Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 06 May 09 - 04:58 AM

from The Hollywood Reporter

'Springsteen ... talked at length about a man who he described as "looking like your 90-year-old grandpa, if your grandpa could kick your ass!" More seriously, he said, "At 90, he remains a stealth dagger into the country's illusions about itself." Springsteen then sang his "The Ghost of Tom Joad" as a duet with Tom Morello.

With many of the performers joining together for group numbers, the evening's highlights were numerous. They included a haunting "Fare Thee Well," performed by Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, the McGarrigle Sisters and Bruce Cockburn; a dazzling banjo medley by Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka, which playfully included "Happy Birthday to You"; Joan Baez, showcasing her still-lustrous voice with the still-relevant "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"; Billy Bragg's a cappella rendition of "The Internationale," with his own rewritten lyrics; a rousing "We Shall Overcome," led by Seeger; Kris Kristofferson and Ani DiFranco's amusing duet on the children's song "Hole in the Bucket"; Richie Havens, looking like a biblical prophet, reprising his hit "Freedom"; and a killer lineup of Taj Mahal, Toshi Reagon, Steve Earle, Warren Haynes and Seeger trading verses on "Sailin' Up, Sailin' Down." '

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 06 May 09 - 06:34 AM

from Bergen Now

'Actor Tim Robbins told the audience that at this birthday party, nothing would make Pete happier than to hear everyone singing along. Learning about the history of some of the songs, learning how to harmonize during Pete's "Amazing Grace", listening to Peggy Seeger describe some fun moments in her life with Pete and the touching tribute she shared with the audience, made it an event hard to forget.'

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 06 May 09 - 06:39 AM

from Bergen Now

'Actor Tim Robbins told the audience that at this birthday party, nothing would make Pete happier than to hear everyone singing along. Learning about the history of some of the songs, learning how to harmonize during Pete's "Amazing Grace", listening to Peggy Seeger describe some fun moments in her life with Pete and the touching tribute she shared with the audience, made it an event hard to forget.'

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: Hearthale
Date: 06 May 09 - 09:28 AM

Wonderful inspiring event. Happy Birthday Pete. Enjoyed everything but particularly interested in Tommy Sands's Little Boxes followed by a jig emanating from the Boxes melody. I wonder how many noticed that the intro he played was from 17th century Turlough O'Carolan's Planxty Hewlett. Are both melodies the same?

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 06 May 09 - 11:40 PM

then there's Billboard

'Pete Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, whom many first saw during their historic singalong of "This Land Is Your Land" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before the inauguration of President Obama, led the rousing call to disarm "Bring 'Em Home" with Tyler Ramsey and Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, guitarist Warren Haynes, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band Horns Section. Joan Baez delivered one of the most wrenching performances of the night, the folk spiritual "Jacob's Ladder," in an unvarnished arrangement that daringly put on display some of her voice's time-worn nuances. It was one of the most riveting moments of the night and true to the essence of Ms. Baez.'

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 09 May 09 - 02:13 AM

Reviews keep appearing in the press:

this one in The Huffington Post:

Outlasting the Bastards: Learning and Applying the Pete Seeger Lesson

'... the huge, almost five hour long Clearwater Benefit concert in a sold-out Madison Square Garden that featured nearly a hundred of our country's best folk and jazz musicians all singing and playing their hearts out in tribute to the first 90 hard-lived and hard-fought years that have made the musical activist legend. There's no way for me to describe this experience in words and no way to improve on the musicians' various tributes but Bruce Springsteen's words did encapsulate well the Seeger secret of success: the "stubborn, defiant and nasty optimism" that Pete needed to stand on conscience in the darkest of hours with those like Paul Robeson and Martin Luther King; to truly believe "we shall overcome" and the "stubborn, defiant and nasty optimism" which has ultimately allowed him to "outlast the bastards".'

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: mark gregory
Date: 10 May 09 - 09:05 AM

... The Irish Times

'HALFWAY through his 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, Pete Seeger urged everybody in the 18,000-strong audience to join in an a cappella version of Amazing Grace.

“There’s no such thing as a wrong note as long as you’re singing it,” he said.

Fifty of the biggest names in American music, including Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez and Kris Kristofferson, joined Seeger onstage for the 4½-hour event. It had less the feel of a concert, however, than of a giant sing-along with a group of old friends.

Seeger has been singing and campaigning on behalf of progressive causes for almost 70 years, standing with trade unions and migrant workers in the 1930s and 1940s, opposing the Cold War in the 1950s, marching for civil rights and against the Vietnam war in the 1960s, joining the struggle against South African apartheid in the 1970s, and focusing on environmental activism ever since.'

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 10 May 09 - 10:39 PM

To celebrate Pete Seeger! Here on beautiful Whidbey Island, over 200 people overflowed the UU church as a dozen fine local musicians played songs, both Pete's and Woody's, and told anecdotes. Everyone sang along with vigour as the sun set over Puget Sound. Carrot cake was served to all. I would rather have been here than Madison Square G. Pete was here in spirit. So was Woody whom we celebrated on Earth Day. The church celebrated Pete again during their sunday service. (He is one of them.)
The MC read the following wonderful quote:
"Once upon a time, wasn't singing a part of everyday life as much as talking, physical exercise and religion. Our distant ancestors, wherever they were in the world, sang while pounding grain, paddling canoes or walking long journeys. Can we begin to make our lives once more all the peace? Finding the right songs, singing them over and over is a way to start. And when one person taps out a beat while another leads into a melody or when three people discover a harmony they never knew existed or a crowd joins in on a chorus in order to raise the ceiling a few feet higher.... then they know there is hope for the world."   -Pete Seeger
(I feel there may be a word or two missing but have not yet found MC to be sure. If I do I'll cop another hug, too!)

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: cobber
Date: 10 May 09 - 10:56 PM

In the end I couldn't get down to Melbourne. I had a few problems on the farm that took precedence so just for a while I took a break and sat up on the hill looking down on the valley and played my dulcimer and sang "Oh had I a golden thread". It still felt like being part of something great and the work went better for doing it.

Subject: RE: Pete Seeger 90th Celebrations
From: Joybell
Date: 11 May 09 - 10:26 PM

There were lots of people joining in from afar, cobber. So nice to hear about your part in it all.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: For Pete's Sake Sing Day - Pete's 90th, May 3
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 09 - 11:13 PM

Media Reviews to date

Star-Studded Celebration Marks Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday (Voice of America)
Live Review: Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday (LiveDaily)
Outlasting the Bastards: Learning and Applying the Pete Seeger Lesson (Huffington Post)
Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration at MSG (Village Voice)
This land is his land: Pete Seeger turns 90 (The Age)
Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday (Billboard)
Seeger's 90th birthday in New York (Variety)
Stars come out for Pete Seeger's 90th birthday celebration (Bergen Now)
Pete Seeger 90th Birthday Concert (Hollywood Reporter)
Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp Salute Seeger's 90th (Rolling Stone)
Pete Seeger celebrates 90th with musician pals (LA Times)
Tribute to Pete Seeger (Democracy Now)
Pete Seeger Celebrates 90th With a Concert (New York Times)

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