Pete Seeger: A rebel with a cause – but a less confrontational attitude
Without him... folk music would not have flourished as it did
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The political slant of Pete Seeger’s songs was not accidental: he viewed songs as a cement helping glue communities together when they were under stress, and he tirelessly spread the word in person, playing in local union halls, assembly rooms and schools – even when blacklisted during the McCarthy era.
But there was a conservative streak to Seeger’s leftism. Where his firebrand friend Woody Guthrie’s guitar was emblazoned with the slogan “This machine kills fascists”, Seeger’s banjo bore the more ameliorative claim: “This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender” – an indication of a less confrontational attitude.
Only when Bob Dylan transformed the folk scene in the mid-’60s was Seeger’s dominance threatened. It’s unarguable that without Seeger swaddling folk music in a chunky-knit Arran sweater of activist righteousness, it would not have flourished as it did in the later 20th century; nor that the course of ‘60s radicalism would have effected such sweeping changes.
It’s a fitting tribute to his ornery spirit that Seeger may be the only performer to be awarded the highest cultural honours of both the United States and Cuba.
Andy Gill is The Independent’s music critic
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments