Folk Champion: Who Was Pete Seeger?

Pete Seeger played a pivotal role in the popularization of American folk music. A master of the 5-string banjo known for his distinctive raspy voice; he was as well known for his social activism as his music. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, a committed advocate for civil rights, environmental causes, social justice, and peace, Seeger remained a socialist till the end. Pete Seeger’s legacy endures as one of the most influential and celebrated figures in American musical history.

Born in 1919 into a musical family, Pete Seeger appeared destined for a life in music. His father, Charles, was a renowned musicologist and his mother Constance, was a classical violinist. Several of his brothers and sisters became folk singers. Pete picked up the ukulele in his teens before finding his true passion in the 5-string banjo. 

Educated at elite boarding schools from the age of four, Seeger went on to Harvard before dropping out at 19, to pursue a career in journalism in New York. Struggling to find his footing, he connected with Alan Lomax, a friend of his father’s and a leading figure in folk music. 

Alan Lomax introduced Seeger to the city’s vibrant folk music scene, opening doors that would shape his career. He began working with Lomax at the Library of Congress transcribing folk songs and became friends with folk legends like Lead Belly, and Woodie Guthrie. 

Seeger’s Music

In 1940, Pete Seeger hit the road with Woody Guthrie on a tour of the United States. They played benefit concerts for migrant Californian workers and like Guthrie, Seeger spent time riding freight trains and hitchhiking around by himself, learning and exchanging songs. 

That same year, he returned to New York City and co-founded the Almanac Singers. As a regular performer on Alan Lomax’s weekly radio show Back Where I Come From, his profile grew. Throughout the 1940s, the Almanac Singers sang politically charged, socialist songs at rallies, gatherings, and on picket lines. Their best-known numbers included “Talking Union,” “Solidarity Forever” and “Which Side Are You On?”

In 1949, Seeger, alongside Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert, founded The Weavers, blending traditional folk, labor songs, American ballads, and children’s songs. Their version of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight Irene” became a major hit in 1950. 

As a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) during the 1940s, Seeger courted controversy. He performed at labor rallies with the Almanac Singers, openly championing workers’ rights and other leftist causes. 

During the Red Scare of the 1950s, Seeger’s political views caught the attention of the US Government. In 1950, he was named in the infamous Red Channels pamphlet alongside 150 other actors, writers and musicians said to be active communists or harbor communist sympathies. 

In 1955, he was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). When asked questions about his political beliefs he replied that “these are very improper questions for any American to be asked.” Seeger invoked the First Amendment (his right to free speech and association) and was subsequently charged with contempt of Congress. He spent the next 17 years as a blacklisted musician. 

Legacy

Pete Seeger was a tireless and passionate advocate for the preservation of American folk music. His renditions of classics like “Goodnight Irene” and We Shall Overcome” became anthems of the US folk revival. Seeger served as a mentor to Bob Dylan and was a driving force behind the creation of the highly influential Newport Folk Festival in 1959. 

Reemerging to mainstream attention in the 1960s, Seeger became a prominent voice in support of civil rights, international disarmament, environmental causes, and the welfare and rights of working Americans. He marched with Dr Martin Luther King Jr in the ’60s and sang Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” in 2009 at the inauguration of President Barack Obama. 

Thanks to Pete Seeger, protest songs entered the mainstream of American music. Despite being blacklisted from the early 1950s through the mid-1960s, he stuck to his political guns. Pete Seeger died in 2014 in New York City, a cultural icon and national hero at the ripe age of 94.