Pete Seeger is one of the most famous American folk artists of the twentieth century. He became famous not only as a talented singer, but also as a songwriter, activist, naturalist and supporter of the idea of "world peace."
Biography
Peter or Pete Seeger was born on May 3, 1919 in New York. His father, Charles Seager, was a well-known American musicologist, folklorist, and music teacher at the University of California. And Ruth Crawford Seager, the mother of Pete Seager, was also a musician and composer. In addition, she taught violin at the Juilliard School.
University of California Santa Barbara Building Photo: Coolcaesar / Wikimedia Commons
The love of parents for music was transmitted to children. His sister Peggy Seager and half-brother Mike Seager also dedicated their lives to performing and reviving folk music in America.
Pete Siger sister Peggy Siger Photo: University of Salford Press Office / Wikimedia Commons
As for Pete Seeger, he was an extremely gifted and well-read child. Pete studied at the Avon Old Farms School Boys Boarding School, graduating from which in 1936 he entered Harvard University on a full scholarship. However, two years later, he failed the exams and left the university. Until the late 1930s, Seager traveled around the country, hitchhiking or on freight trains.
Career and creativity
In 1940, Pete Seeger began making music. He, along with Millard Lampell and Lee Hayes, organized his first folk band, The Almanac Singers. They recorded several albums. But in 1942, during World War II, Pete was drafted into the army and the group broke up. After the war, he returned home, founded the magazine "Sing Out!" and returned to the performance of folk songs.
In 1949, Seager got a job at City and Country School in Greenwich Village, New York. And in 1950, the band "The Almanac Singers" was transformed into "The Weavers" and Pete again began to compose and perform folk music. Their songs "On Top of Old Smokey" and "Goodnight, Irene" topped the main music charts. They then released a number of other hits, including "Dusty Old Dust", "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and "Wimoweh".
However, in 1953 the band members were outlawed and "The Weavers" stopped performing concerts, only occasionally appearing on stage. In the second half of the 1950s, Seager created the new folk band Kingston Trio, recording and releasing a series of singles.
Pete Seeger at a performance in San Francisco Photo: Brianmcmillen / Wikimedia Commons
The next period in the work of the singer was filled with political songs. In 1966, he recorded the album "Dangerous Songs !?", which was more like a mockery of US President Lyndon Johnson. A year later, he drew even more attention by recording a song about the captain who died in World War II, Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.
He soon became a co-founder of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Environmental Society, which actively opposed the Hudson River pollution and worked to clean it. In 1969, Seager wrote a song about the Hudson River, "That Lonesome Valley." It was at this time that he became the head of the movement for the revival of folk music. In 1972, Pete Seeger published a book about a folk song called The Incompleat Folksinger.
Four years later, he wrote, and then recorded, a song against the death penalty, "Delbert Tibbs." It was based on a story unfairly convicted of the murder and rape of writer Delbert Tibbs, who was sentenced to death and later acquitted.
In 1980, he released the album "God Bless The Grass". This work, like his other musical projects over the course of this decade, condemned violent revolutions.
Between 1989 and 1992, Seager released a number of albums, including "American Industrial Ballads", "Folk Songs for Young People" and "Traditional Christmas Carols".
Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival Photo: William Wallace / Wikimedia Commons
From 1996 to 2000, he released such singles as "Pete", "Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes", "American Folk, Game and Activity Songs" and others. In 2008, Pete recorded the award-winning album "At 89". The following year, he spoke at the inauguration of US President Barack Obama.
In 2010, at the age of 91, Seager presented his musical collection, Tomorrow’s Children, which was dedicated to environmental education. In subsequent years, in his work, he continued to raise the problems of international disarmament, ecology and the observance of civil rights.
Awards and Achievements
In 1993, Pete Singer received the "Grammy Award for Lifetime Musical Achievements", which is awarded to performers for their outstanding contribution to the development of the music industry.
In 1997, for his album "Pete" he was awarded a Grammy Award in the category "Best Folk Album". In 2008, Seager again won this prestigious music award for "Best Traditional Album" "At 89".
In 2013, the work of Pete Seeger was awarded the George Peabody Medal, awarded for his special contribution to the establishment and development of music in America.
