Hudson Civic Center Hall of Fame (2008)- Seeger and Arlo Guthrie performed the first public concert at the Poughkeepsie, New York not-for-profit family entertainment venue, close to Seeger's home, in 1976. Grandson Tao Rodríguez-Seeger accepted the Hall of Fame plaque on behalf of his grandfather.
- Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album of 2008 for his record At 89 (2009)
- The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award[127] for his commitment to peace and social justice as a musician, songwriter, activist, and environmentalist that spans over sixty years. (2008)
- The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2009)
- Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children of 2010 for his record album Tomorrow's Children with the Rivertown Kids and Friends (2011)
- George Peabody Medal (2013)
- Woody Guthrie Prize (2014) (inaugural recipient)[130]
Selected discography
- American Folk Songs for Children (1953)
- Birds, Beasts, Bugs, and Little Fishes (1955)
- American Industrial Ballads (1956)
- American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 2 (1958)
- Gazette, Vol. 1 (1958)
- Sleep-Time: Songs & Stories (1958)
- God Bless the Grass (1966)
- Dangerous Songs!? (1966)
- Rainbow Race (1973)
- American Folk Songs for Children (1990)
- At 89 (2008)[131][132]
See also
- List of banjo players
- List of peace activists
- Tom Winslow – Clearwater singer and songwriter
- Union Boys
Notes
- The Huffington Post. Archivedfrom the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ David King Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing (New York: [Random House, 1981, 1990], revised edition, Villard Books, 2008), p. 17.
- ^ See Ann M. Pescatello, Charles Seeger: A Life in American Music (University of Pittsburgh, 1992), pp. 4–5.
- ^ a b c Pete Seeger interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ Dunaway (2008), p. 20.
- ^ According to Dunaway, the British-born president of the university "all but fired" Charles Seeger (How Can I Keep From Singing, p. 26).
- ^ Ann Pescatello, Charles Seeger: A Life In Music, 83–85.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, p. 32. Frank Damrosch, siding with Constance, fired Charles from Juilliard, see Judith Tick, Ruth Crawford Seeger: a Composer's Search for American Music (Oxford University Press, 1997), pp. 224–25.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, pp. 22, 24.
- ^ Winkler (2009), p. 4.
- ^ See Judith Tick, Ruth Crawford Seeger: a Composer's Search for American Music (1997). Archived May 11, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "David Lewis, Ruth Crawford Seeger Biography in 600 Words on website of her daughter, Peggy Seeger". Peggyseeger.com. February 14, 2005. Archived from the original on August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "John Seeger Dies at 95". WordPress.com. January 18, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
- ^ Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006) p. 50 and Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, p. 32.
- ^ Alec Wilkinson, The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger (New York: Knopf, 2009), p. 43.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, pp. 48–49.
- ^ a b Judith Tick, Ruth Crawford Seeger, p. 239.
- ^ Judith Tick, Ruth Crawford Seeger, p. 235. According to John Szwed, Jackson Pollock, later famous for his "drip" paintings, played harmonica, having smashed his violin in frustration, see: Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World (Viking, 2010), p. 88.
- ^ According to Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 51, after failing one of his winter exams and losing his scholarship.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, pp. 61–63.
- ^ Emery, Lawrence, "Interesting Summer: Young Puppeteers in Unique Tour of Rural Areas", quoted on Pete Seeger website
- ^ The resultant 22-page mimeographed "List of American Folk Music on Commercial Recordings", issued in 1940 and mailed by Lomax out to academic folklore scholars, became the basis of Harry Smith's celebrated Anthology of American Folk Music on Folkways Records. Seeger also did similar work for Lomax at Decca in the late 1940s.
- ^ Folk Songs in the White House, Time, March 3, 1941
- ^ "Seeger, Pete, Cpl". army.togetherweserved.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ From the Washington Post, February 12, 1944: "The Labor Canteen, sponsored by the United Federal Workers of America, CIO, will be opened at 8 p.m. tomorrow at 1212 18th st. nw. Mrs. Roosevelt is expected to attend at 8:30 p.m."
- ISBN 9780806193588.
- ^ He later commented "Innocently I became a member of the Communist Party, and when they said fight for peace, I did, and when they said fight Hitler, I did. I got out in '49, though. ... I should have left much earlier. It was stupid of me not to. My father had got out in '38, when he read the testimony of the trials in Moscow, and he could tell they were forced confessions. We never talked about it, though, and I didn't examine closely enough what was going on. ... I thought Stalin was the brave secretary Stalin, and had no idea how cruel a leader he was." Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 52; see also The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait (2009), p. 116.
