In memory of Pete Seeger an American musical giant whose influence goes back to the 1940s and who touched my life early on. If You Miss Me At The Back Of The Bus was one of the first Pete Seeger songs I had on record when I was around 14 years old. I was inspired by this Rosa Parks anthem and the songs of freedom that Pete Seeger sang with such conviction. The originator of the long neck 5 string banjo, former Almanac Singer in 1940s New York, later one of the Weavers... whilst at the same time always being an anti-war campaigner, progressive poet and environmental activist - Pete Seeger was a man you don't meet every day.
He died yesterday in New York City aged 94, he was a treasure now gone into history to become an ancestor of future singers and musicians with conviction, spirit and authenticity.
With Pete's passing an era has also passed. Pete Seeger was one of the last connections to an age before the great fall when optimism and liberty still had a home in America. The age of the Civil Rights Movement, the Beat Generation, the Anti-War activists and the folk revival on both sides of the Atlantic, that creative outburst of youthful energy that eventually became rock 'n' roll owes its origins to groups like the Almanac Singers whose members included Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston..
Pete Seeger was an incredibly talented musician, but more than that he was a decent person on the side of the good and the right against the violent, corrupt and the exploitative.
There is no higher praise so far as I'm concerned, he will be very much missed, I salute a great man and a musical immortal. So fare thee well Pete Seeger, man of music, man of peace and man of the people
Which side are you on? It's a fair question!
Wonderful tribute to a great man AA. He will be missed for sure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lia, lets dance
DeleteYou put it perfectly,AA ,about where Ammerica has been and where we are at now! Pete Seeger was indeed one of the last spirits of optimism and liberty, the real liberty that you can't put in a bank or sell, but is (or isn't) in the spirit of a nation.
ReplyDeleteAs long as his music is around to inspire and reprise perhaps some of that can-do, non-violent light Pete brought will still blossom in parts of the USA. It is a stubborn candle to put out.
Thanks Doug......I think that candle continues to shine on in America in the Transition Movement, Occupy, The World Can't Wait and many other national and local campaigns that in my view carry the Seeger 'gene' on into the 21st century. It may be that the prominence of organised labour has diminished but organised consumers more than compensate for this now I think. The spirit of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Paul Robeson echo in a rainbow alliance that can still cause major upsets to the defenders of tyranny and give hope to the victims of totalitarianism worldwide. This is the true meaning of globalism and it is a global revolution that will unseat the unelected 'world goverment' otherwise known as Greater Bilderbergia and day in, day out, it undermines corporate legitimacy in a constant drip drip of countervailing information. There's plenty to be getting on with in Pete's memory I think. We SHALL overcome one day!
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