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Posted by: Stephen Winick
May 3, 2019, would have been Pete Seeger’s 100th birthday. Summing up what Pete meant and still means to us is difficult, but I tried my best in the wake of Pete’s death with the tribute post at this link. Rather than summing up again for his hundredth birthday, I thought I’d highlight one …
Posted in: AFC Events, Obituaries, Pete Seeger
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: this is the first in a series of posts about a classic item from the AFC archive, “The Dodger.” [See the first post here.] [See the second post here.][See the third post here.] Second note: we’ve also created a podcast version of these stories. Download our “Dodger” podcast here! As Election Day draws near, …
Posted in: Aaron Copland, Alan Lomax, Charles Lafayette Todd, Charles Seeger, Dodger, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, John Lomax, Pete Seeger, Robert Sonkin, Sidney Robertson Cowell, U.S. Congress, Woody Guthrie
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: This post was co-written with AFC Folklife Specialist Jennifer Cutting. It is part of series of blog posts celebrating the centennial of Alan Lomax’s birth, and also part of another series celebrating the 40th anniversary of AFC! Part Two of this series of posts is now available, featuring videos of contemporary artists performing French …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, AFC Events, AFC History, Alan Lomax, Archive Challenge, Folk Music, Folksong, John Lomax, Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie
Posted by: Stephen Winick
This is the fourth in a series of six posts presenting AFC’s new traveling exhibit Treasures of the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit takes the form of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about AFC, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our archive. Originally conceived …
Posted in: AFC History, Alan Lomax, Exhibits, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest blog post by Dom Flemons, a musician and singer who currently tours and records as “The American Songster.” Dom was one of the founders of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, with whom he has played at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, and with whom he won a GRAMMY Award. Dom …
Posted in: AFC History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Civil Rights, Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), Pete Seeger
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Note: a second part of this article is available presenting further research: “Who Were Those Gals?: Buffalo Gals Revisited,” Folklife Today, August 17, 2020. “Buffalo Gals” is an example of a song with a complicated “life.” Tracing the background of an old folksong or folk tune can be difficult, and often its origins can only …
Posted in: Alan Jabbour, Folksong, Pete Seeger, Sidney Robertson Cowell
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Last month, there were several sightings of a fox on and around the grounds of the Capitol complex, where the Library of Congress is located. Also, sadly, the wonderful American folksinger Pete Seeger died, and I wrote about him for this blog. These two events both made me think of the old folksong often just …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Animals, England, Folksong, Medieval Folklore, Pete Seeger
Posted by: Kate Stewart
Although folksingers Pete Seeger, Guy Carawan, and Frank Hamilton registered copyright on “We Shall Overcome” in 1960, the song has a long and fascinating history with contributions from many activist-singers. We can trace it back to two separate songs from over a hundred years ago, the lyrics from “I’ll Overcome Some Day” written by the …
Posted in: Civil Rights, Civil Rights History Project, Folk Music, Oral History, Pete Seeger
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On behalf of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, I’m sad to pass along the news of the death of Pete Seeger, a longtime friend of the AFC Archive and a giant in the folk music world, one of the most significant American folk musicians ever. Many AFC staff members have personal …
Posted in: AFC Events, Alan Lomax, Folk Music, Folksong, Pete Seeger