The heroism is part of his music and was the standard of his life. During the communist witch hunts in the 50's he and his group, "The Weavers" were blacklisted, no one would play the music that had been selling millions of copies. Their recording contract with Decca was cancelled.
He was a communist and started the Almanac Singers in 1940 to sing radical songs as the start of the protest movement. "After war service, Seeger became director of Peoples' Songs... publishing radical" music. Then he formed The Weavers and signed with Decca and "... had a number of hit songs..." However his career was severely hurt when J. Edgar Hoover gave the FBI file to the NY Telegram with the statement that The Weavers "...were the first musicians in American history to be investigated for sedition."
Radio stations stopped playing their work. On February 2, 1952 a less heroic character testified to the Un-American House Committee that Pete was a communist. The charge stood, unsubstantiated, for 3 years until Seeger was called to HUAC.
"As a result of his attitude, on 26th July, 1956, the House of Representatives voted 373 to 9 to cite Seeger, Arthur Miller, and six others for contempt. However, Seeger did not come to trial until March, 1961. He was found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in prison. After worldwide protests, the Court of Appeals ruled that Seeger's indictment was faulty and dismissed the case"
In '55 he testified but refused to name anyone else in any groups he had been involved with. He said,
"I feel that in my whole life I have never done anything of any conspiratorial nature and I resent very much and very deeply the implication of being called before this Committee that in some way because my opinions may be different from yours, that I am any less of an American than anyone else.
I am saying voluntarily that I have sung for almost every religious group in the country, from Jewish and Catholic, and Presbyterian and Holy Rollers and Revival Churches. I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent the implication that some of the places that I have sung and some of the people that I have known, and some of my opinions, whether they are religious or philosophical, make me less of an American"
In an article, "Notable American Unitarians" his early musicianship is noted,
" As Seeger recalled: "In 1935 I was sixteen years old, playing tenor banjo in the school jazz band. I was uninterested in the classical music which my parents taught at Juilliard. That summer I visited a square dance festival in Asheville, North Carolina, and fell in love with the old-fashioned five-string banjo, rippling out a rhythm to one fascinating song after another." Whereas most popular music seemed sappy or trivial to Seeger, these songs seemed frank, straightforward, honest. Folk music's new convert was to become its greatest proselyte.
Article comments
1 - Mat Brewster
That was great. How anyone cannot love Pete Seeger is beyond me. He's a national treasure.
I dind't know all the background thanks for posting it.
2 - Al Barger
Ever lovin' Pete Seeger. You speak of him in the past tense. Best I can tell, he's still alive.
Groovy gratuitous Pete Seeger quote:
"I like to say I'm more conservative than Goldwater. He just wanted to turn the clock back to when there was no income tax. I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small villages and took care of each other."
3 - Eric Olsen
Pete's a cool old commie, indeed
4 - Eric Olsen
no one has mentioned he used to have the world's smallest pony tail
5 - francisco68
Al Barger is correct. Pete Seeger is still alive, probably still full of piss and vinegar and music. The past tense comes from the fact that I left the US 7+ years ago so my life before then and before a heart attack always seem "past tense". Point taken in the grammar department.
6 - Al Barger
Francisco speaks words of wisdom, which you would all do well to memorize and repeat frequently. "Al Barger is correct." Take those words to heart.
7 - Dave Nalle
The only record I had for several years of my childhood was a Pete Seeger EP for kids. I think it permanently warped my musical tastes. Even today I still have several of his songs on my iPod.
Dave
8 - brian
First saw Pete in london in the very early sixties at 18, him standing six feet in front of me and towering above me, leaning back and singing up to the ceiling almost. A real warm and genuine man!
9 - Len Smiley
Pete Seeger was a dedicated Stalinist who hated rock 'n' roll.
The Cleveland abomination gives new meaning to "mistake on the lake".
Lemmy, si! Pete, no!
10 - Barry Stoller
I would suggest his LP (CD, still in print) God Bless The Grass as one of his more consistent efforts. Tom Wilson (Dylan; S&G) produced it right before leaving Columbia (for Verve). It has the Husdon River Song, among other essentials. 1966, straight up.
11 - HW Saxton
Larry Williams - "Dizzy Miss Lizzy,Bony
Maronie,Slow Down,Bad Boy,She Said Yeah"
isn't in the R n R Hall O' Shame but he
(Pete Seeger)is? Pete Seeger has got to
be the lamest entry yet.He's got NOTHING
to do with R n R. Even being Communist
isn't on his side. Can't even give the
RnR HOS credit for trying in this case.
12 - Dani Seeger
Omg maybe we are realated!