Like many in my generation, I grew up listening to folk legends like Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, and Tom Paxton; Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Judy Collins. The Kingston Trio, the New Lost City Ramblers, and The Weavers played constantly on my parents' record player. By the time I was seven or eight years old, I knew names like Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Leadbelly… and of course, Pete Seeger.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song is a feature-length tribute to a man who has had much influence on generations of musicians, music lovers, social activists, and people for whom “doing nothing” about our world is not an option. The film, directed by Jim Brown, details Seeger’s life and accomplishments through his music and through anecdotes from his contemporaries in the music scene, as well as those who followed him, including Peter Yarrow, Mary Travers, Guthrie, Raitt, Baez, Ronnie Gilbert (of the Weavers), The Dixie Chicks, and Bruce Springsteen. Seeger’s family and friends, and the man himself, still singing at 85 years old, recall the rich history of the man, his music, and his social activism.
Called by many the architect of the “folk revival,” which catapulted American folk music from the back roads and hill country to the commercial success of the Top 40 radio, Seeger was viewed variously as a patriot and a traitor (depending upon who was doing the viewing).
Blacklisted for 17 years (his triumphant return to television on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is included in the film) after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) of Senator Joe McCarthy, Seeger retreated from the brink of real commercial stardom to spreading his love for folk music like a banjo-wielding Johnny Appleseed. Music is a powerful universal language, believes Seeger; it can unify all of the disparate elements that make up America, even the world, in common purpose.
Neither blacklisting nor anything else has deterred Seeger from his tireless efforts to pursue social justice and world peace. From the labor and civil rights movements (he is credited with making “We Shall Overcome” an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement) to Viet Nam (from his stark and stunning “Where have all the Flowers Gone,” to the powerful — and even now, timely — indictment of wrongheaded and arrogant foreign policy, “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,“ to his one-man stewarding of the Hudson River Cleanup, Seeger has always merged music with action.
Article comments
1 - Derek Fleek
What about if your not familar with Pete Seeger? Do you think someone who isn't familar with Pete Seeger would enjoy this?
2 - Barbara Barnett
If you are a folk music fan -- or have an interest at all in what made (some) of the baby boom tick, I do think a non-Seeger fan would be interested. But it's so focused on Seeger himself, I think it's really a treat for the folkies.
On the other hand, if you want to know where Dylan, Springsteen find their roots--this film provide an important link.
3 - Barbara Barnett
I'm going to add as well that anyone who has an interest in the great protest movements of the 20th century (primarily the 30s through the 70s) would find this a fascinating examination of the times. Seeger was, in a sense, sort of a "Forrest Gump" with a banjo and a good voice--and a message.
4 - Derek Fleek
I have a copy that has been gathering dust, maybe I should take a look at it...