Famed Folk Singer Pete Seeger Dies
Tuesday, January 28th, 2014January 28, 2014
Pete Seeger, one of America’s great troubadours, died on January 27 at the age of 94. Throughout his long career, Seeger performed his music for a wide range of audiences–children, college students, migrant workers, and presidents of the United States. He composed or helped compose such folk classics as “If I Had a Hammer” (1949), “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (1954), “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” (1961), and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” (1951). Seeger was also credited with popularizing “We Shall Overcome” in 1948, the song that became an anthem for the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. Seeger was a committed social activist, attacking racism, war, and the death penalty.
Seeger’s outspoken left-wing political opinions created controversy throughout much of his career. In 1955, Seeger refused to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee regarding his political beliefs and associations. His refusal led to his conviction for contempt of Congress in 1961. An appeals court overturned the conviction in 1962, but for several years, Seeger was banned from network television appearances, and some organizations picketed his concerts.
Pete Seeger (Granger Collection)
Peter Seeger was born on May 3, 1919, in New York City. He became interested in folk music at a folk music festival in North Carolina 1935. He entered Harvard University in 1936 but left in 1938 and hitchhiked or rode freight trains around the country, singing and playing a long-necked, five-string banjo he designed. In 1940, Seeger helped organize the Almanac Singers. He gained increased popularity as a member of the Weavers quartet, founded in 1948 with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. The quartet recorded such hits as “Good Night Irene,” “Tzena, Tzena,” and “On Top of Old Smokey.”
Late in his career Seeger received many honors. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as an early influence, and he was a Kennedy Center honoree in 1994. Seeger also received several Grammy Awards for his folk recordings.
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