Pete Seeger
Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably its recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, Seeger re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture, workers' rights, and environmental causes. A prolific songwriter, his best-known songs include "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (with additional lyrics by Joe Hickerson), "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" (with Lee Hays of the Weavers), "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (also with Hays), and "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season), which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement. "Flowers" was a hit recording for the Kingston Trio (1962); Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962); and Johnny Rivers (1965). "If I Had a Hammer" was a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963) while the Byrds had a number one hit with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in 1965. Seeger was one of the folk singers responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists), which became the acknowledged anthem of the civil rights movement, soon after folk singer and activist Guy Carawan introduced it at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960. In the PBS American Masters episode "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song", Seeger said it was he who changed the lyric from the traditional "We will overcome" to the more singable "We shall overcome". |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 3, 1919 (New York City), Died January 27, 2014 (Manhattan)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1950 - 1961
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, guitar, banjo
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 51 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 76280 | 5/4/1950 | Around the world | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 76281 | 5/4/1950 | Tzena, tzena, tzena | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 76420 | 5/26/1950 | Whispering | Gordon Jenkins Orchestra | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 76421 | 5/26/1950 | Tzena, tzena, tzena | Gordon Jenkins Orchestra | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 76422 | 5/26/1950 | Goodnight Irene | Gordon Jenkins Orchestra | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 76423 | 5/26/1950 | When I grow too old to dream | Gordon Jenkins Orchestra | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80077 | 10/24/1950 | Lonesome traveler | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist, guitar | |||
Decca | 80078 | 10/24/1950 | So long | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80127 | 11/3/1950 | (The wreck of the) John B | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80128 | 11/3/1950 | Midnight special | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80129 | 11/3/1950 | The roving kind | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80130 | 11/3/1950 | The drinking gourd | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80139 | 11/6/1950 | Trouble in mind | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80140 | 11/6/1950 | Along the Colorado trail | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80141 | 11/6/1950 | Suliram | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80142 | 11/6/1950 | I know where I'm going ; Hush little baby | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80845 | 4/9/1951 | Along the Colorado trail | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80974 | 5/4/1951 | The frozen logger | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80975 | 5/4/1951 | Follow the drinking gourd | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80976 | 5/4/1951 | Wake up, darling Cory (Darling Corey) | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80977 | 5/4/1951 | Greensleeves | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 80978 | 5/4/1951 | Easy rider blues | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 81070 | 5/9/1951 | Greensleeves | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 81178 | 6/12/1951 | When the Saints go marching in | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist | |||
Decca | 81179 | 6/12/1951 | Run home to Mama | The Weavers | instrumentalist, banjo, guitar, vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Seeger, Pete," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/209241.
Seeger, Pete. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/209241.
"Seeger, Pete." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Pete Seeger
Discogs: Pete Seeger
Allmusic: Pete Seeger
Apple Music: Pete Seeger
Grove: Pete Seeger
IMDb: Pete Seeger
Britannica: Pete Seeger
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Seeger, Pete, 1919-2014 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50006375
Wikidata: Pete Seeger - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q244441
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/27248780
MusicBrainz: Pete Seeger - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/af18a9bc-e4ab-4068-9489-b64e8186fcf1
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