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!

Luxury? I think Not.

A wicked storm whipped through these parts on Saturday afternoon, the culmination of a day that saw strange out-of season hot temperatures combined with a more moderate system passing through. The resulting tempest reminded me of my summers in the mid-west when the sky would turn a garish shade of chartreuse, and we would all run for cover in the lowest geographical spot we could find. (Of course, that particular place on camp was the wash-houses! 100 or so slightly terrified girls and almost-women waiting out a tornado warning in a smelly, damp and slippery bathroom was always my idea of a good time.) The wind and rain that sailed through this region on the weekend was not unlike those days. The trees in the yard were bent so far sideways that several were on the verge of snapping in the middle of their trunks and the rain was coming down in sheets. Within 15 minutes, the power in the house went down. The Husband, ever vigilant, had stashed away an ancient wall mount phone in the laundry room, to be used in just such an emergency, so that we wouldn't have to rely on our cell phones. We figured that after the worst of the storm had passed through, the power would be restored and all would be right with the world. Well, it seems that wasn't to be the case. One of our neighbour's trees had snapped like a toothpick and tumbled into the power lines that service our area. The resulting mess left us without any power for almost 24 hours. As we sat around watching the contents of our refrigerator and freezer rot and melt, we became aware once again of how much in our lives is dependent upon electricity. While it is probably easy to imagine living without the TV, computer, music player and the like, it is less fun to realize that food preparation, clothes washing, or finding a matching pair of socks in a windowless walk-in closet, are also electrically-dependent. I missed the electric air filter, which I was forced to remember I need desperately in order to control my asthma. The Husband, always the cooler head in these circumstances, remarked that electrical power is a true luxury. I beg to differ. I disagree that electricity is a luxury, but rather has become an absolute necessity in the 21st century. It got me to thinking about real luxuries and what I could and could not relinquish if pushed to the brink. Could I survive without my car, for example? (I think so!) Could I see living my life without synagogue membership? (I don't think so!) So I put it out to you all. What is real luxury in your lives and what is true necessity? Respond in the comments section of this post and I will publish. I am very interested in hearing your thoughts. 

I will post the next installment of the Seeger retrospective later today. 

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!