- ISBN 9780199826667. Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "The Poison in Our System" (excerpt from the Atlantic Monthly) by Carl Joachim Friedrich Archived June 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Note: Dunaway misses the significance of military propagandist Carl Joachim Friedrich, when he mistakenly refers to him as "Karl Frederick," an error other writers who relied on Dunaway repeated.
- ^ Friedrich's review concluded: "The three records sell for one dollar and you are asked to 'play them in your home, play them in your union hall, take them back to your people.' Probably some of these songs fall under the criminal provisions of the Selective Service Act, and to that extent it is a matter for the Attorney-General. But you never can handle situations of this kind democratically by mere suppression. Unless civic groups and individuals will make a determined effort to counteract such appeals by equally effective methods, democratic morale will decline." Upon United States entry into the war in 1942, Friedrich became chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council for Democracy, charged with combatting isolationism, and had his article on the Almanacs Archived June 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine reprinted as one of several pamphlets which he sent to radio network executives.
- ^ Although the Almanacs were accused – both at the time and in subsequent histories – of reversing their attitudes in response to the Communist Party's new party line, "Seeger has pointed out that virtually all progressives reversed course and supported the war. He insists that no one, Communist Party or otherwise, told the Almanacs to change their songs. (Seeger interview with [Richard A.] Reuss 4/9/68)" quoted in William G. Roy, "Who Shall Not Be Moved? Folk Music, Community and Race in the American The Communist Party and the Highlander School," ff p. 16. Archived March 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Blanche Wiessen Cook, Eisenhower Declassified (Doubleday, 1981), page 122. "The Council was a limited affair," Cook writes, "... that served mostly to highlight Jackson's talents as a propagandist."
- ^ Billboard Magazine – Article on Pete Seegar 12/19/2015| https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/military-fbi-woody-guthrie-pete-seeger-wartime-world-war-two-6813894/ Archived September 22, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ People's Songs Inc. People's Songs Newsletter No 1. February 1946. Old Town School of Folk Music Resource center collection.
- ^ American Masters: "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song – KQED Broadcast 2-27-08.
- ^ Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 47.
- ^ See Wikipedia entry on the CIO.
- ^ Ingram, David. "The Jukebox in the Garden: Ecocriticism and American Popular Music Since 1960." Humanities Source. 2010 Vol. 7. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
- ^ Alec Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer: Pete Seeger and American folk music," in The New Yorker (April 17, 2006), pp. 44–53.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep from Singing, p. 100.
- ^ "Acoustic Guitar Central". Acousticguitar.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ a b "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" Archived August 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine – PBS American Masters, February 27, 2008
- ^ Pete Seeger Interview PBS American Masters.
- ^ Pete Seeger to the House Un-American Activities Committee, August 18, 1955. Quoted, along with some other exchanges from that hearing, in Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 53.
- ^ United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities (August 17–18, 1955). Investigation of Communist Activities, New York Area— Part VII (Entertainment). Hearings Before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-Fourth Congress, First Session, August 17 And 18, 1955. Vol. pt. 7. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off. pp. Testimony of Peter Seeger, p. 2447–2459.
- ^ United States v. Seeger Archived August 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, 303 F. 2d 478 (2d Cir. 1962).
- ^ Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 53.
- ^ Dillon, Raquel Maria. "School board offers apology to singer Pete Seeger". Sign on San Diego. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
- ^ Pete Seeger interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ "BBC News – South East Wales". BBC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Whitehead, John. "Pete Seeger: Changing the World One Song at a Time." Waxahachie Daily Light. May 30, 2013. Rutherford Institute. Accessed on October 14, 2014.
- JSTOR 25161857.
- ^ Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, by David Bianculli, Touchstone, 2009.
- ^ "Songwriter – Pete Seeger and Writing For Freedom". Peteseeger.net. July 28, 1976. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ Turton, Michael (August 14, 2011). "Surprise Lake Camp: Rich History, Big Presence". Highlands Current. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Bank, Justin (January 28, 2014). "Pete Seeger, Neil Diamond and me". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Fellow Newport Board member Bruce Jackson writes, "Pete Seeger, more than any of the other board members, had a personal connection with Bob Dylan: it was he who [in 1962] had convinced the great Columbia A and R man John Hammond, famous for his work with jazz and blues musicians, to produce Dylan's eponymous first album, Bob Dylan. If anyone was responsible for Bob Dylan's presence on the Newport Stage [in 1965], it was Pete Seeger". See Bruce Jackson, The Story Is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008), p. 148.
