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We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger

We Shall Overcome: An Hour With Legendary Folk Singer & Activist Pete Seeger

Today we spend the hour with the legendary folk singer, banjo player, storyteller and activist Pete Seeger. For over 60 years Pete Seeger has been an American icon.

In the 1940s he performed in the Alamanac Singers with Woody Guthrie as well as the Weavers. In the 1950s he opposed Senator Joseph McCarthy"s witch hunt and was almost jailed for refusing to answer questions before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He helped popularize the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome." In the 1960s he was a vocal critic of the Vietnam War and inspired a generation of protest singers. He was later at the center of the environmental and anti-nuclear movements. At the age of 87, Pete Seeger continues to perform and be politically active.

In 2004 he recorded a song about the Iraq war called "Bring Them Home." He was joined on the song by Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Billy Bragg.

And his music continues to move listeners. Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to Pete Seeger by releasing "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions." The album features a collection of songs that were once performed by Seeger.

In 2004 Pete Seeger joined us in our Firehouse studio to talk about his life and perform a few songs. I began by asking him about his childhood.

* Pete Seeger

For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359. Our website is www.democracynow.org. Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.

Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma. Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.

Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards, Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph, Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu, Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.