Folk singer/songwriter Pete Seeger has died aged 94

[J.A.W.]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/pete-seeger-legendary-folk-singer-dies-at-94/2014/01/28/36faeec0-c5dc-11df-94e1-c5afa35a9e59_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/music/pete-seeger-songwriter-and-champion-of-folk-music-dies-at-94.html?emc=edit_na_20140128&_r=0

[Neal Pomea]

RIP. Man had a hammer, a bell, and a song to sing!

Glad I got to see him at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in the early 80s. And yes, he had us do some singalongs! Enjoying YouTube videos of his Rainbow Quest TV show.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Neal Pomea

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP Pete

[Teasing the Korean]

Wow. RIP.

[sgcim]

RIP, Mr. Seeger- The man was a saint, as well as a virtuoso banjo player.

[Mike Schwartz]

A great man, musician and American patriot!

RIP

[fasstrack]

He was a hero. A great life lived by principles. Thanks for never selling out, Pete. RIP.

[MomsMobley]

[Rooster_Ties]

[Larry Kart]

He was a hero. A great life lived by principles. Thanks for never selling out, Pete. RIP.

Right -- he never sold out unless (and this was the case for a good many years) he was following the then-current dictates of the CPUSA.

See for example the song "Plow Under" ("Don’t you…plow under/Every fourth American boy"), the isolationist anti-war song written by Seeger and Lee Hays in early 1941 when it was CPUSA policy that the US must stay out of the war (this because Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were still allies):

http://peteseeger.net/wp/?page_id=1446

Then the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, CPUSA policy turned 180 degrees overnight, and so did Seeger, who with Woody Guthrie, and Millard Lampell wrote the rousing pro-intervention, pro-war song "Reuben James," about the sinking of the US destroyer of that name by a Nazi submarine in Oct. 1941, two months before Pearl Harbor ("Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright/In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight./And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main/And remember the name of that good Reuben James"):

http://www.oocities.org/folkfred/reuben.html

[xybert]

Confession time: i actually thought it was Bob Seeger that had died, thought about how much i hate his music, and consciously thought "whoa, i can't believe he was that old."

[paul secor]

Pete Seeger lived in the general area where I live. I had incidental contact with him on several occasions. The impression that's stuck with me is that he was very down to earth and at the same time larger than life.

[JSngry]

He was a hero. A great life lived by principles. Thanks for never selling out, Pete. RIP.

Right -- he never sold out unless (and this was the case for a good many years) he was following the then-current dictates of the CPUSA.

See for example the song "Plow Under" ("Don’t you…plow under/Every fourth American boy"), the isolationist anti-war song written by Seeger and Lee Hays in early 1941 when it was CPUSA policy that the US must stay out of the war (this because Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were still allies):

http://peteseeger.net/wp/?page_id=1446

Then the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, CPUSA policy turned 180 degrees overnight, and so did Seeger, who with Woody Guthrie, and Millard Lampell wrote the rousing pro-intervention, pro-war song "Reuben James," about the sinking of the US destroyer of that name by a Nazi submarine in Oct. 1941, two months before Pearl Harbor ("Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright/In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight./And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main/And remember the name of that good Reuben James"):

http://www.oocities.org/folkfred/reuben.html

I came to know of him in the late 1960s, and I found (and still do find) him to be entirely correct in his opposition to the usual things to be opposed to of the time, but still creepy in a somewhat corny way. Then I heard and saw The Weavers, after which I decided that being correct in one's position does not eliminate, or even reduce the odds of, being creepy in a corny type way.

There was just something about that whole (or at least a big part of it) leftist/folksong/singalong thing that creeped me out, and still does. Can't say for sure exactly what, but maybe it's the sense that the whole thing is agenda first, music second, always. That means that no matter how great the music might be (and god help me if I ever hear that shitpile "Goodnight Irene" ever again, that music is so NOT great), the propaganda will always be greater. And if you can't justify your music as being even greater than whatever propaganda it holds, then fuck you, tool.

This guitar (or in his case, banjo) kills fascists, eh? Not in the real world it doesn't. But if that's what it takes to make you and your crew think you're all heroes, then, hey, have fun with that, that...Fascism of Anti-Fascism thingamadoodle.

Apart from that stuff, he seemed to be a nice and sincere person, and to his credit, he didn't kill Bob Seeger.

R.I.P.

[Larry Kart]

Good book on the subject of folk music and the American Left:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-coming-music-American-Music/dp/0252001796/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390958103&sr=1-9&keywords=r.+Serge+Denisoff

I love the author's name, R. Serge Denisoff.