- ^ John Szwed, Alan Lomax, 'The Man Who Recorded the World (Viking, 2010), p. 354. The Butterfield Blues Band, a new, integrated Chicago-based electric band, was the closer in an afternoon blues workshop entitled "Blues: Origins and Offshoots", hosted by Lomax, that had included African-American blues greats Willie Dixon, Son House, Memphis Slim, and a prison work group from Texas, along with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys. Lomax, upset that Butterfield's group had been shoehorned into his workshop, reportedly complained aloud about how long they took to set up their electrical equipment and introduced them with the words, "Now, let's find out if these guys can play at all." This infuriated Grossman (who was angling to manage the new group), and he responded by attacking Lomax physically. Michael Bloomfield stated, "Alan Lomax, the great folklorist and musicologist, gave us some kind of introduction that I didn't even hear, but Albert found it offensive. And Albert went upside his head. The next thing we knew, right in the middle of our show, Lomax and Grossman were kicking ass on the floor in the middle of thousands of people at the Newport Folk Festival. Tearing each other's clothes off. We had to pull 'em apart. We figured 'Albert, man, now there's a manager!'" quoted in Jan Mark Wolkin, Bill Keenom, and Carlos Santana's, Michael Bloomfield: If You Love These Blues (San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books), p. 102. See also Ronald D. Cohen's introduction to "Part III, The Folk Revival (1960s)" in Alan Lomax: Selected Writings, Ronald D. Cohen, ed. (London: Routledege), p. 192.
- ^ Rock critic Greil Marcus wrote: "Backstage, Peter Seeger and the great ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax attempted to cut the band's power cables with an axe." See Greil Marcus, Invisible Republic, the Story of the Basement Tapes [1998], republished in paperback as The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes (New York: Holt, 2001), p. 12. Marcus's apocryphal story was elaborated by Maria Muldaur and Paul Nelson in Martin Scorsese's film No Direction Home (2005)
- ^ David Kupfer, Longtime Passing: An interview with Pete Seeger Archived April 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Whole Earth magazine, Spring 2001. Accessed online October 16, 2007.
- ^ "Beans in My Ears". Sniff.numachi.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Ingram, David (2008). 'My Dirty Stream : Pete Seeger, American Folk Music, and Environmental Protest', Popular Music Vol. 31, pp22. Routeledge Taylor & Francis Group. October 14, 2014
- ^ Gibson, Megan. "Songs of Peace and Protest: 6 Essential Cuts From Pete Seeger." Time.com, January 28, 2014. p.1 Business Source Complete. October 14, 2014.
- ^ Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, CBS, Season 2, Episode 1, September 10, 1967.
- ^ "How "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" Finally Got on Network Television in 1968". Peteseeger.net. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, CBS, Season 2, Episode 24, February 25, 1968.
- YouTube.
- ^ "Pete Seeger's banjo". Flickr. March 18, 2006. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ISBN 1-59445-156-7.
- ISBN 9780199336128. Archivedfrom the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Google Books.
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- ^ "Singalong Sanders Theater, 1980". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Harrington, Gerry (January 31, 2014). "Movement afoot to name bridge after Pete Seeger". United Press International. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- ^ a b David King Dunaway (2008), p. 103.
- ISBN 0-679-40591-7).
- ^ Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Musical Autobiography, edited by Peter Blood (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Sing Out Publication, 1993, 1997), page 22.
- ^ a b Daniel J. Wakin, "This Just In: Pete Seeger Denounced Stalin Over a Decade Ago" Archived October 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, New York Times, September 1, 2007. Accessed October 16, 2007.
- ^ "The Old Left". The New York Times Magazine. January 22, 1995. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ Boaz, David (April 14, 2006). "Stalin's songbird". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^ Boaz's article is reprinted in his book, The Politics of Freedom (Washington, D.C.: The Cato Institute, 2008) pp. 283–84
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, p. 422.
- ^ Seeger turns on Uncle Joe Archived September 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, NewStatesMan, September 27, 2007.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "How Can I Keep from Singing?": A Seeger Family Tribute Archived May 30, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. 2007 symposium and concert, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (web presentation includes program, photographs, and webcasts).
