Pete Seeger with Banjo. Photo by Paragon Light

Pete Seeger is a towering figure in American life. At 92 years of age, his lifespan equals nearly two-fifths of America’s time spent as a nation. His contributions can be counted in the millions of children who grew up singing his songs of peace and hope and in the numerous social issues his deeds and music have helped to advance. He has regularly been put forth as an obvious candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize, while he also spent 17 years in the shadows of the witch-hunting McCarthy era after being blacklisted.

A masterful musician with over 70 years of performance under his belt, a devoted husband for nearly as long, a father and grandfather, a hardy wood chopper and maple syrup boiler (still!), and a commanding spokesman for human rights, peace, and the environment, perhaps what makes Pete most remarkable is that throughout his long life, he’s remained true to his passions and principles. In fact, his dedication has only grown stronger and deeper relative to the challenges he and our country have faced—his personal stories bearing witness to some of our past century’s most scaring and triumphant events.

A collector of folk songs both here and abroad, perhaps Pete’s greatest achievement, and the one, which extends his reputation beyond borders and across the globe, is his belief in music and storytelling as a unifying force.

So strong is this belief in music as a universal carrier of memory, motivation and spirit, that as a performer Pete Seeger is relatively self-effacing, choosing rather to see to it that something of his genius has ignited its flame in the hearts and minds of his audience, the song to be carried into the lifetimes and travels of the listener, as he himself caught the fire from the myriad souls who inspired his work.