Happy 94th, Pete Seeger!

[alterfurz]

They'll say we can never win, and maybe so, but only one thing is certain--if we stop trying, we are sure to lose.

[DreamGypsy]

1. From the Pete Seeger Appreciation Page ...

...Happy 94th Birthday, Pete!


“Some may find them merely diverting melodies. Others may find them incitements to Red revolution. And who will say if either or both is wrong? Not I.”

— Pete Seeger in Rolling Stone, April 13, 1972

In addition to being America’s best-loved folksinger and an untiring environmentalist, Pete Seeger is a national treasure. He has been at the forefront of the labor movement, the struggle for Civil Rights, the peace and anti-war movements, and the fight for a clean world. He has been a beacon for hope for millions of people all over the world. Once blacklisted from national television for being unafraid to voice his opinions, he was given the nation’s highest artistic honors at the Kennedy Center in December 1994. In January 1996 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although he left Harvard during his second year, in the spring of 1996 he was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal, presented annually to a Harvard graduate who has made an important contribution to the arts. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album of 1996 in February 1997 for his Living Music recording “Pete.” At the end of April 1999, he traveled to Cuba to accept the Felix Varela Medal, that nation’s highest honor for “his humanistic and artistic work in defense of the environment and against racism.” In April 2000, he was named one of America’s Living Legends by the Library of Congress. The recognition of Pete Seeger’s invaluable contributions to American culture and history continue in the twenty-first century. He won a Grammy Award in 2008 for his Appleseed Recording, “Pete Seeger: At 89,” and again in 2011 for his “Tomorrow’s Children” album. Pete Seeger was chosen to sing at the January 2008 inauguration of President Barack Obama, where he sang all of the verses to Woody Guthrie’s iconic “This Land is Your Land.” He celebrated his 90th birthday on May 3, 2009 with family and friends at a sold-out concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

I think of Pete (and Woody) as America's real Liberty Bell(s). No cracks in their iron.

"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

Thanks for the post, alterfurz.

[alterfurz]

3. and thank you, DG!

Video from the 2009 Inaugural. I love how Pete made damn sure Woody's lesser-known "capitalist criticism" verses also got sung!

[DreamGypsy]

11. Pete Remembers Woody: Woody Writes This Land is Your Land

Pete released an album about a year ago entitled Pete Remembers Woody.

Pete's stories and reminiscences are wonderful, funny, and moving. The song performances, mostly done by people/groups other than Pete are OK, but they're not why I go back to re-listen.

There is an audio player at the link. I heartily recommended taking time to listen to Woody Writes "This Land is Your Land" (1:53) and "America Learns "This Land is Your Land" (1:15) for the history of the song.

[alterfurz]

13. thanks again, DG...

...wonderful link!

[RoccoR5955]

14. Did you know

That Pete actually bought a new shirt for that gig?
I know the family for more than thirty years, they are good friends. It was so good to see him there.

Did you also know that whereas most others pleaded the Fifth Amendment when confronted by HUAC, Pete pleaded the First Amendment, in that he has the right to free speech, and freedom of assembly. Yes, they game him a suspended sentence, as they did many others, but as far as I know, he was the only one to plead the First!

[SunSeeker]

2. K & R

[joeybee12]

4. Wow! Congrats to him!

[byeya]

5. The only place Pete didn't sing was before the House Unamerican Activities Committee.

He had to stand trial for contempt of congress and was sentenced to a year in jail.

He was blacklisted for years.

He helped formed The Weavers who had several hit songs and was probably the first group to be investigated by the FBI for sedition.

We need more brave people like Pete.

Well done Mr Seeger!!

[Smarmie Doofus]

26. I think he's STILL blacklisted.

When was the last time you saw him... or anyone like him .... on commercial tv?

I think the difference between the 50s and now is that now the whole country is blacklisted.

[Botany]

6. Pete Seeger - Guantanamera

GUANTANAMERA
Original music by Jose Fernandez Diaz
Music adaptation by Pete Seeger & Julian Orbon
Lyric adaptation by Julian Orbon, based on a poem by Jose Marti

Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crecen las palmas
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma

Chorus:
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera

Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es de un verde claro
Y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido
Que busca en el monte amparo

Chorus

I am a truthful man from this land of palm trees
Before dying I want to share these poems of my soul
My verses are light green
But they are also flaming red

(the next verse says,)
I cultivate a rose in June and in January
For the sincere friend who gives me his hand
And for the cruel one who would tear out this
heart with which I live
I do not cultivate thistles nor nettles
I cultivate a white rose

Cultivo la rosa blanca
En junio como en enero
Qultivo la rosa blanca
En junio como en enero
Para el amigo sincero
Que me da su mano franca

Chorus

Y para el cruel que me arranca
El corazon con que vivo
Y para el cruel que me arranca
El corazon con que vivo
Cardo ni ortiga cultivo
Cultivo la rosa blanca

Chorus

Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
Con los pobres de la tierra
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
El arroyo de la sierra
Me complace mas que el mar

[RoccoR5955]

15. WE sometimes do a spoof on his songs

here in the Hudson Valley, after all, Pete is like our grandpa.

This one we call "One Ton Banana"

[byeya]

24. "..I can't believe I ate a One Ton Banana"..Let's remember the sloop Clearwater too

[Solly Mack]

7. K&R

[MrScorpio]

8. Everyone Loves them some Pete Seeger

[JCat]

9. This man is a treasure...

He helped me awaken to my liberal self oh so many years ago.

[colorado_ufo]

10. Pete, may this be your best birthday ever!

And many, many more!

[LeftInTX]

12. Happy Birthday! I had no idea he was 94!

He seems much younger.

[RoccoR5955]

16. You know what,

he still chops his own wood, and still does gigs, even though he insists he's "retired."
I wish, for his sake, he could retire, and spend more time with his wife, Toshi. Toshi is a gem. She's Pete's anchor. His grounding force. Not bad for a nice Greenwich Village girl. She did alright. They both did alright for one another.
Long may they live!

[rug]

17. He's doing a benefit in my town next month.

http://www.airsoilwater.org/

Instant sellout!

[malaise]

18. Love him

Happy Birthday Pete

[senseandsensibility]

19. Happy Birthday!

He looks great, too!

[NoPasaran]

20. To everything there is a season

And this is the season to wish Pete Seeger a Happy Birthday

[MyOwnPeace]

21. Always................

one of my heroes!
Happy Birthday, Pete!

[limpyhobbler]

22. K&R !

[Hekate]

23. Thanks for all the memories, Pete. KnR

[Le Taz Hot]

25. A true American hero.

A model for all liberals and a life lived that is not to believed. He was blacklisted for being a Communist. He wrote "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn Turn Turn" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," among many others.

To an INCREDIBLE human being.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Seeger!

[Lindsay]

27. The happiest of birthdays

to a man who's one of my heroes. May he keep singing out for many more.