Explore the Audiobook: Disk 1 Disk 2
Will Ackerman
1. Imagine – Disk 2 Track 01: Imagine – Will Ackerman’s new age composition sets the stage as Pete recites Jeff Haynes’ evocative poem about the Underground Railroad. Spoken word, in the character of Harriet Tubman, is interwoven with Pete’s narration and adds a profound sense of emotion and reality to the story.
Music written by Will Ackerman and Heidi Breyer (In a Region of Clouds). Poem written by Jeff Haynes (Imagine). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Will Ackerman (guitar), Rob Scheps (saxophone), Heidi Breyer (piano), Gha’il Rhodes Benjamin (spoken word).
Jane Kelly Williams in the studio
2. Little Girl – American folk music and lyrics contour Pete’s spoken words perfectly as Pete tells the story of how and why he adapted the African American children’s song, Little Bird, Little Bird, Fly Through My Window.
Music written by Jane Kelly Williams (Fields of Bounty). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Jane Kelly Williams (vocals, guitar), Dave Richards (bass), Jeff Haynes (percussion).
Jeff Haynes
3. Abiyoyo – African music is interwoven with Pete’s narration as he tells this South African folk story about a little boy whose father is exiled then embraced for ridding the town of a dangerous monster.
Music written by Samite Mulondo (I Have Seen It All). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Samite Mulondo (vocals, litungu), Jeff Haynes (percussion).
Timothy Hill
4. Father – World beat transports listeners to a place of peace and reflection as Pete shares the thought provoking and gently humorous story of his father and his disillusionment with so-called scientific “progress.”
Music arranged by Timothy Hill and Weave (Traditional Indian/variations of Pete Seeger’s song “Turn, Turn, Turn”). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Joe Bertolozzi (gongs), Jeff Haynes (percussion), Weave: Sanjay Cherubala (vocals, mridangam), Marjorie Johnson (vocals), Timothy Hill (vocals), Seth Markel (vocals).
Emile Menasché
5. MLK 14 – Jazz sets the stage for this story as Pete describes the bold and startlingly insightful letter, written by 14-year old Martin Luther King, Jr., that set the record straight as to why inter-racial relationships first started.
Music written by Charlie Mingus (Goodbye Pork Pie Hat). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Emile Menasché (guitar).
6. Double Helix – Bottle flute sounds, similar to Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man, accompany Pete as he recites an evocative poem about science and the miracle of our DNA.
Music written by Jeff Haynes. Poem written by Karen D. Taylor. Pete Seeger (spoken word), Jeff Haynes (bottle flute, percussion).
C. Lanzbom and Jeff Haynes
7. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena – New age guitar and vocals accompany Pete and Issachar Miron, a polish immigrant who escaped the Holocaust, as they tell their stories of how Tzena, Tzena, Tzena was written and how Pete and The Weavers helped to popularize it.
Original music written by Issachar Miron and Jehiel Hagges. Arranged by Jeff Haynes. Pete Seeger (spoken word), Issachar Miron (spoken word), C. Lanzbom (guitar), Jeff Haynes (percussion), Matt Turk (mandolin).
Pete Seeger in the studio
8. Rendezvous with Death – Bluegrass banjo and evocative lyrics about a poetic death are the perfect fit for Pete’s spirited and haunting story about his Uncle, Allen Seeger, and the overwhelmingly popular poem he wrote before he died while serving in the French Foreign Legion.
Music written by Richie Stearns (Ribbons and Bows). Poem written by Alan Seeger. Pete Seeger (spoken word), Richie Stearns (vocals and banjo), Doug Weiss (bass), Jeff Haynes (percussion), Yaeir Heber (washboard).
9. Talking Leaves – Authentic Native American vocals and flutes accompany Pete as he tells the intriguing story of how the Cherokee alphabet was invented and the heartbreaking ‘trail of tears’ that followed.
Music written by Julie Panek-Harris (Talking Leaves). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Joan Henry (Native American chanting/vocals), Julie Panek-Harris (Native American flutes), Timothy Hill (harmonic singing), Jeff Haynes (percussion).
10. Woody Guthrie – Bluegrass accompanies Pete as he tells the story of when Alan Lomax first recognized the amazing talent of Woody Guthrie as a ballad maker and as well as a ballad singer and offered to record all of his songs at the Library of Congress.
Music written by Joel Henry (Old Cluck Hen). Pete Seeger (spoken word), Joel Henry (banjo), Sara Milonovich (violin).
Bianca Merkley in the studio
11. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? – Disk 2 Track 12: Where Have All the Flowers Gone – Classical guitar and violin render this indelible melody as Pete tells the story, beginning with the Cossack soldiers and ending with the German actress, Marlene Dietrich, of how he came to write his lyrics and how the song was embraced around the world.
Music written by Pete Seeger. Pete Seeger (spoken word), Jeff Haynes (percussion), Bianca Merkley (vocals) Sean Harkness (guitar), Sabina Torosjan (violin).
12. Copyright Information
Jeff Haynes (spoken word, percussion), Samite Mulondo (mbira), Tony Cedras (vocals, guitar).