- ^ a b Tommy Stevenson, "'This Land Is Your Land' Like Woody Wrote It" Archived February 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Truthout, January 19, 2009. Accessed February 3, 2014.
- ^ Maria Puente and Elysa Gardner, "Inauguration opening concert celebrates art of the possible", USA Today, January 19, 2008. Accessed January 20, 2009.
- YouTube. Accessed December 3, 2014.
- ^ Jennings, Jennifer. "Pete Seeger: The environmental side of his activism." Atlantic City Natural Health Examiner. January 28, 2014. Atlantic City Examiner. Accessed on October 5, 2014.
- ^ "Web site announcing Seeger's 90th birthday celebration". Seeger90.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "Hudson River Sloop Clearwater". Clearwater.org. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ "For Pete's Sake, Sing!-Ithaca, NY". Jimharpermusic.com. May 3, 2009. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ "Yahoo". Upcoming.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ "Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebrations". Unionsong.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ Patrick Doyle, Video: Pete Seeger Debuts New BP Protest Song: Songwriter talks inspiration behind "God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You", Rolling Stone online, July 26, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ "Pete Seeger - God's Counting On Me, God's Counting On You (Sloop Mix) (feat. Lorre Wyatt & friends)". YouTube. November 5, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
- ^ "Civil Rights History Project". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ Moynihan, Colin (October 22, 2011). "Pete Seeger Leads Protesters in New York, on Foot and in Song". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ "Pete Seeger and Occupy Wall Street Sing 'We Shall Overcome' at Columbus Circle (10/21/11)". Youtube. October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
- ^ Stafford, David (December 4, 2014). "Pete Seeger, "Forever Young"". WWOZ. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (January 30, 2014). "Pete Seeger's 'Forever Young' music video goes viral". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Simon Moya-Smith, "Celebrity Activists Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Common and Michael Moore Come Together for Leonard Peltier"". indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ "Hachette Book Group, "Hachette Audio and Jeff Haynes Introduce Pete Seeger: the Storm King; Stories, Narratives, Poems: Seeger's Spoken Word Set to All New Multi-Genre Music"" (PDF). www.hachettebookgroup.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
- ^ "Barry, John, "Seeger Legacy Grows With Release of New Album 'Storm King'; DIA-Beacon Event Offers a Taste of Folk Singer's Spoken-Word Recordings"". Poughkeepsiejournal.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Shows featuring Pete Seeger". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ "Pete Seeger & Onondaga Leader Oren Lyons on Fracking, Indigenous Struggles and Hiroshima Bombing". Democracy Now!. August 9, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ "Pete Seeger – This Land is Your Land (Live at Farm Aid 2013)". YouTube. September 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- ^ a b Martin, Douglas (July 12, 2013). "Toshi Seeger, Wife of Folk-Singing Legend, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
- ^ Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, p. 131.
- ^ Wendy Schuman. "Pete Seeger's Session". Beliefnet, Inc. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ^ Unitaritian Universalist Association, "Unitarian Universalist History". "Unitarian Universalist History – UUA". Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Retrieved August 17, 2019. - ^ Gaffney, Dennis (June 22, 2008). "At a Roadside Vigil, an Iconic Voice of Protest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ Wilkinson, The Protest Singer (2006), pp. 47–48.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (January 28, 2014). "Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ The phrase "America's tuning fork" is usually attributed to poet Carl Sandburg, for example, see Corey Sandler, Henry Hudson: Dreams and Obsessions (New York: Kensington Books, 2007), p. 203. It is unclear when and where Sandburg, who thought highly of the Weavers, said this. Studs Terkel, who introduced Seeger as "America's tuning fork" at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival (see George Wein, Nate Chinen, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music [Da Capo Press, 2009], p. 314), later wrote that he had seen the phase in DownBeat jazz magazine (see Terkel, Hope Dies Last: Keeping The Faith In Troubled Times [New York: The New Press], p. 249). The phrase was picked up in a photo spread on Seeger Archived May 11, 2023, at the Wayback Machine by Life Magazine (October 9, 1964), p. 61 (see also Ronald D. Cohen, Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940–70 [University of Massachusetts Press, 1970], p. 223).
- ^ "Obama memorializes Pete Seeger". USA Today. January 28, 2014. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Bragg, Billy (January 28, 2014). "Pete Seeger: folk activist who believed music could make a difference". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
- ^ Diane Vadino, "Bruce Springsteen Honors Pete Seeger With a Stirring 'We Shall Overcome Archived September 17, 2017, at the Wayback Machine," Rolling Stone, January 29, 2014.
