A pillar of American music, Pete Seeger, passes at 94
America and the world lost a beautiful light yesterday as music legend Pete Seeger passed away at the age of 94.
Pete’s life was one of action and the brave belief that an individual can make a difference. In 2009, an astounding lineup of artists gathered at a sold out show in Madison Square Garden to celebrate Seeger’s 90th birthday. That evening Bruce Sringsteen, who released a marvelous recording of songs popularized or recorded by Seeger, introduced the man this way:
“He’s gonna look a lot like your granddad that wears flannel shirts and funny hats. He’s gonna look like your granddad if your granddad can kick your ass. At 90, he remains a stealth dagger through the heart of our country’s illusions about itself.”
Seeger was the real deal embodiment of John Henry’s hammer as he never shied away from standing up, and tirelessly working for, the issues that he believed so deeply in. He was outspoken against McCarthyism, he marched beside Martin Luther King Jr. and is the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who’s been held in contempt of Congress.
Pete told his biographer, “Songs won’t save the planet. But, then, neither will books or speeches. … Songs are sneaky things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons.”
Mr. Seeger was an American treasure and will be deeply missed but his legacy and the songs he helped bring to our collective consciousness, because he always felt that music should be a shared experience, will live on forever.
Here’s one of my favorite video performances by Seeger via the Johnny Cash Show as the two legends, who’ve now both moved on, tell us of a worried man’s blues:
