He was political. He was uncompromising (even when he was blacklisted during the height of McCarthyism). He was honest. He was sincere. He was a father and he loved children. Most of all, he was positive that music could change the world!
I became a fan of him and his music because all these things are evident in his music.
Most people don't think of Pete Seeger when they hum "Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season)". They think of the Byrds. Many don't realize that the universally recognized anthem of the American Civil Rights Movement, "We Shall Overcome", is credited to him. He reworked an old spiritual and put it to different music. It has since been sung by countless people worldwide in their own struggles for equality.
Pete Seeger has fought to clean up the environment, particularly the once poisoned Hudson River in his native New York. He has fought for unions. He fought against the broken vision of the Vietnam War with a song called "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy", which is a song that rattled my bones the first time I heard it.
Next year Pete turns 90! That is an inspiring feat for anyone, let alone a musical legend. I just heard The Byrds' version of "Turn, Turn, Turn" on the radio. I have to say, that version was the first one I ever knew, but once I heard Pete's version I could never go back. There was something too perfect about The Byrds' version. Too much sparkling harmony! Pete just lays it down matter-of-factly. You don't have candy-coated visions of rosy-cheeked children dancing when you hear him sing it.
Pete is a towering figure of hope and peace that the world will one day miss greatly. Like his banjo used to say: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
America loves you, Pete!
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