Pete Seeger Dies

A great soul. :'(

Originally posted by caissad4
A great soul. :'(

Thank you.

Originally posted by caissad4
A great soul. :'(

"Folk singer, activist Pete Seeger dies at 94

"Published January 28, 2014 Associated Press NEW YORK – Pete Seeger, the banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage, died Monday at the age of 94. Seeger's grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson said his grandfather died peacefully in his sleep around 9:30 p.m. at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he had been for six days. Family members were with him.

"He was chopping wood 10 days ago," Cahill-Jackson recalled. Seeger -- with his a lanky frame, banjo and full white beard -- was an iconic figure in folk music. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and marched with Occupy Wall Street protesters in his 90s, leaning on two canes. He wrote or co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn, Turn, Turn," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his banjo strapped on......

"Can't prove a damn thing, but I look upon myself as old grandpa," Seeger told the AP in 2008 when asked to reflect on his legacy. "There's not dozens of people now doing what I try to do, not hundreds, but literally thousands. ... The idea of using music to try to get the world together is now all over the place."

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/01/28/folk-singer-activist-pete-seeger-dies-at-4/

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[b]"Folk singer, activist Pete Seeger dies at 94

"Published January 28, 2014 Associated Press NEW YORK – Pete Seeger, the banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage, died Monday at the age of 94. Seeger's gran ...[text shortened]... "

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/01/28/folk-singer-activist-pete-seeger-dies-at-4/[/b]

Yes, he was a great man! I had the privilege of opening for him at Will Geer's ranch where Will put on concerts of all kinds, Will Geer was a great man also (He was an actor, grandpa on the Waltons but was also a folksinger and songwriter, probably his most famous song was 'Lemon Tree' which was recorded by Peter Paul and Mary in the 1960's)

So anyway Will asked me to play just before Pete came on, it was a bit of a rush, there was a gap in the playing schedule and they knew I played in a local Irish band, so went on totally unprepared but played some guitar tunes and everyone liked the tunes.

The concert was one honoring Woody Guthrie so Pete sang some Guthrie songs, This land is your land and so forth.

It was a great honor to have played on the same venue as Pete Seeger.

I also met Pete in Nebraska 10 years earlier when he played there and was friends with Roger Welsch who recorded a record there called "Sweet Nebraska Land', I still have the vinyl! So after the concert, Roger told me he was going to a local pub and I was invited. I was all of 21 at that time so I was eager to go, to say the least! I brought my guitar, a D12-20 Martin 12 string, and Pete played it and taught me his tune 'Living in the country', a 12 string guitar piece. We had a great time at that pub, we were there till 3 in the morning! A great time was had by all! Pete was a great man!

I remember the first time I heard him, I was 16, at a friends house, and they had a local FM radio show playing folk music and it was the Weavers, the group Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert (Lee and Pete founded the group)

I fell instantly in love with the Weavers and soon had all their records!

So a few years later I saw he was playing near my home in Escondido California, a San Diego High School auditorium concert.

I saw him on TV a couple of days before the concert and you probably know Pete and the Weavers were on the blacklist of the House unamerican activity bunch in the 60's, even though they had a couple of number one hits on the radio, I think Goodnight Irene and On top of old Smokey I believe are the ones that made number 1.

So on the TV show, Pete said he was asked to sign a 'non-communist affidavit' and he refused, saying he had been signing that document ever since they had been blackballed by Congress, having signed it a dozen times or so.

I was thrilled he stood up for himself and went to that concert and it was one of the greatest shows I personally ever attended.

He was a GREAT performer, playing his famous 5 string banjo and his huge 12 string guitar (when we met at that pub in Nebraska, he played my 12 string and said, 'nice, but a little small' 🙂 (his 12 string was more like the size of a guitarron played by Mariachi players!)

I will never forget the power in his voice and personality, a truly great man.

I'm not much of a folky, but Pete seems to be the one I think of as an American Folk Hero, Woodie Guthrie was before my time, and listening to Dylan is more of my generation, but Pete I respected for simple statements, and clarity, and conviction.
Technically, his banjo book introducing the novice to the bum-diddy strum. I can't tell you how many times I've stolen that idea when a beginner walks in with a five string. I think of that as the "folk" strum for general purposes.
I even had the chance to use it today, and it brought a tear to my eye. Felt like he was watchin'

Originally posted by gregsflat
I'm not much of a folky, but Pete seems to be the one I think of as an American Folk Hero, Woodie Guthrie was before my time, and listening to Dylan is more of my generation, but Pete I respected for simple statements, and clarity, and conviction.
Technically, his banjo book introducing the novice to the bum-diddy strum. I can't tell you how many times ...[text shortened]... even had the chance to use it today, and it brought a tear to my eye. Felt like he was watchin'

Simple yet elegant tribute.... thanks.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Simple yet elegant tribute.... thanks.

I go to this folk camp in Pa called Journey's End, a maple tree farm and cabins around the place. I found out talking to the elder couple holding court there, the original owners, that Pete's older brother and Pete himself had helped found this place.

