Life from the Left
By Jeffrey Weis
Published: Saturday, July 16, 2005
For people with a particular taste in music, Pete Seeger is still a cultural icon. For too many others, mentioning his name gets a blank look and a question: ‘Is he related to Bob?’
Well, no. Pete (he insists on being called Pete) was one of the creators of modern folk music. He’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Songs that he wrote, helped write or helped make famous include ‘If I Had a Hammer,’ ‘We Shall Overcome,’ ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ and ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?’
Music is not Pete’s only legacy, though. As he puts it, he was a lefty. Actually, he was a member of the Communist Party USA in the 1930s and early 1940s, and he sang at Communist rallies and events.
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