Pete Seeger, Freedom Fighter and Musician Dies at 94: A Real Loss to Humanity

Pete Seeger

Sixteen-year-old Pete Seeger enrolled at the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and then decided to become a hermit. His life since then has been one social cause after another, buoyed by an almost indefatigable career as a self-described “sing-along leader.”

During the 1930s he attended Harvard, from which his musicologist father Charles Seeger (a member of the Industrial Workers of the World and a conscientious objector during World War I) had graduated in 1908. As an alternative to his major, Sociology (which he disliked), he played tenor banjo (failing to make the Harvard Jazz Band) and participated in the pacifist/communist Harvard Student Union so much that he lost his scholarship, leaving Harvard in 1938.

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In 1939 actor/folksinger ‘Will Geer’ organized the “All-American Left-Wing Folk-Song Revival Movement,” a benefit concert for migrant workers in California. It was there that Pete met Woody Guthrie and began touring with him. In 1940 Seeger started the Almanac Singers with Lee Hays, Pete Hawes and Millard Lampell; during his tours with this pro-union, anti-war group the FBI began a file on him. The group broke up at the start of World War II (Seeger enlisted in the army; Guthrie entered the Merchant Marine).

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After the war he started People’s Songs (later Sing Out!), and in 1949 formed a new group, The Weavers, with Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert’. For years he had trouble with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and was, effectively, blacklisted. He recorded dozens of albums (Columbia, Folkways) and wrote thousands of songs, among which are “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” “If I Had a Hammer,” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” (which in the 1960s became a huge hit for The Byrds). He helped start the Greenwich Village music magazine Broadside in the 1960s and reorganized the Newport Folk Festival. In 1996 the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance awarded him its first Lifetime Achievement Award. He helped start Clearwater, an organization which sails a 106-foot boat along the Hudson River to show children the dangers of pollution.– IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0781517/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

The Harry Chapin song, “Old Folkie”, is a tribute to Seeger.

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Is an advocate of alternative fuel vehicles, and owns an electric pick-up truck.

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The inscription on his banjo reads: “This instrument surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

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He wrote the song “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)”, which was recorded by Judy Collins and later became a #1 hit for The Byrds in 1965. The lyrics were adapted from the Old Testament of the Bible; namely from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verses 1-8.

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Has performed with both Woody Guthrie and Arlo Guthrie.

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Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 (under the category Early Influence).

Kennedy Center Honoree, 1994.

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Is part of a distinguished musical family. His parents were teacher and musicologist Charles Seeger and composer Ruth Crawford Seeger. His brother and sister are singersMike Seeger and Peggy Seeger.

He is a composer, lyricist, vocalist, and banjo player.

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He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1994 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.

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Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.

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Made an appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967) but the song he performed, “Waist Deep in The Big Muddy” (an allegory about the then-escalating Vietnam War), was deemed too controversial by the CBS network, and it was censored from the broadcast.

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Stepuncle of Neil MacColl.

Stepbrother-in-law of Ewan MacColl.

Father of Tinya V.S. Seeger and father-in-law of Shabazz A. Jackson of Beacon, New York; Grandfather of Moraya Seeger Jackson (born in 1988) and grandfather-in-law of Christopher Landis DeGeare of Minnesota.

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He was one of Bob Dylan‘s biggest advocates among the folk scene. When Dylan went “electric” (with a backing band) at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, however, Seeger was reported to be enraged and even, some claim, tried to severe the power to the amplifiers with an ax. Seeger, for his part, said this never happened but admitted to being annoyed at the time, not because Dylan was “turning his back” on folk music but because he and his friends couldn’t hear any of the words over the rock music on what they felt was an overly loud, poorly mixed sound-system.

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Hudson Valley, New York [May 2006]

(About his songs) “Some may find them merely diverting melodies. Others may find them incitements to Red revolution. And who will say if either or both is wrong? Not I.” – (Interview: “Rolling Stone Magazine”; April 13, 1972)

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Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don’t.

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Songs are weapons.

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[I receive letters] asking if I will come and accept an award someplace. This is a more general letter: “Dear so and so, thank you for your invitation, but….” A big word “but.” I work hard on these letters: “My lefty reputation kept me out of the spotlight, but now I’ve blown my cover. I have to say no to all sorts of good people who want me to listen to their CD, read their book….”

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People wanting autographs. I have a special form letter that starts off: “I wish I could persuade you that collecting autographs is one of the more foolish ways we can spend our precious days. There are important things needing to be done in every community.” How can people be brought together to do these important things? I’ve tried with banjos and boats.

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It’s a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.