The musician Bruce Springsteen called a “living archive of music”
The man who brought a soundtrack to liberation struggles passed away in January 2014, and the next day, Bruce Springsteen rendered homage to whom he called a “great hero”.
While on tour in South Africa, the rock icon celebrated the life of his friend Pete Seeger, saying, “We’re humble to be here tonight in the land of [Nelson] Mandela, a great freedom fighter. We are here tonight in his grace, because he made it possible for us to be here. Pete, back home, was a very courageous freedom fighter also.”
In his 94 years, Seeger brought about the renaissance of American folk song, and according to The Guardian, he’s “the man who brought politics to music”. His selfless devotion to uniting listeners through songs brought the New Yorker to collaborate with artists and movements alike, igniting protests with his rendition of John Lennon’s ‘Give Peace a Chance’ and bringing potent tracks like the gospel choir ‘We Shall Overcome’ to the Civil Rights movement.
A champion of communal singing, Seeger shared singing duties for ’We Shall Overcome’ at Barack Obama’s 2009 presidential inauguration with none other than Bruce Springsteen, who had frequently expressed his admiration for his old friend, a selfless mentor to young musicians, singing for peace with nothing but his banjo and soft-spoken lyrics.
Springsteen appeared at a 90th birthday concert for the reviver of folk, calling him “a living archive of America’s music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture to nudge history along, to push American events towards more humane and justified ends”. He proudly stood by his collaborator on stage at Madison Square Garden, calling him “a stealth dagger through the heart of our country’s illusions about itself”.
Despite being a blunt representative of America’s ’70s rock revolution, with elaborate arrangements and complex musical structures diverging sharply from Seeger’s minimalist instrumentation and modest vocals, ‘The Boss’ was able to make the latter’s music his own.
In 2006, the New Jersey songwriter took a page from Seeger’s book and interpreted 13 of his most beloved songs in We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, and if this isn’t platforming your mate’s material with pride, I don’t know what is. The rock and roller lent himself to a whole new genre, releasing what was his first album of entirely non-Springsteen music.
The activist folk musician stuck with his views and his charity work until old age, so that an army of musicians expressed words of mourning at his passing. Springsteen sang ‘We Shall Overcome’ once more in his honour, quoting Civil Rights advocate and representative John Lewis while introducing the song, saying the fierce anthem “gave you a sense of faith, a sense of strength to continue to struggle, to continue to push on and lose your sense of fear… Once you heard this song, you took it to heart – you were prepared to march into hell’s fire”.
Seeger introduced Martin Luther King to the song and advised Civil Rights activists to form their own group, the Freedom Singers, writing, “Songs have accompanied every liberation movement in history. These songs will reaffirm your faith in the future of mankind”, standing as one of a small few musical legends who left a mark on the world without losing their ideals to stardom.
