RIP: Pete Seeger. 1919-2014

[gerisullivan]

Major news media are reporting that Pete Seeger died Monday, including this detailed obituary by the New York Times and this by the BBC.

Pete was 94; he would have turned 95 in May. Thanks to my move east, I had the pleasure of seeing him on his "home turf" at the Clearwater Festival. Even in his 90s, Pete was so full of joy, so full of life, that it's hard to imagine him gone.

Comments

[chiefwirehead.livejournal.com]

I met him backstage at Carnegie hall after the annual Peter Seeger/Arlo Guthrie (and families) concert. My cousin was a producer/promoter and had known him for years. Backstage was just a big family&friends party, but Pete, getting way up in years, was calming packing up and carrying his own banjos out - no roadies for him!

I read about it at morning break

[dragonet2.livejournal.com]

and started crying in the break room, then went to the private potty to cry a little more and get over it.

My brother was once a decent folk guitarist, as a teen, and we spent many summer evenings with the adoring little sister singing with her big brother out of the "Hootenanny Tonight" songbook. When we were still happy, before he got broken by Viet Nam. A lot of the songs we learned were written or performed by Pete at one time or another. I have memorized a lot of them.

Hearing about it was like losing my grandpa John again. Yes he was old, and had a good, long life. But you are never really ready to lose anyone. At least we have his music and recordings to go on.