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 Charle...
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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. 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). 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. Show less «
If I've got a talent, it's for picking the right song at the right time for the right audience. And ...Show more »
If I've got a talent, it's for picking the right song at the right time for the right audience. And I can always get people to sing with me. Show less «
[I receive letters] asking if I will come and accept an award someplace. This is a more general lett...Show more »
[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...." Show less «
Songs are weapons.
Songs are weapons.
People wanting autographs. I have a special form letter that starts off: "I wish I could persuade yo...Show more »
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. Show less «
Songs won't save the planet, but neither will books or speeches.
Songs won't save the planet, but neither will books or speeches.
(About his songs) "Some may find them merely diverting melodies. Others may find them incitements to...Show more »
(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) Show less «
[excerpt from testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee: August 18, 1955] I have sung ...Show more »
[excerpt from testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee: August 18, 1955] I have sung for Americans of every political persuasion, and I am proud that I never refuse to sing to an audience, no matter what religion or the color of their skin or situation in life. I have sung in hobo jungles, and I have sung for the Rockefellers. And I am proud that I never refused to sing for anybody. Show less «
If there's something wrong, speak up!
If there's something wrong, speak up!
I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more of what Russia made of it than Christi...Show more »
I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more of what Russia made of it than Christianity is what churches make of it. But if by some freak of history communism had caught up with this country, I would have been one of the first people thrown in jail. Show less «
[further testimony] I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my s...Show more »
[further testimony] I decline to discuss, under compulsion, where I have sung, and who has sung my songs, and who else has sung with me, and the people I have known. I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent the implication that some of the places I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, or I might be a vegetarian, make me any less of an American. I will tell you about my songs, but I am not interested in telling you who wrote them. I will tell you about my songs, and I am not interested in who listened to them. Show less «
The world would never amount to a hill of beans if people didn't use their imaginations to think of ...Show more »
The world would never amount to a hill of beans if people didn't use their imaginations to think of the impossible. Show less «
Where have all the flowers gone Long time passing?
Where have all the flowers gone Long time passing?
To every thing {turn, turn, turn} There is a season [turn, turn, turn] And a time for every purpose ...Show more »
To every thing {turn, turn, turn} There is a season [turn, turn, turn] And a time for every purpose under heaven. Show less «
Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't.
Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't.
It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.
It's a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.