- Alan Chartock, "New York has a chance to honor an American hero," Legislative Gazette, April 24, 2009, found at Legislative Gazette website Archived August 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed April 29, 2009.
- ^ "Pete Seeger should have new Tappan Zee Bridge named for him, downstate politician says". Dailyfreeman.com. January 28, 2014. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ^ "Clearwater". Clearwater.org. Archived from the original on October 2, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
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- ^ "Pete Seeger Stamps". store.usps.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ "Songwriters Hall of Fame – Pete Seeger Exhibit Home". songwritershalloffame.org. 1972. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards". Grammy.org. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ "Awards and Medals: 1996". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
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References
- Dunaway, David K. How Can I Keep from Singing: The Ballad of Pete Seeger. [McGraw Hill (1981), DaCapo (1990)] Revised Edition. New York: Villard Trade Paperback, 2008 ISBN 0-345-50608-1. Audio Version
- Dunaway, David K. Pete Seeger: How Can I Keep From Singing. three one-hour radio documentaries, Public Radio International, 2008
- Dunaway, David K. The Pete Seeger Discography. Scarecrow Press: Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010.
- Forbes, Linda C. "Pete Seeger on Environmental Advocacy, Organizing, and Education in the Hudson River Valley: An Interview with the Folk Music Legend, Author and Storyteller, Political and Environmental Activist, and Grassroots Organizer." Organization & Environment, 17, No. 4, 2004: pp. 513–522.
- Gardner, Elysa. "Seeger: A 'Power' in music, politics." USA Today, February 27, 2008. p. 8D.
- Seeger, Pete. How to Play the Five-String Banjo, New York: People's Songs, 1948. 3rd edition, New York: Music Sales Corporation, 1969. ISBN 0-8256-0024-3.
- Tick, Judith. Ruth Crawford Seeger: A Composer's Search for American Music. Oxford University Press, 1997.
- Wilkinson, Alec. "The Protest Singer: Pete Seeger and American folk music," The New Yorker, April 17, 2006, pp. 44–53.
- Wilkinson, Alec. The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger. New York: Knopf, 2009.
- Winkler, Allan M. (2009). To everything there is a season: Pete Seeger and the power of song. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press.
- Zollo, Paul (January 7, 2005). "Pete Seeger Reflects on His Legendary Songs". GRAMMY Magazine. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005.
Further reading
- Briggs, John, Pete Seeger, The People's Singer, Atombank Books, 2015, ISBN 0990516075
- "The Music Man" (profile and interview). In Something to Say: Thoughts on Art and Politics in America, text by Richard Klin, photos by Lily Prince, Leapfrog Press, 2011.
- Reich, Susanna, Stand Up and Sing! Pete Seeger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice, Bloomsbury, 2017. ISBN 978-0802738127
- Renehan, Edward, Pete Seeger vs. the Un-Americans: A Tale of the Blacklist, New Street Communications, LLC, 2014. ISBN 978-0615998138
- Seeger, Pete (Edited by Rob and Sam Rosenthal), Pete Seeger: In His Own Words, Paradigm Publishers, 2012. ISBN 978-1612052182
- Seeger, Pete (Edited by Ronald D. Cohen and James Capaldi), The Pete Seeger Reader, Oxford University Press, 2014. ISBN 9780199862016
- Seeger, Pete (Edited by Jo Metcalf Schwartz), The Incompleat Folksinger, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972. ISBN 0-8032-9216-3.
External links
- David Dunaway (Seeger biographer and original site creator). "Pete Seeger: How Can I Keep From Singing?". peteseeger.org. Archived from the original on January 28, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
- Jim Capaldi (original site creator). "Pete Seeger Appreciation Page". peteseeger.net. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012.
- Matthews, Scott (August 6, 2008). "John Cohen in Eastern Kentucky: Documentary Expression and the Image of Roscoe Halcomb During the Folk Revival". Southern Spaces.
- Pareles, Jon (January 28, 2014). "Obituary: Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94". The New York Times.
- "Peter Seeger b. 3 May 1919 d. 27 January 2014 – Full Tree". rodovid. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- "Pete Seeger's FBI File Reveals How the Folk Legend First Became a Target of the Feds", Mother Jones, 2015
- Pete Seeger Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection