Happy Birthday Pete!

Happy 90th, Mr. Seeger. You have been a true inspiration to musicians, activists, environmentalists and social commentators the world over. May we look back and celebrate with you today a life fully and joyfully lived with admiration, respect for convictions, and art shared with all. Musical celebrations are taking place the world over today, not just in NYC. Concerts and shows scheduled include Australia, Boston, Toronto, Scotland, Richmond Va, Knoxville Tenn., Dayton Ohio, Rockville MD, Bellingham Wash, Seattle, and Ithaca NY. Some interesting Seeger facts.

• Awarded the Mid Hudson Civic Centre Hall of Fame. Pete loves this type of not for profit stuff.
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• National Medal of the Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Kennedy Centre Lifetime Achievement Award
• The Harvard Arts Medal
• Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• 2 Grammy Awards-most recently this past year for his album At 89
• The Letelier-Moffat Human Rights Award

Pete is still performing. He was onstage at the concert commemorating President Obama's inauguration, sang a few weeks ago at Earth Day celebrations, and jammed at Preservation Hall in New Orleans last month. While his voice is a bit quieter and his fingers a little slower, the passion is still readily apparent and the music still there in abundance. Yesterday, Older Son asked me what my fascination with Mr. Seeger is all about. (I think that he secretly worried that I might turn into some creepy stalker lady!) I told him, quite bluntly, that every musician that he admires draws some influence from Pete. One only has to review the long and eclectic list of artists honouring him tonight at Madison Square Garden, to see that perspective. Simply put, the man is the best. How can one not admire and be fascinated by the best? Was he perfect? Certainly not. Did he make mistakes? Absolutely! But the music speaks for itself and cannot be denied. Happy Birthday, Mr. Seeger. Many more to come. 

If I Had a Hammer

In 1986, Pete began performing with his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger on a regular basis. This performance of his classic If I Had a Hammer was done in concert with Arlo, Tao and various family members at Wolftrap in 1993. Today, it is not unusual to catch Pete and Tao in local performances close to his home in the Hudson Valley, often supporting environmental causes or even the local church. Just as he does in this video, Pete is still a master of involving the audience. He loves being enveloped by the music of the crowd.

Weavers (Re-union) - Wimoweh

In 1980, suffering from the ravages of tuberculosis and diabetes, Lee Hays decided to finally write his oft-postponed autobiography. That transformed into a very different project that became a documentary film by Jim Brown about The Weavers. Wasn't That a Time was based around interviews and discussions with the various members and culminated with 2 reunion concerts held at Carnegie Hall on November 28th and 29th, 1980. All four of the original members were there; grayer and certainly more worldly, but none the worse for voice, especially Pete. He still hits the high notes on Wimoweh with perfect pitch, delighting the sold-out crowd. Lee Hays died shortly after the concerts at Carnegie, leaving behind a lasting legacy of music, and Pete as the reigning Old Folkie. I love that the interviews in the crowd show people of all generations, young and not-so-old. The circle remains unbroken. Wasn't That a Time can still be viewed from time to time on PBS and is available on VHS at Amazon. What a wonderful way to wish you all Shabbat Shalom.

Pete Seeger/Arlo Guthrie - You gotta walk that lonesome valley

Back in the late 1970s and early 1980's, Pete did a series of concerts with Arlo Guthrie that was entitled the Precious Friends Tour. It seemed very logical that Pete should perform with Arlo. The tie-ins to Woody were obvious, and the two meshed on stage like two halves of the same whole. I was privileged to have attended this concert series, and was blown away with the music, the soulfulness, the depth of conviction and the wit. Many have asked what the writing is on Pete's banjo. It reads "This machine surrounds hate; and forces it to surrender." This wonderful photo was taken by the brilliant Annie Leibovitz.

Pete Seeger - Bring 'em Home

In a weird twist of fate, many of Pete's songs have become sadly relevant again. I am certain that he never thought that he would have need of this tune again. This performance is from one of his many college appearances in the early 1970s. The trademark beard finally made its appearance.

Pete Seeger: Waist Deep in the Big Muddy

As a result of his contempt conviction (subsequently overturned on appeal) due to his appearance and refusal to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Pete was blacklisted and subsequently banned from network television appearances for almost 17 years. Boycotted by commercial venues and media, Seeger performed for children and young people at universities and rallies where he created a boom and rebirth of folk music.