It seems in WW2 there were displaced kids in Europe from the bombings and nobody knew what to do about them. So these people at the farm started taking in these orphans. It grew into a pretty large affair with a dozen cabins spread about the place. Then Pete's older brother who was friends with the family talked about having a folk festival there and they started doing just that, around Labor day each year. So Pete and his older brother, don't know his name yet, started coming to the place off and on and of course that won't happen again but they do have a very nice festival with a large kitchen where everyone helps out, serving food, playing music, a great time is had by all.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Yes, he was a great man! I had the privilege of opening for him at Will Geer's ranch where Will put on concerts of all kinds, Will Geer was a great man also (He was an actor, grandpa on the Waltons but was also a folksinger and songwriter, probably his most famous song was 'Lemon Tree' which was recorded by Peter Paul and Mary in the 1960's)

So anyway Wi ...[text shortened]... achi players!)

I will never forget the power in his voice and personality, a truly great man.

Not to be argumentative, but Wikipedia credits Will Holt as having written 'Lemon Tree' (which was based on an earlier Brazilian folk song).

Originally posted by sonhouse
Yes, he was a great man! I had the privilege of opening for him at Will Geer's ranch where Will put on concerts of all kinds, Will Geer was a great man also (He was an actor, grandpa on the Waltons but was also a folksinger and songwriter, probably his most famous song was 'Lemon Tree' which was recorded by Peter Paul and Mary in the 1960's)

So anyway Wi ...[text shortened]... achi players!)

I will never forget the power in his voice and personality, a truly great man.

How fortunate you were to travel in those circles over an extended period of time.
Do you have photo of yourself with Pete Seeger to post on Facebook?

"What Pete Seeger could teach America's left and right today" (Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

"Many people have a song in their hearts. Pete Seeger had so many that he shared them with each and every one of us. Now it’s time for him to hear our voices one last time singing his praises.

A conservative saying positive things about super lefty Pete Seeger might well wreck the Internet. Pete, who lived a simple life chopping wood to heat his home almost to the day he died, would be amused by that.

But Pete had influence on both left and right through his music – spending more decades than God grants most of us singing folk songs. A lifetime Christian, Pete had no trouble mixing God in with his standards.

One Washington Post profile of him 20 years ago called him “America's Best-Loved Commie.” But that was from another era when left and right at least admitted they had some things in common.

Pete was born in 1919 and lived his formative years during the Great Depression and formative they were. He never met a left-wing cause he didn’t like from union fights to Occupy Wall Street.

His obit credits him with helping “write, arrange or revive such perennial favorites as ‘If I Had a Hammer,’ ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?’ and ‘Kisses Sweeter Than Wine’ and popularized the anthem of the civil rights movement, ‘We Shall Overcome.’”

My personal favorite of those was Pete singing the anti-war anthem “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream.” Pete was consistently anti-war.

But all that understates his genius and his impact.

Where Pete had the most influence was with 1,000 or more other songs about America – its people, its faith and its history.

Pete understood that folk music meant music of the people. He spent his life singing about the American people, performing everything from Civil War marching tunes to quirky ditties.

As a child of the ’60s, I grew up not just hearing Pete sing of protest, but also “On Top of Old Smokey,” or “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore.”

He performed with nearly all the greats of folk – both Woody and Arlo Guthrie, Peter Paul and Mary and many more.

I saw him in concert with Arlo in 1983 when he used his classic banter to get the crowd to join in and sing songs they had known all their lives.

Pete had much he could teach both left and right today.

* A lifetime Christian, Pete had no trouble mixing God in with his standards. He recorded Christmas music and never hid from his faith. That’s a far cry from today’s left that seeks freedom from religion, not freedom of it.

For conservatives, the lesson is also clear. There is no bard of the right. No one man who spanned decades with his music like Pete Seeger. Liberals dominate far too much of the entertainment culture and conservative values always suffer for it.

And for both sides, Pete had a lesson that appeared in one of his final profiles and that was we all need to know how to talk to the other side.

Maybe Pete’s politics kept him from saying the right words, but he could always sing them.

One of the billion or so songs that Pete recorded that I love was the Civil War era “John Brown’s Body.” It began:

“John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.”

Somewhere I believe Pete’s soul, too, is still marching on. Much like Tom Joad, Pete will be found “wherever there’s a fight, so hungry people can eat.” One things for certain, wherever he’ll be, he’ll be singing.

Dan Gainor is the Boone Pickens Fellow and the Media Research Center’s Vice President for Business and Culture. He writes frequently about media for Fox News Opinion. He can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter as dangainor.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/01/28/what-pete-seeger-could-teach-america-left-and-right-today/

* This news comes as a surprise.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[b]"What Pete Seeger could teach America's left and right today" (Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

"Many people have a song in their hearts. Pete Seeger had so many that he shared them with each and every one of us. Now it’s time for him to hear our voices one last time singing his praises.

A conservative saying positive things about super lefty Pet ...[text shortened]... 8/what-pete-seeger-could-teach-america-left-and-right-today/

* This news comes as a surprise.[/b]

During the times I talked to him, he never mentioned religion. Did you know there was a push to get him the Nobel Peace Prize?

Originally posted by sonhouse
During the times I talked to him, he never mentioned religion. Did you know there was a push to get him the Nobel Peace Prize?

Maybe the media got it wrong and/or infused an unwarranted opinion. Yes, I do remember the nomination.
Who received it in his category that year? My favorite was/is his conversational duets with Tom Paxton

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Maybe the media got it wrong and/or infused an unwarranted opinion. Yes, I do remember the nomination.
Who received it in his category that year? My favorite was/is his conversational duets with Tom Paxton

I didn't follow it well enough to know. All I know is the push for the nomination.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

"Eulogy to Stalin’s little ‘Songbird’"

http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/pete-potemkin-seeger-stalins-little-minstrel/