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
There are many people writing songs. That is absolutely wonderful. Who knows, there may be some kid in diapers and he or she might succeed in capturing in a few dozen words what great writers have spent years trying to say. Just the right word in the right place with the right melody behind it and the right rhythm. It might get around the world inch by inch, and people realize that this world is in danger, that we're in danger. That's the way "This Land Is Your Land" got to be so well known.
I write a song because I want to. I think the moment you start writing it to make money, you're starting to kill yourself artistically.
Songwriters can’t explain. You get an idea and you don’t know where it’s come from. And if you’re lucky, you have a pencil or pen and can write it down.
Songs wont save the planet, but neither will books or speeches. Songs are sneaky things; they can slip across borders.
Malvina was one of the great people of the 20th century,
My mother was a very good violinist; my father was a musicologist and spent most of his life in academia.
When you're facing an opponent over a broad front, you don't aim for the opponent's strong points, important though they may be. Pick a little outpost that you can capture and win. And then you find another place that you can capture and win it, and then you move slowly toward the big places.
It was not going to be a graceful symbol of the past. It was going to try to restore the river.
Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't
Throughout history, the leaders of countries have been very particular of what songs should be sung. We know the power of songs.
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.
I know many beautiful songs from your home county, Carbon, and Monroe, and I hitchhiked through there and stayed in the homes of miners.