Check out the Pete Seeger Appreciation website. There you will see what many of us feel about Pete. He was only my mentor from afar, the man who precipitated all of my positive social tendencies, the one who showed me the glory of this music and an appreciation for the traditional discipline that is what at least one side of this folk music scene is all about. The Hammer Song, the incandescent Bells Of Rhymney, beautiful arrangements and tunes for several hundred traditional ballads and songs, Weavers songs, Almanac Singers songs, union songs, accessible versions of Spanish Civil War Songs, popularizing the work of Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton and so many others. I'm glad to be able to say this man showed me the way by his shining examples all through the last half century. I MUST stand here and bar the way when this man is verbally trounced by a reurrected batch of verbal vigilantees who want to tear down all the good advancements since the New Deal in the name of maximizing the bottom lines of people who are already billionaires. This is not a diatribe against M.G. It is only a feeble try at standing up for Pete Seeger. By God, he sure stood tall through most of the last century pointing out to me and anyone with their eyes half open all the causes that it only took a bit of common sense to see the rightness of.

I am tired and rambling tonight and ought to hit the sack, but enduring a negative diatribe aimed at Pete in this thread discussing the sad loss of his abilities---not to mention the loss of his regular and valued presence in my life, yes, that is simply way over the top--and more than I will keep quiet for. Pete Seeger is the bright beacon that helped me to find my own road through the dead marshes of American show biz. For that I will always be thankful and grateful.

Art Thieme