There is currently a movement afoot to encourage the Nobel Prize Committee to award a Peace Prize to Pete Seeger.
http://www.nobelprize4pete.org/
Most of us know his songs and music if not his voice:

Essential Songs:

Where Have All the Flowers Gone
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)
If I Had a Hammer
We Shall Overcome
Down by the Riverside
Waste Deep in the Big Muddy
Last Train to Nuremburg
What Did You Learn in School Today?
Guantanamera



To Quote from The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

Pete Seeger’s contribution to folk music, both in terms of its revival and survival, cannot be overstated. With the possible exception of Woody Guthrie, Seeger is the greatest influence on folk music of the last century. Born in New York City, he was the son of musicologist Charles Seeger. He took up the banjo in his teens and in 1938, at the age of 19, assisted noted folk archivist and field recorder Alan Lomax on his song-collecting trips through the American South. He soon began performing on banjo, guitar and vocals.

In 1940, he formed a highly politicized folk trio, the Almanac Singers, which recorded union songs and antiwar anthems. They toured the country, performing at union halls for gas money, and recorded three albums. Woody Guthrie joined in 1941.The Almanac Singers broke up with the advent of World War II.

After a short stint in the army, Seeger formed the Weavers in 1948. They were a popular concert attraction who were at one point America’s favorite singing group. Their best-known numbers include such singalongs as “The Roving Kind,” “On Top of Old Smoky,” “Kisses Sweeter than Wine,” “Goodnight Irene” and “Wimoweh” (a.k.a. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”). Their popularity cut across all boundaries. As American poet Carl Sandberg attested, “The Weavers are out of the grassroots of America. When I hear America singing, the Weavers are there.”

During the communist witch-hunts of the early Fifties, however, the Weavers were blacklisted, resulting in canceled concert dates and the loss of their recording contract with Decca Records. Under congressional subpoena to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Seeger asserted his First Amendment rights, scolding the committee, “I am not going to answer any questions as to my associations, my philosophical or my religious beliefs, or how I voted in any election or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked.” Unlike many entertainers and writers who careers were ruined in the McCarthy era, Seeger stood his ground and persevered – even though he was sent to jail for defending his beliefs.

After leaving the Weavers in 1959, Seeger signed to Columbia Records. He recorded prolifically for the label. His popularity hit a new peak with We Shall Overcome, a live album recorded at Carnegie Hall that is estimated to have sold half a million copies.

A tireless champion of causes, Seeger has devoted himself to environmental issues, particularly the cleanup of his beloved Hudson River.

In Seeger’s capable hands, from the Forties to the present day, a concert isn’t regarded as a one-way proceeding but a group singalong. Indeed, Seeger’s gently assertive insistence that his audience sing out can be read as a larger metaphor for the necessary involvement of citizens to insure the healthy functioning of democracy in America. Seeger has recorded and performed tirelessly throughout his career, honoring the folksingers’ timeless commitment to spread the word and involve an audience. “My ability lies in being able to get a crowd to sing along with me,” he said in a 1971 interview. “When I get upon a stage, I look on my job as trying to tell a story. I use songs to illustrate my story and dialogue between songs to carry the story forward.”



December 4, 1994: Pete Seeger receives the Presidential Medal of the Arts, the nation’s highest artistic honor, at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

January 17, 1996: Pete Seeger is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the eleventh annual induction dinner. Arlo Guthrie and Harry Belafonte are his presenters.

February 16, 1997: Pete Seeger wins a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album of 1996 for his album ‘Pete,’ on the Living Music label.

In his life, Pete has brought Music and singing into literally hundreds of thousands of homes and families. He has performed for Unions, Movements, people all over the planet, children especially. He has made the World Sing.

To sign the petetion for A Nobel Prize for Pete go to this site:

http://www.nobelprize4pete.org/

Comments:

I love Seeger and Woody Guthrie. I was always under the impression that Woody wrote, "If I had a hammer".

Kudos to those of you who have signed the petition! And what's keeping the rest of you sitting on your fingers? Let's get busy, People!
Thanks & Hugs, Stephy

Extremely interesting article, Stephy. I think if they gave Dylan one, they should give Pete one, too... from what I read here, he deserves it!

I did. He's deserving! Pete is a Mensch!

comment by jondude on Aug 4, 2008 6:16 AM ()

The excellent article explains why he was a personal hero for me. The people who persecuted him should rot in hell. They don't get much news down there about Nobel Prizes and such.
Al Gore had the pleasure of seeing his enemies choke on his Prize.

reply by bumpedoff on Aug 4, 2008 7:21 AM ()