Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. His unique style of banjo, provocative lyrics and large stage presence made him a star in the folk community. Pete Seeger had many hits in the mid 20th century, most notably his cover of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene" with his band The Weavers. Most notably however were Seegers contributions to the civil rights, environmental and counter-culture movements of the 1960s and the 1970s. Songs that he authored or co-authored such as "Where have all the flowers gone" and "If I had a hammer" became wildly successful and are covered to this day.

Pete Seeger was born to Charles and Constance Seeger in Manhattan New York in 1918. Pete's father was a musicologist and his mother a concert violinist. Seeger was raised in a Christian, Calvinist household. Charles and Constance divorced when Seeger was 9 and his father soon married Ruth Crawford Seeger. Ruth being considered one the greatest composers of the 20th century, along with the fact that almost everyone in Seeger's family played music, meant that Seeger was surrounded by music his entire childhood. Seeger's love for the banjo was sparked at 13 when him and his parents attended a music festival in North Carolina. This "conversion experience" as he called it led to Seeger mastering the banjo during his teenage years. One of Seegers big breaks came when his father got him a job working for Alan Lomax, sifting through music material for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Through this relationship Seeger was able to perform regularly on Lomax's radio show as well as meet some of the biggest names in folk music.

Pete was married to Toshi-Aline Ota from 1943 until her death in 2013. Seeger calls her his biggest influence. At the age of 25 Seeger and Ota had their first child Peter. Unfortunately Peter died at the age of 6 months before Pete had had the chance to meet him. They went on the have 3 more children, Daniel, Mika and Tinya.

Pete Seeger passed away in his sleep on January 27th and will be remembered by his 3 children. His iconic singing and his original banjo strumming has led to an almost cult-like following that will surely last for generations to come. To see some pictures of Pete Seeger and to watch some of his famous TV appearances, be sure to check out the Mementos page!

Read the Testimony of Pete Seeger before the House Un-American Activities Committee:

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6457