The protest singer: changing the politics of art
Pete Seeger has lived his life with the intent to improve the lives of those around him
Julie Robison
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: Arts
There's something extraordinary in the ordinary; that's what Pete Seeger likes best. Pete Seeger, one of the foremost folk artists in America, has turned 90 years old this year and so Alec Wilkinson of The New Yorker decided to write a short, pocket-size treatise on his life. Most famous for singing "We Shall Overcome" during the 1960s Civil Rights movement, Seeger has long been a key member of nonviolent movements in America seeking equality and justice for all.
"The Protest Singer" is more a conversation with Seeger about his life than a biography. Its lucid prose manifests his unconventionality and point of view through narratives, not asking the reader to agree, but tolerate. Seeger's parents were musicians. His father, Charles Seeger, who wrote "The Purposes of Music" for a WPA music project. The first rule is, "Music, as any art, is not an end in itself, but is a means for achieving larger ends." It is therefore not surprising that the younger Seeger followed in his father's footsteps when it came to social activism throughout his life, including a brief stint in the American Communist Party. He went to Harvard University intending to become a journalist, only to leave Boston to ride his bicycle cross-country, meeting people who taught him songs passed down through oral tradition.
An unassuming and modest man, Seeger has lived his life with the intent to improve the lives of those around him. He does not consider himself an entertainer; he is a musician, passing on the songs and the past to the next generation, as those before him did, for "songs are a way of binding people to a cause. A piece of writing might be read once or twice, [but]…a song is sung over and over."
It was fascinating to find out that in 1939 Seeger began working at the Library of Congress transcribing recordings of American songs. He was later commissioned to create an index and record protest songs with Woody Gunthrie. Gunthrie, most famous for his song "This Land is Your Land," influenced generations of folk singers, including Bob Dylan, teaching them not only the words of songs but an appreciation of all people and, for Seeger, how to jump train cars.
"The Protest Singer" is more a conversation with Seeger about his life than a biography. Its lucid prose manifests his unconventionality and point of view through narratives, not asking the reader to agree, but tolerate. Seeger's parents were musicians. His father, Charles Seeger, who wrote "The Purposes of Music" for a WPA music project. The first rule is, "Music, as any art, is not an end in itself, but is a means for achieving larger ends." It is therefore not surprising that the younger Seeger followed in his father's footsteps when it came to social activism throughout his life, including a brief stint in the American Communist Party. He went to Harvard University intending to become a journalist, only to leave Boston to ride his bicycle cross-country, meeting people who taught him songs passed down through oral tradition.
An unassuming and modest man, Seeger has lived his life with the intent to improve the lives of those around him. He does not consider himself an entertainer; he is a musician, passing on the songs and the past to the next generation, as those before him did, for "songs are a way of binding people to a cause. A piece of writing might be read once or twice, [but]…a song is sung over and over."
It was fascinating to find out that in 1939 Seeger began working at the Library of Congress transcribing recordings of American songs. He was later commissioned to create an index and record protest songs with Woody Gunthrie. Gunthrie, most famous for his song "This Land is Your Land," influenced generations of folk singers, including Bob Dylan, teaching them not only the words of songs but an appreciation of all people and, for Seeger, how to jump train cars.
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