Pete Seeger (L) and Bruce Springsteen (R) performduring the “We are One” Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009 in Washington, DC (AFP/File, Mandel Ngan)
The banjo-picking troubadour who sang for the working man, college students and various presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage died Monday at the age of 94.
In addition to being America’s best-loved folksinger and an untiring environmentalist, Pete Seeger was a national treasure. He was alway at the forefront of the labor movement, the struggle for Civil Rights, the peace and anti-war movements, and the fight for a clean world. He was a beacon for hope for millions of people all over the world. Once blacklisted from national television for being unafraid to voice his opinions, he was given the nation’s highest artistic honors at the Kennedy Center in December 1994. In January 1996 he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Although he left Harvard during his second year, in the spring of 1996 he was awarded the Harvard Arts Medal, presented annually to a Harvard graduate who has made an important contribution to the arts.