In 1967, the always controversial Smothers Brothers, broke the boycott and invited Pete to play on their variety show. The Viet Nam War deeply offended Pete's sensibilities and he used the platform to sing his original song Waist Deep in The Big Muddy which was a thinly veiled attack on Lyndon Johnson's war policies. The song was cut by CBS network censors prior to broadcast. Following the strong and withering objections by Tom and Dick Smothers, CBS later relented and allowed Pete to return to the show several months later on February 25, 1968, and perform the song in its entirety. Pete has never stopped fighting for freedom of artistic expression in music and this past March, he was awarded the Freemuse Award for “commitment to musicians' freedom of expression in an illustrious career which spans over sixty years. His voice has been one which has constantly been on the side of the oppressed and which has refused to remain silent in even the darkest hours. He remains an inspiration to those musicians who seek to use their work for the greater benefit of mankind.” In a wonderful quirk of fate the award was bestowed upon Pete on March 3 of this year which coincided with Music Freedom Day.

A personal musical aside-note that Pete played and still does play a 12-string guitar. The 12-string is an instrument of Mexican origin that was often favoured by Huddy "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, one of Pete's idols. He often will drop the tuning of the guitar to a DADGBE and tune the whole instrument down 2 full tones to achieve a magnificent bass resonance. I have always personally favoured the 12-string as my guitar of choice as influenced by Pete.

If I Can't Have Pete, Then at Least I Can Have Tom!

It may sound like a consolation prize, but it was anything but. The Husband and I joined with good friends last evening to see the magnificent Mr. Paxton once again. We figure that we have had this pleasure at least 10 times now, and it never seems to get old for us. At 71, Tom has not lost much of the edginess that makes him a folk favourite, nor has his ability to weave a tale abandoned him. He played the cozy Hugh's Room here in Toronto, along with a phenomenal local musician named Ken Whiteley. The result was pure poetry. While I didn't have the nerve to video any part of the evening, Tom was more than gracious in allowing still photography. The vintage 1966 album cover that you see at the end of the slideshow was purchased by my friend at a vinyl record store (sounds almost prehistoric!) in Greenwich Village very apropos for a Paxton album find. Tom was charming when asked to sign the album, joking with my friend and asking him if he still owned a turntable on which to play the treasure. My friend said that he did, but that this record was far too valuable in his mind to play, and that it was going up in a frame on his wall. Tom did mention the concert in NYC this Sunday in honour of Pete's 90th. I think that my friend was right-I should have brought a birthday card for him to deliver to the master. I think that he actually might have done it. Enjoy.

Pete Seeger-Where Have all the Flowers Gone-1968

Pete has written the songbook for a generation. One of the phenomenal things about Pete's songs, is that they have become so ingrained in popular culture, that people actually forget that he wrote them. The Byrds didn't write Turn Turn Turn, and Peter Paul and Mary covered The Hammer Song, Flowers and All Mixed Up. This doesn't even begin to cover the songs that he has re-introduced to popular culture over the years, the most poignant being We Shall Overcome. This is rare video of Pete singing his own song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone. Beautiful!

Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest w/Johnny Cash and June Carter

Following the nightmare of being blacklisted by the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, Pete came back strong in the mid sixties with a wonderful television show entitled Rainbow Quest. The show was entirely devoted to showcasing folk music. It was filmed entirely in black and white and and featured musicians playing in traditional American genres such as old-time, bluegrass and blues. The show was filmed on a scant budget and Pete and the producers funded much of the program out of their own pockets. As such, only 38 episodes were filmed, but the talent roster is impressive including such luminaries as Judy Collins, The Stanley Brothers, Tom Paxton, Malvina Reynolds, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Roscoe Holcombe and Buffy Sainte-Marie. The very first episode featured the brilliant Johnny Cash and his not yet wife, June Carter. I chose this clip for a friend who needs a bit of a lift these days. Enjoy!

Around The World

Today's Seeger moment. Enjoy!

Pete is Turning 90! Kein Ahora!

The father of the modern folk music will be celebrating his 90th birthday next Sunday May 3. How does one ring in a brand spanking new decade? How about a musical party for thousands of your nearest and dearest? As such, Pete will be celebrating his 90th on stage at a sold-out concert benefiting Clearwater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Hudson River Project has long been a passion for Pete, and he managed to convince a few of his friends like Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Paxton, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, John Mellencamp, Emmylou Harris, Tom Chapin, Richie Havens, Roger McGuinn, Steve Earle, Kris Kristofferson, Bruce Cockburn, The MacGarrigle Sisters to join him in raising money for his cause. (The list of performers goes on and on!) I desperately wanted to be in NYC for this once-in-a-lifetime event, but time and cost precludes it. I will have the chance to see Paxton here in TO on Monday before he treks to the Big Apple for the party. I felt like I owed Pete a bit of a gift so I will count down to Pete's big day by presenting a series of videos of The Old Folkie through the years. Check back in this space over the next week for some special music from the master. Now if I could only pluck my banjo the way he does!!