Pete Seeger died yesterday. He was a a big part of my upbringing. We learned his music in school. I have passed on his songs to my children and in that sense his legacy will not die. He was a special kind of artist who felt that folk music and sense of community were inseparable. He used his influence through music to not only entertain but to educate. He lived through the the labor movement of the 40's and 50's, the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam movement of the 60's and continued to fight through the 70's and beyond for environmental and antiwar causes. All the while with his banjo, guitar and tenor voice to express his messages of peace and seeing the bigger picture. I don't get too involved in the political side of things myself. But, I admire people who can and for me, Mr. Seeger was more than an political activist. He was a voice of my childhood. I am grateful for his music. His versions of Down by the Riverside, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Little Boxes, This Land is Your Land, Where Have all the Flowers Gone?, If I Had a Hammer, and All Around the Kitchen, will stay with me forever.
Here is a brief interview and then a performance of Skip to My Lou. He loved singing this whenever he performed for children. Enjoy!
Nice tribute! But wasn't the Car Song done by Woody Guthrie?
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ReplyDeleteI stand corrected!! I checked our CD and it is Woody singing it on there. I knew Woody wrote it, but I thought Pete sang it on there. Whoops! I did notice that Pete sang that song in another recording and he sang it with Arlo Guthrie in the movie, "Alice's Restaurant". So, I am not completely delusional. ;-)
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