RIP Pete Seeger. You are forever in my heart and soul.

Pete just joined the biggest Union of them all. All I can say is thanks. Thanks to my Mother, Pete's music was among the first I ever heard.........and the first I ever played and sang. Pete's music was everybody's music. He was an American treasure for sure, but more significantly he was a citizen and champion of the planet. Using words and a banjo, he fought for us all, and called on us to join him in song, and the process of passing it along. So long, it's been good to know ya...........Where have all the flowers gone?

Arlo so sorry for the loss of your friend ,this is how I will always remember the two of you .



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSIy0wq_-8A

oh what the heck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SFlKgaTMeI

Condolences to the Seeger and Guthrie families. A sweet voice, an entertaining and thought provoking soul.

None of us gets to stay forever.

Make every day meaningful and have nothing to regret.

I wish I could have met you, Pete. (But I DID meet your Grandson, Tao).

I have lost my entire senior family and my best friend. My anchors. I find it comforting to remember that it's not the last few days or hours of someone's life that brings you close, it's all the your moments together in life. My condolences to Arlo & family and Seeger family.

So sorry Arlo to hear that your friend and mentor Pete has left us. You both have been instrumental in how I see the world and what we can all do to try to make it a better place. You and your family are in our thoughts.

New member in the ever after band, Rest In Glorious Peace

Hey adg, so sorry for the loss of your friend Pete. Love and Hug from Louise.

I was elated to hear he was out chopping wood less than 2 weeks ago. Visualizing that and him singing..... I feel quite blessed to have lived in one of the eras in which he impacted on so many people's lives. I'm 55 and he truly helped shape who I am today. I am compelled to say thank-you to his family and friends for sharing him with all of us. My granddaughter is almost six years old and I hope to inspire her the way he helped inspire all of us. If I am successful, she will be another generation following in his footsteps. He belongs to the ages now.

Sitting there in Carnegie Hall and waiting -- then out they came: Pete and Arlo. Every year; truly a magical moment. I was there again this past year and Pete was as feisty as ever. Thanksgiving will not be the same.

Thank you, Pete!

One of my dreams was to see Pete Seeger on stage. I was able to make this dream come true. Pete and Arlo together on stage! It was wonderful!
RIP Pete.

Reading Dave Van Ronk's autobiography I was amazed at how well he captured my own feeling's about Pete Seeger back in 1958. By Dave Van Ronk:

A few days ago someone handed me the latest copy of 'Sing Out' and told me to turn to Pete Seeger's column, "Johnny Appleseed, Jr." if I wanted to work up a really fine rage. I accepted the proffered magazine and my friend stepped back a few paces and waited for the explosion. There was no explosion. Of course, I disagreed with the article as expected (the contents of same are of no importance here) but I get no satisfaction out of disagreeing with Pete Seeger. I think the man is really great, in almost every sense of the word, and it saddens me to constantly find myself in the opposition camp every time he ventures an opinion. But when he sings—

Artists of Seeger's genre are hard to come by in this day and age. He is, in my opinion, taste and honesty personified, and a Seeger concert is a lesson which no singer of folksongs can afford to miss. When he speaks on the stage, his voice rarely rises above a conversational level, and yet he is heard. There is no phony upstaging at all. As a matter of fact, "stage presence" of the Broadway variety is entirely absent. Seeger does not act; he is.

I think that this is the key to his entire greatness. The man has no need to act in order to establish contact with this audience. He genuinely respects the people who are listening to him and refuses to insult their sensibilities with insincere theatrics. And they respond, not to an actor or stage personality, but to the man.

He treats his material in much the same way. I doubt if Seeger considers himself a "folklorist" per se, but rather he looks at folkmusic as a human being, subject to love, hate, enthusiasm, sorrow -- in short, all of the emotions with which folkmusic deals. He is not "preserving" folklore but living it, and so are we. And there is no dichotomy between the performer and the context of his songs. This is the reason why one never gets the "isn't this cute" or "how quaint" impression from Seeger's singing. When he sings, all of him is involved. Which is another lesson that many singers of folksongs could profit by.

Again, I can't say I think much of Pete's point of view on many subjects. He is forever espousing causes which at best leave me cold. But I can't say that I think he would be better off without his causes and opinions. However wrong I happen to think they may be, they reflect a genuine concern with the real world which, to my way of thinking, is an indispensable part of a whole person, which I think Pete Seeger is.

The tragedy is that there are almost none like him. He is almost unique and insofar as such people in folkmusic are rare, then it becomes necessary to form "societies for the preservation of folklore" -- or perhaps the word should be embalming.

That was great, thanks H! Glad to see you around