Fifteen Facts About Pete Seeger
Bio, the Weavers, Politics, the Clearwater and his Impact on Music
Apr 1, 2009
This Spring, Pete Seeger, one of the most important musicians of the 20th Century, will be turning 90. For 70 years Seeger has been entertaining and enlightening us with his take on traditional songs, his own poltical songs, and his wry humor. From the Almanac Singers to the Weavers to his solo work, perhaps no musician has influenced modern music more than Pete Seeger.
Pete Seeger's Childhood and Family
1) Pete Seeger was born May 3, 1919 in New York City. This year will be his 90th birthday.
2) Pete Seeger’s family is one of the music influential in American Music. His father was a ground-breaking musicologist, and both his mother and step-mother were musicians. His brother Mike founded the New Lost City Ramblers, a pioneering old time string band.
His sister Peggy is also a folk singer, and married the famous English songwriter Ewan MacColl. Peggy’s step daughter was musician Kirsty MacColl.
Pete Seeger’s grandson Tao is also a folk musician, playing with the band The Mammals, and occasionally with his grandfather.
3) Pete Seeger dropped out of Harvard to travel the country in 1938.
The Weavers
4) Seeger former the Weavers in 1948 with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman.
5) The Weavers scored their first hit in 1949 with Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene.”
The Weavers tried to bridge the gap between progressive, leftist music, and commerical appeal. As a result, they were criticized both by Folk critics and McCarthyists. Eventually they were blacklisted by the entertainment industry for their leftist leanings.
6) Pete Seeger left the Weavers in 1958, over a dispute involving the other members doing a commercial for a cigarette company.
Pete Seeger's Musical Contirbutions to Modern Music
7) Pete Seeger wrote or co-wrote many songs that have become standards in American music and anthems of the American Civil Rights Movement. Some of his creations are “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” and “If I Had a Hammer.”
8) Pete Seeger has written instruction manuals on banjo and 12-string guitar that have been very influential among musicians.
9) Pete Seeger invented his own type of banjo. His version, called the Long Neck Banjo, is three frets longer than a typical banjo. The short, fifth string is not lengthened.
Pete Seeger, His Politics, Beliefs, and the Clearwater
10) In 1942, Pete Seeger joined the Communist Party. He drifted away from it in the 1950s as the oppressive, Soviet brand of Communism became the prevailing school of thought among communists.
11) There is currently a movement to nominate Pete Seeger for a Nobel Peace Prize for his musical and political contributions to society.
12) According to Ronald Lankford is his book, Folk Music USA, Pete Seeger once became enraged and smashed his banjo with a fan tried to mix him an alcoholic drink. Seeger is a notorious teetotaler.
13) In 1966, Seeger co-founded the Hudson Sloop Clearwater, an environmental organization dedicated to defending the Hudson River (New York’s primary river) from pollution and repairing the massive amounts of damage that had already been done. They do this through advocacy and education and have been essential in cleaning up the Hudson.
The Clearwater is a fixture along the Hudson and many children in the Hudson Valley have fond memories of sailing on the sloop, singing songs about the environment with the crew.
Celebrate Music With Pete Seeger
14) Each year Seeger and the Clearwater hold a music festival in June. This year it is being headlined by:
- Susan Tedeschi
- Arlo Guthrie
- Richie Havens
- Old Crow Medicine Show
- Allison Moorer
15) On May 3rd 2009, there will be a large tribute concert and birthday celebration for Pete Seeger at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The headliners are:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Eddie Vedder
- John Mellencamp
- Ani Difranco
- Steve Earle
- Joan Baez
And many others. All proceeds go to benefit the Sloop Clearwater.
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