Folk singer, activist and friend of the Library of Congress Pete Seeger passed away Monday in Manhattan. He was 94. The Library’s American Folklife Center and the Music Division are home to multiple collections documenting Seeger and his family’s extraordinary musical accomplishments.
(The following is a repost from the American Folklife Center blog, Folklife Today.)
Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014)
January 28, 2014 by Stephen WinickPhoto by Robert Corwin, AFC Robert Corwin Collection
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 reminiscences of Pete, which we’ll be gathering in the days to come. Meanwhile, we wanted to place online an appreciation of all he has done for folk music and for AFC. We have extensive collections relating to Pete and his family, but that’s only one part of his meaning for us.
Pete Seeger was part of an important musical family, the son of ethnomusicologist Charles Seeger and concert violinist Constance de Clyver Edson Seeger. He was exposed to folk music as a young child, when his parents took him on a musical expedition in a homemade trailer, designed to bring classical music to rural areas. John Seeger, Pete’s older brother, remembered the family’s experience at AFC’s 2007 symposium:
[Charles] said, ‘I’m going to take good music to the countryside, because they cannot afford orchestras, they cannot afford quartets…. So he spent a year and a half building that damn trailer! What happened was, in western North Carolina, spending a winter there…at every farm he would say, ‘can my wife and I play you some music on Saturday?’ And after their music was over, the local farmers would say, ‘now, would you listen to our music?’ Every farm we went to, everyone could either play an instrument, or could sing, or could harmonize…and they all knew the songs! What was he bringing music to the countryside for? In March, as soon as the snow was gone, we all piled in the trailer, and we tore home, and he went to New York to teach!
The Seegers get ready to leave Washington, D.C. for their “trailer trip” in 1921. Pete, at 18 months old, holds his mother’s hand.
Pete’s love of folk music stemmed from such childhood experiences. When he was seven years old, his parents divorced, and his father later remarried, to the composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, who was also an important transcriber and arranger of folk music. With both father and stepmother involved, his love for the music blossomed in his teenage years, and he began singing songs and learning to play the ukulele. In 1936, he returned to western North Carolina with Charles and Ruth, and attended the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, organized by local folklorist and performer Bascom Lamar Lunsford. There he heard the five-string banjo for the first time, and decided to learn to play it.
Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, circa 1940. This image was likely taken in Oklahoma City during a trip Pete and Woody made from Washington, D.C., to Pampa, Oklahoma. Courtesy of Guy Logsdon.
In the 1930s, Pete was invited by his friend Alan Lomax to work at the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song, which is now the AFC Archive. There’s no record of his being paid, so we consider him the Archive’s first intern! Several AFC collections from the 1930s and 1940s contain materials collected by Lomax and Seeger, as well as music and square-dance calls performed by Seeger alone and with groups.
In the early 1940s, Seeger began performing with The Almanac Singers, a group that also featured Woody Guthrie. According to Pete, who told the story onstage at the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium during the Seeger Symposium concert in 2007:
Woody must have thought I was a queer duck. He was seven years older than I was. He said, ‘That Seeger is the youngest man I ever knew. He don’t drink, he don’t smoke, and he don’t chase girls.’ But I had a good ear and I could accompany Woody on every single song. So I tagged along with him for a while.
Although they got their start as both pro-labor and anti-war activists, the Almanac singers realized the importance of defeating Hitler, and Seeger wrote a song about that, entitled “Dear Mr. President,” which was also the title track of an Almanac Singers album. He performed the song for the Library of Congress in January or February 1942 under the pseudonym of Pete Bowers; hear that recording here.
Pete Seeger entertaining at the opening of the Washington, D.C. labor canteen, 1944. Note First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the crowd.
After service in World War II, Seeger continued his work as a musician, and rose to fame initially with the Weavers, a group founded on the model of the Almanac singers, but with fewer songs of protest and a more polished, nightclub-ready sound. The Weavers had several hits, especially a version of “Goodnight Irene,” which was a number-one hit in 1950. That song had been adapted by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, from a version he learned from his uncle Bob; the AFC archive has recordings of Lead Belly and his Uncle singing the song. The Weavers’ career ended in 1953 due to the blacklist, although they did play reunion concerts on occasion after that. The Weavers also served as primary inspiration for the Kingston Trio, the group that sparked the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, as well as countless other similar groups, from the Limelighters to the Clancy Brothers, making Pete Seeger one of the founding fathers of the whole American folk scene.
Pete Seeger arrives at Federal Court with his guitar over his shoulder, April 1961. World Telegram photo by Walter Albertin.
In 1955, Pete answered a subpoena to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He refused to plead the Fifth Amendment (which admitted the possibility that his testimony might incriminate him) and instead asserted a First Amendment right not to speak:
I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this.
For this he was convicted of contempt of Congress in 1961, a conviction that was overturned a year later. At his sentencing, he said:
I have been singing folksongs of America and other lands to people everywhere. I am proud that I never refused to sing to any group of people because I might disagree with some of the ideas of some of the people listening to me. I have sung for rich and poor, for Americans of every possible political and religious opinion and persuasion, of every race, color, and creed. The House committee wished to pillory me because it didn’t like some few of the many thousands of places I have sung for.
Despite these troubles, Seeger continued his career as an important songwriter and folksong specialist. He wrote “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” with AFC archivist Joe Hickerson, and “If I Had a Hammer” with Lee Hays. He changed the lyric of “We Will Overcome,” to “We Shall Overcome,” creating a beloved spiritual of the Civil Rights movement, and wrote the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” based on Bible verses. He popularized many traditional folksongs, such as “Kumbaya,” giving them new, political connotations. All these songs were hits for various popular folksingers. He also helped popularize the five-string banjo through his own music and by writing an important instruction book and recording, which were made into an instructional film; AFC has original film elements and other original footage from this and other Seeger films.
Pete and Toshi Seeger, 1985. Photo by Robert Corwin, AFC Robert Corwin Collection.
Pete’s legacy can’t be understood without taking into account his wife Toshi, whom he married in 1943 and whom he always credited as making his career possible. In addition to other forms of support, Toshi was a gifted filmmaker, and during the 1960s the Seegers made wonderful films together, documenting traditional music and culture around the world, which they donated to the AFC archive in 2003. In 2006, AFC director Peggy Bulger and reference librarian Todd Harvey interviewed both Pete and Toshi, and you can read an article based on the interview in Folklife Center News. Toshi passed away last year, a few days shy of their 70th wedding anniversary.
In addition to his work as a singer and songwriter, Pete Seeger was an activist for civil rights and environmental causes, especially in the Hudson Valley area of New York. He was founder of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization and other charities and foundations. AFC’s Civil Rights History Project interviewed him in 2013 about his work in that field, and we plan a blog post highlighting this interview soon.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, and Pete Seeger at AFC’s Seeger Family Symposium, March 16, 2007. Photo by Robert Corwin, AFC Robert Corwin Collection.
Although Seeger had trouble with his voice in his 80s and 90s, he continued to perform, leading singalongs on many songs. His grandson Tao, a top folk musician, often toured with his grandfather, as well as singing and playing guitar, banjo, and harmonica with the Mammals.
Pete Seeger performs onstage at the Coolidge Auditorium as part of AFC’s Seeger Symposium, How Can I Keep from Singing? Photo by Robert Corwin, AFC Robert Corwin Collection.
AFC will continue to keep our friends informed about Pete. In the meantime, we extend our sympathies to his many friends, especially his family, including children Daniel, Mika, and Tinya, and grandchildren Tao, Cassie, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, Moraya, Penny, and Isabelle.
Pete Seeger always believed in the power of folksongs to change the world. In the era of increasing military technology, he became less convinced that the banjo would remain mightier than the sword. Still, he refused to lose all hope. In 2005, he was featured on NPR, where he said, “There’s no hope, but I may be wrong.”
On the day after his passing, none of Pete’s lyrics seem more appropriate than these, which he adapted from the Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes:
To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose under Heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
At the American Folklife Center, throughout the Library of Congress, and across America, it’s our time to weep.
Comments (15)
Grzegorz Pieńkowski Poland says:
pozostawił po sobie piękny ślad
left a beautiful trail
E Sand says:
We knew it was coming, but this never makes it any easier. The world seems a little sadder this week. Thanks Pete, for everything.
Mary Leidner says:
Just wanted to extend my sympathy to the Pete Seeger family on his passing. He had love in his eyes and one got the impression he was a Gentle man who loved his fellow humans. He will live through his music to continue to influence humanity.
Thanks Jenny. Both will remain online. However, as Stephen said, many AFC staff members have personal reminiscences of Pete and will be gathering them in the days to come. So you may want to keep an eye on the folklife center’s blog for anything further.
Freya Anderson says:
Thank you for this beautiful, moving, and informative tribute.
Oscar Salvador Dávila Sierra says:
Buenas tardes:
Bonito Homenaje póstumo a tan destacado
“Etnomusicólogo y Concertista”.
¡Felicitaciones!
Gracias por compartir esta maravillosa semblanza.
Saludos
Guto says:
Thank you Pete for that you have done for the people and environment of this planet. It was good you live for received part of the recognition you deserve from all of us !!
Kerri Lynn Nichols says:
Hello
I am the director of the Olympia Peace Choir in Washington State. We are a non-profit community choir focused on service and commitment to peace, justice and environmental stewardship. Our concerts are free of charge.
I would like to arrange Pete Seeger’s song “Oh Had I A Golden Thread” but I cannot find out who I contact for the copyright. There is no arrangement available. Can you help me? The original publisher no longer holds the rights to the song.
