Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seegerwas an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth3 May 1919
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
In a few lines of poetry he captured one of the great contradictions of the world: the heroism of people doing something, even knowing it was a crazy something. And he showed how the establishment has used music for thousands of years to support its way of thinking.
Honest songs aren`t written for money.
There is a big, beautiful world that could be destroyed by selfishness and foolishness. We musicians have it within our power to help save it. In a small way, every single one of us counts.
Songs are funny things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons. Penetrate hard shells. I always believed that the right song at the right moment could change history.
Work in nightclubs was interesting. There were interesting people and places, but by and large, the commercial music experience.
Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't
It was not going to be a graceful symbol of the past. It was going to try to restore the river.
Songs wont save the planet, but neither will books or speeches. Songs are sneaky things; they can slip across borders.
Throughout history, the leaders of countries have been very particular of what songs should be sung. We know the power of songs.
I know many beautiful songs from your home county, Carbon, and Monroe, and I hitchhiked through there and stayed in the homes of miners.
When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.
Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't.
John Hammond persuaded Columbia to put it out as a single, and it was the only one I ever had that sold more than 20,000.
My mother was a very good violinist; my father was a musicologist and spent most of his life in academia.