Pete Seeger, May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014
We did not have the good fortune to have Pete Seeger up on the Infinity Hall stage, but his music and influence have resonated from our stage through his many friends and followers that we have hosted over the years.
Two years ago Arlo Guthrie was performing at Infinity Hall and he told a story about playing with Pete at Symphony Space, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was the fall of 2011, the height of the Occupy movement and after the concert was over Pete turned to Arlo and said,
“Come on Arlo, let’s get everyone to march downtown to join the kids down in Zuccotti Park”.
“Pete “, said Arlo, “That’s like 90 blocks away and you’re walking with two canes!”
But Pete was not about to be dissuaded. He joined the march and walked nearly 2 miles with hundreds of protesters, sharing his energy and optimism with another generation of activists.
Dar Williams and the Nields both paid tribute to Pete during their concert here last week . They spoke about his music of course, but it was Pete’s courage and strength in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee that they both focused on. The Neilds and Dar implored the audience to go read the transcripts from the hearings. Dar said she once got an entire summer camp to read the transcripts . After the kids finished the reading, a ten year old boy turned to Dar and said,
“It sounded like the congressmen were the ones on trial by the end of it.”
Janis Ian, who has played several times on the Infinity Stage, was close to Pete. Upon hearing of his passing she wrote:
“One of my earliest childhood memories was being dangled on Pete’s knee, while his banjo rested on the other. I cannot imagine a life without Pete. He informed my moral and ethical being, through his songs, through the righteous life he led. He took on giants, and he beat them. And through it all he remained approachable and human. As an artist and a human being, I would be proud to leave that kind of legacy.”
Another favorite of Infinity Hall, Tom Paxton, was a friend to Pete. “What I learned from Pete was how electric he was”, said Tom. “That energy came from his belief in music, an unwavering faith that this was something worth doing. That this was a game worth the candle, as Dave Von Ronk would have said. He believed in all his heart in the power of song.”
I grew up listening to Pete Seeger. Singing his songs in school, in church, around campfires. Like Janis Ian, I have a hard time imagining life without Pete. He taught us a lot about music, about courage and humility, about passion and conviction. I saw him play a few times; one time I even had a close encounter. It was at the Clearwater festival; the music on stage had ended and as I was walking past the food booths I turned a corner and found myself face to face with Pete. He had his famous banjo slung around his neck. He said hello and then he swung the banjo around and began to play “If I had a Hammer”. A crowd gathered and pretty soon a spontaneous chorus was belting out Pete’s song; kind of a folk singing flash mob. A verse or two later Pete disappeared, leaving us singing on our own. When the song was over we looked around and laughed; Pete had inspired us all to get together and sing and then he quietly slipped away, leaving us to carry on.
By Jon Riedeman
Infinity Music Hall & Bistro 