Renowned
for his protest songs, Seeger was blacklisted by the US
Government in the 1950s for his leftist stance. Denied
broadcast exposure, Seeger toured US college campuses spreading
his music and ethos, later calling this the "most important job
of my career".
He was
quizzed by the Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 over
whether he had sung for Communists, replying that he "greatly
resented" the implication that his work made him any less
American. Seeger was
charged with contempt of Congress, but the sentence was
overturned on appeal.
He
returned to TV in the late 1960s but had a protest song about
the Vietnam War cut from broadcast. British
singer and left-wing activist Billy Bragg who performed with
Seeger on several occasions called the singer "hugely
encouraging".
"He was a
very gentle man and intensely optimistic," he told the BBC. "He
believed in humanity and the power of music to make a
difference..."
Seeger
became a standard bearer for political causes from nuclear
disarmament to the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011...
Seeger's
influence continued down the decades, with his induction into
the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and he won a Grammy
award in 1997 for best traditional folk album, Pete. He won a
further two Grammys - another for best traditional folk album in
2008 for At 89 and best children's album in 2010...
Mark
Radcliffe, host of BBC Radio 2's Folk show, paid tribute,
saying:
"Pete Seeger repeatedly put his career, his reputation
and his personal security on the line so that he could play his
significant musical part in campaigns for civil rights,
environmental awareness and peace.
He leaves
behind a canon of songs that are both essential and true, and
his contribution to folk music will be felt far into the
future."...
*
Karzai has
formalized his suspicions with a list of
dozens of attacks that he believes the U.S.
government may have been involved in,
according to one palace official. The list
even includes the recent bomb and gun
assault on a Lebanese restaurant in Kabul...
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