Salut! Live

I am very sad to report the death of Pete Seeger, an inspiration to so many for what he believed in and what he did for music. He was 94, so a grand old innings, and died in New York.

The Guardian quotes Seeger’s grandson, Kitama Cahill-Jackson, as saying he died after spending six days in the New York Presbyterian Hospital, passing away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family.

Active almost to the end, Seeger was "chopping wood 10 days ago", Kitama said.

I spoke once by telephone to Seeger but never met him. I cannot remember whether it seemed appropriate to apologise for ringing from The Daily Telegraph, which believes in things he frankly didn't, but recall enjoying our short conversation and being proud as punch when he said he was aware of my writing on folk music. That bit didn't have to be true; he made it sound so.

People will remember We Will Overcome, Little Boxes and If I had a Hammer, or his banjo playing. But he amounted to a lot more. Again from The Guardian:

[He] was known as an affable protester and remained a proud socialist and left-wing campaigner throughout his life. Once a card-carrying Communist, he came under fire in the McCarthy era of the 50s. Summoned to give evidence about his political leanings and contacts to the the House of Representatives' Un-American Activities committee in 1955, Seeger refused to testify. He denied his views made him disloyal to his country. Asked repeatedly if he had sung for Communists, he retorted: 'I love my country very dearly, and I greatly resent this 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, or I might be a vegetarian, make me any less of an American.'

I heard about his death from the Facebook space of Ian Anderson, quoted above.

Here is how the thread ran:

Ian:

If there is a heaven, it's not short of banjo players today. Pete Seeger & Derroll Adams @ Tønder Festival 1990, photographed by Dave Peabody.

Me:

May he rest in the peace in pursuit of which he devoted his life and work.


Lynda Morrison:

The man who got me interested in folk music when I was just a child..... RIP Pete

Ian Anderson again:

Wish my post-move filing system was better: I used to get postcards from Pete in the 80s and have them somewhere - my favourite was a big discovery rave after we'd put Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited on the cover circa 85 and he was thanking me for turning him on to them. But he was just as likely to give me a bollocking for running a folk albums chart, which was anathema to him. Met him a few times at Folk Alliances in the 90s - the most memorable being the occasion when I was in a conversation gaggle of people after a Copper Family workshop and I realised the others around me included not only the Coppers but Pete & Toshi Seeger, Alan Lomax (by then post-stroke in his wheelchair, sadly) and his daughter, Leadbelly's niece, Woody Guthrie's daughter and Robert Johnson's nephew Robert Lockwood! My 15 year old self newly discovering American folk & blues would have been very impressed!

And from a friend and former colleague, Mick Smith, also at Facebook:

One of the greats. Great and wonderfully productive life but will be sorely missed. http://t.co/DOW5rrfBAj

Me:

Seconded Mick. An inspiration in many ways

Corinna Honan:

Saw him at the Newport Folk Festival as a teenager: he was my hero.

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* Explore Pete Seeger at Salut! Live's Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848090188/salusund-21