[danasgoodstuff]

He was a hero. A great life lived by principles. Thanks for never selling out, Pete. RIP.

Right -- he never sold out unless (and this was the case for a good many years) he was following the then-current dictates of the CPUSA.

See for example the song "Plow Under" ("Don’t you…plow under/Every fourth American boy"), the isolationist anti-war song written by Seeger and Lee Hays in early 1941 when it was CPUSA policy that the US must stay out of the war (this because Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were still allies):

http://peteseeger.net/wp/?page_id=1446

Then the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, CPUSA policy turned 180 degrees overnight, and so did Seeger, who with Woody Guthrie, and Millard Lampell wrote the rousing pro-intervention, pro-war song "Reuben James," about the sinking of the US destroyer of that name by a Nazi submarine in Oct. 1941, two months before Pearl Harbor ("Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright/In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight./And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main/And remember the name of that good Reuben James"):

http://www.oocities.org/folkfred/reuben.html

Didn't Woody write "On Account of the New Situation" specifically to mock his friends' flipfloppery at this time?

On the other hand, I read his (Seegar's) ananlysis of Dylan's "Only a Pawn in Their Game" somewhere and he completely got that...so?

Edited January 29, 2014 by danasgoodstuff

[Teasing the Korean]

There was just something about that whole (or at least a big part of it) leftist/folksong/singalong thing that creeped me out, and still does. Can't say for sure exactly what, but maybe it's the sense that the whole thing is agenda first, music second, always.

If so, this speaks to the flexibility and functionality of music, which is a good thing in my opinion.

I love art on its own terms, but I also embrace the concept of functional art. That is why I have Eames chairs and a Saarinen pedestal table in my kitchen.

While the leftist/singalong thing may be perceived as creepy or corny by some - including me, admittedly - I would love to live in a world in which music offered a form of cultural currency with some value. Music offered this back then, but it is virtually worthless now.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Teasing the Korean

[Al in NYC]

One of the biggest parts of the soundtrack of my childhood years, gone. He was really just about the last of them too, and in many ways, both related and unrelated to music, among the most important. I was fortunate enough to get to meet him a few times as a child, and even though he was the center of attention of hundreds or thousands he had that knack that some people have of making you feel that you were of interest to him, and that you were, if only for a minute or two, getting his undivided attention. In short, that you were important and you mattered. it was really a reflection of his wider conviction that everybody had a voice and everyone mattered, a concept that we still seem to have some serious problems with. This notion was really constantly at the heart of his work as an artist. I moved on in my musical interests quite a ways from that 1960s folk music world, but I always remembered and respected Pete Seeger.

Beyond his music was the strength of his convictions and his constant work on the behalf of others. His belief that something should and could be done to change things, and that power and privilege should be challenged. But also that anger was corrosive, and that a lightness of spirit, persistence, and patience were what stuck and would win the day. Nothing embodied this more than his ongoing work to rally support to clean up the Hudson River, to oppose the big corporate polluters and bring their practices to light, and to maintain and preserve it for the future. If for nothing else, everyone here in this area should be grateful to him for this work alone.

I see that, even here, where one might expect better, the inevitable McCarthyist has crawled out from under his 60 year old rock. The funny part about that kind of dead-letter crap is that Pete himself was quite open about his past. He stated more than once that one of his few regrets was sticking with the Communists a little too long. Mind you, he was not sorry about his association with the Communists in the U.S. in the first place, since they were about the only force fighting for real, meaningful social, economic, and racial change in the U.S. at that time, He remained engaged with these struggles throughout his life, but he had also moved on and evolved, which is apparently just not possible for some people.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Al in NYC

[jeffcrom]

Right now I'm listening to the 1957 Folkways album Pete Seeger Sings American Ballads.

Okay, I understand the reservations some folks have expressed about Seeger, especially JSngry's comments about PS being creepy/corny. Corny he certainly was - "Everybody sing, now!" But I'm not sure Jim is right about "agenda first, music second, always." That construct certainly showed up sometimes, but not always. Part of Seeger's agenda was that there was a body of great American music which should preserved as living music. Seeger is not unlike many other musicians: some of his output is corny and regrettable, but much of it is moving and beautiful. This album is haunting and excellent.

