Before there was Bob Dylan, before there was Edward Snowden – there was Pete Seeger.
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Last night, legendary folk musician Pete Seeger died at the age of 94 in New York. The world has lost a great man and an incredible voice for social change.
Seeger’s contribution to both American music and political activism simply cannot be understated. Widely considered to be one of the best banjo players of all time, he was a political activist who, along with legendary singer Woody Guthrie, was part of a group of early folk singers who were outspoken members of the Communist Party. Seeger’s early career was dominated by the controversy surrounding his politics; The Almanac Singers (his early group with Woody Guthrie) put out an album called Songs For John Doe denouncing American intervention into World War II, a record that Time said repeated the “mendacious Moscow tune that President Roosevelt is leading an unwilling nation into a J.P. Morgan war”. After Germany broke the Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union, Seeger and other communists joined the war effort. He later served in the Pacific theater, assigned to entertain troops with his music. In the 1980’s, Seeger repudiated Stalinism and the Soviet form of communism, and in response to criticisms of his silence on Stalin’s gulags, wrote a song called “Big Joe Blues” in 2007.
Perhaps Seeger’s defining moment in his life was his testimony to the infamous House Un-American Activites Committee. Questioned on his political affiliations (Seeger had broken away from the Communist Party by 1950), he said:
“I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this.”
Seeger was indicted for contempt of Congress, and in 1961, was sentenced to ten years in prison, but his conviction was later overturned.
Seeger also took up his instrument in support of the Civil Rights movement: in 1957, Seeger introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to “We Shall Overcome”, and he was a performer at civil rights protests and events in the South. In his later years, he continued his social advocacy, focusing on anti-war efforts, human rights, and environmental issues, and he remained active politically to the end of his life.
While you may disagree with Seeger’s political beliefs, or don’t care for his music, there is no denying that fewer Americans sang louder or yelled more enthusiastically for the cause of social justice. Pete Seeger was emblematic of what I consider a “good man”, and the world is a lesser place without him. I’ll leave you with this video of Pete Seeger along with another icon of American music, from a 1970 appearance on The Johnny Cash Show.
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Credit—Photo/Jim, The Photographer