Pete's Influence

Premier Sponsors

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our privacy policy which includes details of cookie usage. Hide this notice

Pete Seeger's Music

Join This Group

Pete's banjo style is interesting and innovative. This group is for to Pete's music: style, teaching, concerts, & discography

100 Members, Created 1/28/2014 -

Administrators: raharris (owner)

< Back to Home

From kwfolk1 on 4/2/2019 2:02:34 PM

IMHO: Politically and culturally, Pete Seeger was an idealist and God bless him for that. From everything I’ve ever read, learned or been told about him, Pete endeavored to live by those idealistic values that many of the topical songs he both wrote and sang over his long career espoused. The world, however does not tolerate idealists very well at all. More times than not, idealists are the first victims of the very world view they endeavor to create. I feel that had Pete lived to see many of the ideals he used songs to promote, he would have eventually irritated and come under the scrutiny of some of the very same people who had once praised his efforts. I truly believe that had the United States adopted socialism (a truly unworkable form of government due to the negative aspects of human nature) during Pete’s lifetime, he would have been widely criticized and besmirched (taken to the woodshed) by the very same intellectuals and elites that had once honored him for his efforts.

That said: I still hold with the notion that Pete Seeger was best thing to have ever happened to the American Folk Music movement. He was a fine songwriter & a phenomenal entertainer. Even when he was preforming in large auditorium, he made you feel like he was in your kitchen, sitting across the table from you and playing that long neck banjo of his till the cows came home. Plus, Pete was the best song-leader there ever was, bar none!

He will be missed... At least by me, he will…

21 Comments
	Paul R says: 4/2/2019 2:49:11 PM Unworkable? Compare the mess you have in the United States to the programmes in much of the developed world, such as Scandinavia. For example, I wouldn't trade my health care for your disastrous system that leaves so many out in the cold and/or out of pocket. Pete was pilloried by a capitalist regime that picks on those who are least able to defend themselves. Pete later redefined his embrace of the Communist party. Many individuals came to see the Soviet system as just another form of totalitarianism. However, setting up social programmes that assist those in need is a far cry from dictatorship. Pete would probably be fascinated to see how capitalism is allied with regimes existing in places like communist China. I wonder how he'd see the irony.
	From Greylock to Bean Blossom says: 4/2/2019 3:16:25 PM Mess in the USA compared to Canada! From the figures I see, over 300,000 a year come to the USA from Canada while about 8,000 a year go north. Capitalism pillars the lower class compared to socialism?? Yes, there is historically great upward mobility in socialism. In fact there is one mobility in socialism and that is down for all. Look at Venezuela.
	From Greylock to Bean Blossom says: 4/2/2019 3:59:58 PM KW, I do agree with you that Pete was an idealist and that he did walk his talk all the way.
	Jim Yates says: 4/3/2019 5:13:52 AM Venezuela is not a socialist country. There is probably no totally socialist country thank goodness, but who would want to abandon all socialism. There are elements of socialism that most Canadians and Americans would miss. Let's keep old age pension, unemployment insurance, welfare, health care. These are all examples of socialism at work.
	Paul R says: 4/3/2019 9:21:37 AM 300,000 a year? We'd be without a population in a little over ten years! Where did you get these "facts"? Venezuela is a country run by a whack-job. Corruption runs in all systems, Democracy and capitalism are not the same. The Scandinavian countries are functioning democracies with many aspects of socialism (and capitalism). China is a dictatorship allied with capitalism. It's seldom, if ever, a black and white comparison. youtube.com/watch?v=CVX3vm7elHI
	From Greylock to Bean Blossom says: 4/4/2019 8:37:26 AM Paul, excuse my typo. You are right. I put in an extra zero. It is about 30,000 a year coming south and about 9,000 a year going north. My error. sorry.
	Bill Anderson says: 4/4/2019 9:14:25 AM I am a big Pete Seeger fan. I am a conservative politically, and very disappointed in the lefties we have now, but I really admire Pete. He was sincere, hard working, honest, treated everybody well.... and in my opinion legendary as a person and musician
	calypsojimmy says: 5/3/2019 11:04:40 AM Clearly, from this posting here, Pete is, in absentia, still quite capable of riling up or pumping up any group of conversationalists. It's interesting to see so many posters here speak so well of his life and his music, and speak so poorly about his politics... his politics were at the very heart of everything he did and said. That was PETE. I don't think he was kidding when he sang 'Which Side Are You On.'
	petersj12 says: 5/3/2019 10:41:52 PM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	petersj12 says: 5/13/2019 5:43:32 AM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	petersj12 says: 5/25/2019 10:10:21 PM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	petersj12 says: 5/26/2019 1:14:51 PM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	kwfolk1 says: 5/26/2019 1:57:07 PM If everybody was like Pete, socialism would work. Unfortunately, everyone is not like Pete. It's a dog eat dog world we live in. Always has been! Always will be! Capitalism is fueled by the seven deadly sins, the downside of human nature & that ain't going to change. The best we can hope for are laws that safeguard the innocent. Human nature is why capitalism works & socialism & communism don't. The only way those two forms of government work is via the use of a heavy-handed government. I refer you to Hungry and Poland when the Soviet Union used tanks to enforce their dominance.
	kwfolk1 says: 5/26/2019 1:58:21 PM And, yes! Pete was a darn good banjo player, as well as a fantastic entertainer and song leader. Boy, could he get people singing along!
	kwfolk1 says: 5/26/2019 1:59:19 PM He is sorely missed....
	Jim Yates says: 5/26/2019 10:11:53 PM Pure socialism doesn't work. Pure communism doesn't work. Pure capitalism doesn't work. What would work would be taking the good parts of each and leaving the bad. Canada, The U.S.A. and Great Britain have tried to do this and it works to a certain extent. While I can't think of any parts of communism we've applied, there are plenty of examples of capitalism and socialism that we wouldn't want to discard.
	Jim Yates says: 5/26/2019 10:15:15 PM After reading the administrator, raharris's description of the purpose of this group, I feel we've drifted off course in this discussion.
	kwfolk1 says: 5/27/2019 10:21:16 AM Jim's right! My bad! Sorry... But, then again, when it comes to Pete, things do tend to intertwine... Just saying...
	petersj12 says: 6/29/2019 6:31:56 PM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	petersj12 says: 7/26/2019 7:56:08 PM Oh by the way, he was a pretty good banjo player!
	kwfolk1 says: 7/29/2019 3:37:08 PM I watched a PBS program about Pete the other night & I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't place more emphasis on Pete's influence on the 5-string banjo (longneck) + his massive contribution to folk music in general.
Post a Comment
You must be logged in and a member of this group to post a comment.

MP3: What Would The Prophets Say? Linked by reese158 2 years ago
MP3: Ten Years On Linked by reese158 2 years ago
MP3: You'll Never Leave Texas Alive Linked by reese158 2 years ago
MP3: Shutdown The System Linked by reese158 2 years ago
Blog Entry: Group info Linked by petersj12 6 years ago
Forum Post: (untitled) Linked by raharris 7 years ago
	Supplement to page 7 of Seeger's banjo book - starter version of "Skip to My Lou Linked by phdm 7 years ago
Forum Post: (untitled) Linked by raharris 7 years ago
	This Land Is Your Land - Marc Nerenberg - clawhammer style Linked by Marc Nerenberg 9 years ago
	Hobo's Lullaby Linked by Marc Nerenberg 9 years ago: Hobo's Lullaby is a song by "The Texas Drifter" (Goebel Reeves) who was a one-time hobo, turned country singer who specialized in songs about hobos. I first heard this song sung by Pete Seeger.