To be kind of corny myself, there's a quality that shines through Seeger's creepiness/corniness/political agenda. I hear/feel a warmth, a sincerity, (and to be really corny) a love that emanates from his music. Weighing all the factors, I have no problem with describing Pete Seeger as an American hero. So long, Mr. Seeger.

[JSngry]

While the leftist/singalong thing may be perceived as creepy or corny by some - including me, admittedly - I would love to live in a world in which music offered a form of cultural currency with some value. Music offered this back then, but it is virtually worthless now.

Bitcoins, baby, bitcoins.

[jeffcrom]

Oh, and while I haven't heard The Weavers' version of "Goodnight Irene" in many years, I sure like Leadbelly's menacing version(s) and James Booker's surprisingly funky readings.

[JSngry]

Right now I'm listening to the 1957 Folkways album Pete Seeger Sings American Ballads.

Okay, I understand the reservations some folks have expressed about Seeger, especially JSngry's comments about PS being creepy/corny. Corny he certainly was - "Everybody sing, now!" But I'm not sure Jim is right about "agenda first, music second, always." That construct certainly showed up sometimes, but not always. Part of Seeger's agenda was that there was a body of great American music which should preserved as living music. Seeger is not unlike many other musicians: some of his output is corny and regrettable, but much of it is moving and beautiful. This album is haunting and excellent.

To be kind of corny myself, there's a quality that shines through Seeger's creepiness/corniness/political agenda. I hear/feel a warmth, a sincerity, (and to be really corny) a love that emanates from his music. Weighing all the factors, I have no problem with describing Pete Seeger as an American hero. So long, Mr. Seeger.

You're no doubt correct, but I could never get past the corny-creepiness. I never heard any music compelling enough to care. The whole "it takes a worried man to sing a worried song" thing...eh, yeah, right, I sing a worried song, therefore I am a worried man, well, ok, furrow your brow then, worried man, furrow your brow and let's get busy killing fascists with banjos and guitars and songs. BOOM!!! BANG!!! STRUM!!!!!

Here's how you kill a Fascist:

Everything else just throws them off balance for a little while. Get to the bank while you can!

[Teasing the Korean]

Bitcoins, baby, bitcoins.

Music offered this back then, but it is virtually worthless now.

EDIT: I was trying to quote and respond to a couple of different posts in my reply, but messed it up due to sleep deprivation and being distracted by the state of the union address.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

Currency (and music is certainly currency) in general is in a, shall we say, "period of transition". There's so much value (everywhere is valuable, and so is everybody!) that nobody can decide what it's worth, It's overwhelming, and nobody, it seems, really wants to take that gig except for the Fascists, who I would have thought would all have been killed by, what with all the decades of strumming and picking and such.

Appearances to the contrary, I am a worried man. But my worried song, hey...no sense in veering any further into the "political". Let's all celebrate the life and and picking of Pete Seeger, who was ALWAYS a worried man, worried enough for us all!

[sgcim]

Right now I'm listening to the 1957 Folkways album Pete Seeger Sings American Ballads.

Okay, I understand the reservations some folks have expressed about Seeger, especially JSngry's comments about PS being creepy/corny. Corny he certainly was - "Everybody sing, now!" But I'm not sure Jim is right about "agenda first, music second, always." That construct certainly showed up sometimes, but not always. Part of Seeger's agenda was that there was a body of great American music which should preserved as living music. Seeger is not unlike many other musicians: some of his output is corny and regrettable, but much of it is moving and beautiful. This album is haunting and excellent.

To be kind of corny myself, there's a quality that shines through Seeger's creepiness/corniness/political agenda. I hear/feel a warmth, a sincerity, (and to be really corny) a love that emanates from his music. Weighing all the factors, I have no problem with describing Pete Seeger as an American hero. So long, Mr. Seeger.

You're no doubt correct, but I could never get past the corny-creepiness. I never heard any music compelling enough to care. The whole "it takes a worried man to sing a worried song" thing...eh, yeah, right, I sing a worried song, therefore I am a worried man, well, ok, furrow your brow then, worried man, furrow your brow and let's get busy killing fascists with banjos and guitars and songs. BOOM!!! BANG!!! STRUM!!!!!

Here's how you kill a Fascist:

Everything else just throws them off balance for a little while. Get to the bank while you can!

That was Woody Guthrie that wrote "this machine kills fascists" on his guitar- not Pete Seeger.

[medjuck]

Pete Seeger never seemed worried to me. Usually seemed to be having a lot of fun. What it said on his banjo was 'This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender".

Edited January 29, 2014 by medjuck