Thank You
Kerri Lynn Nichols
The Olympia Peace Choir
David Shea says:
I spent a day interviewing and playing songs with Pete Seeger in the late 1990s. I was working on a book and he was happy to help out despite his busy schedule. He had some many wonderful ideas and dream, a lot of which he could not realize, but it was inspiring to get to know Pete. We kept a snail mail correspondence going over the years which I treasure. I translated (with the help of some students) his musical memoirs, Where Have All the Flowers Gone into Spanish. We never managed to publish the book but I was proud to work with Pete and get his insights into the work. Thank you for this page and for keeping Pete Seeger’s memory alive. Best wishes from Spain. David Shea, Santa Brigida, Island of Gran Canaria.
gerard field says:
I knew Pete Seeger in the period just before he became famous with the Weavers.
at the same time I knew Big Bill Broonzy.
both at a summer camp in Michigan.
I have a collection of old time “Sing Out” song books and other music by Pete. very fragile.
I have some old 78’s with Big Bill. Some cracked.
I would like to sell these items to some collector or maybe there is a Pete Seeger Library somewhere by now.
Alvin Murphy says:
First heard Pete at concert at Harvard Society for Minority Rights, immediately bought pawn shop banjo.Later wrote him about becoming a folksinger and we had a few letters back and forth. Gave me good advice; never did make it but spent a wonderful summer hitch-hiking around the country singing for people. Treasure those times I was there when he got people to sing in four part harmony! He still sings in my heart.
Terry Sullivan says:
I worked (organized a group called the New York City Street Singers,) and sang (once in Carnegie Hall) for 24 years, with Pete. He was a very modest man and hated publicity; and so stubborn you’d a thought he was as Irish as Billy Conn, the boxer. He always answered my direct questions with a parable; not to evade but to illuminate through an indirect answer.
Joe Baust says:
Pete is a folk hero….being part of a non-profit for the environment, Am trying to put together a retrospective of Pete…and need images of him that are gratis to us…of course any persons contributing would receive credit.
Comments (15)
pozostawił po sobie piękny ślad
left a beautiful trail
We knew it was coming, but this never makes it any easier. The world seems a little sadder this week. Thanks Pete, for everything.
Just wanted to extend my sympathy to the Pete Seeger family on his passing. He had love in his eyes and one got the impression he was a Gentle man who loved his fellow humans. He will live through his music to continue to influence humanity.
Your tribute is wonderful.
Which page will have longer life? I have linked to http://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/01/pete-seeger-may-3-1919-january-27-2014/ but will change it to this URL – if it is more lasting.
Thanks Jenny. Both will remain online. However, as Stephen said, many AFC staff members have personal reminiscences of Pete and will be gathering them in the days to come. So you may want to keep an eye on the folklife center’s blog for anything further.
Thank you for this beautiful, moving, and informative tribute.
Buenas tardes:
Bonito Homenaje póstumo a tan destacado
“Etnomusicólogo y Concertista”.
¡Felicitaciones!
Gracias por compartir esta maravillosa semblanza.
Saludos
Thank you Pete for that you have done for the people and environment of this planet. It was good you live for received part of the recognition you deserve from all of us !!
Hello
I am the director of the Olympia Peace Choir in Washington State. We are a non-profit community choir focused on service and commitment to peace, justice and environmental stewardship. Our concerts are free of charge.
I would like to arrange Pete Seeger’s song “Oh Had I A Golden Thread” but I cannot find out who I contact for the copyright. There is no arrangement available. Can you help me? The original publisher no longer holds the rights to the song.
Thank You
Kerri Lynn Nichols
The Olympia Peace Choir
I spent a day interviewing and playing songs with Pete Seeger in the late 1990s. I was working on a book and he was happy to help out despite his busy schedule. He had some many wonderful ideas and dream, a lot of which he could not realize, but it was inspiring to get to know Pete. We kept a snail mail correspondence going over the years which I treasure. I translated (with the help of some students) his musical memoirs, Where Have All the Flowers Gone into Spanish. We never managed to publish the book but I was proud to work with Pete and get his insights into the work. Thank you for this page and for keeping Pete Seeger’s memory alive. Best wishes from Spain. David Shea, Santa Brigida, Island of Gran Canaria.
I knew Pete Seeger in the period just before he became famous with the Weavers.
at the same time I knew Big Bill Broonzy.
both at a summer camp in Michigan.
I have a collection of old time “Sing Out” song books and other music by Pete. very fragile.
I have some old 78’s with Big Bill. Some cracked.
I would like to sell these items to some collector or maybe there is a Pete Seeger Library somewhere by now.
First heard Pete at concert at Harvard Society for Minority Rights, immediately bought pawn shop banjo.Later wrote him about becoming a folksinger and we had a few letters back and forth. Gave me good advice; never did make it but spent a wonderful summer hitch-hiking around the country singing for people. Treasure those times I was there when he got people to sing in four part harmony! He still sings in my heart.
I worked (organized a group called the New York City Street Singers,) and sang (once in Carnegie Hall) for 24 years, with Pete. He was a very modest man and hated publicity; and so stubborn you’d a thought he was as Irish as Billy Conn, the boxer. He always answered my direct questions with a parable; not to evade but to illuminate through an indirect answer.
Pete is a folk hero….being part of a non-profit for the environment, Am trying to put together a retrospective of Pete…and need images of him that are gratis to us…of course any persons contributing would receive credit.