Pete Seeger, a 16-year-old high school student, made the unconventional decision to enroll at the Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut, only to later choose a life of solitude. However, his life took a dramatic turn, becoming a string of social causes, fueled by his remarkable career as a self-proclaimed "sing-along leader."
Seeger's academic journey began at Harvard University, where he attended in the 1930s, following in the footsteps of his musicologist father, Charles Seeger, who graduated in 1908. Initially, he pursued a major in Sociology, but soon switched to playing the tenor banjo, which unfortunately didn't earn him a spot in the Harvard Jazz Band. His involvement with the pacifist/communist Harvard Student Union became so intense that he lost his scholarship, ultimately leaving Harvard in 1938.
The following year, he met actor and folksinger Will Geer, who organized the "All-American Left-Wing Folk-Song Revival Movement," a benefit concert for migrant workers in California. It was during this event that Seeger encountered Woody Guthrie and began touring with him.
In 1940, Seeger co-founded the Almanac Singers with Lee Hays, Pete Hawes, and Millard Lampell, a group dedicated to promoting unionization and opposing war. The FBI took notice, opening a file on Seeger. The group disbanded at the onset of World War II, with Seeger enlisting in the army and Guthrie joining the Merchant Marine.
After the war, Seeger started People's Songs, which later became Sing Out!, and formed a new group, The Weavers, with Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert. However, he struggled with the House Un-American Activities Committee, effectively being blacklisted. Despite this, he continued to record numerous albums, penning thousands of songs, including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer," and "Turn, Turn, Turn."
Seeger played a significant role in the 1960s, helping to establish the Greenwich Village music magazine Broadside and reorganizing the Newport Folk Festival. In 1996, he received the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance's first Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, he co-founded Clearwater, a non-profit organization that sails a 106-foot boat along the Hudson River to educate children about the dangers of pollution.
