Pete Seeger American Folk Icon

Pete Seeger is a legendary folksinger, gifted storyteller, social and environmental activist and author. He has written and popularized hundreds of songs including “If I Had A Hammer,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “Where Have All The Flowers Gone,” “Little Boxes” and “Good Night, Irene,” and has written dozens of books including songbooks, instructional handbooks and children’s stories.

Pete Seeger’s father, musicologist Charles Seeger, instilled in his son the belief that music's most important purpose was social: a way to promote peace, freedom and human dignity. This has been his life’s purpose. Pete is often remembered for his protest songs but singing children’s songs and performing for family audiences has been a passion and continues to be important to him. Pete has an incredible talent for engaging the audience in a sing-a-long. He and his banjo inspire groups the world over to sing together in powerful harmony.

His performance career began in 1940 when he formed a group with Woody Guthrie, The Almanac Singers, who performed until Pete was drafted in 1942. After the war he resumed his music career by forming The Weavers which popularized the Guthrie song “This Land is Your Land,” and reached the top of the music charts with “Goodnight Irene.” Pete Seeger has had a profound influence on many of America’s best known performers including Bruce Springsteen, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris and countless others.

On January 20th, Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen performed “This Land Is Your Land” at the Barack Obama Inaugural concert at The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Two million people sang along with them.

Pete Seeger celebrated his 90th birthday on May 3rd at a sold out Madison Square Garden, where 18,000 attended to honor him. The concert was also a benefit for the environmental group he founded to preserve the Hudson River, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater project. As he has been doing for over 70 years, Pete and his banjo led a song-a-long to “Amazing Grace.” Forty musicians gave tribute to him and President Barack Obama sent a letter which read:

“Pete Seeger is an American icon. His music has defined moments in our history and touched the lives of people around the world. A lifelong champion of civil rights and the environment, Pete carries on the tradition of folk music by voicing the hopes and dreams of everyday people in his art. His tireless efforts and dedication to creating not only great music but also a better world for our children and grandchildren, inspire us all.”