THE LEGACY OF NEW YORK EPISODE 85: PETE SEEGER( folk singer and social activist.)

Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American ⁠folk⁠ singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of ⁠the Weavers⁠, notably their recording of ⁠Lead Belly⁠'s "⁠Goodnight, Irene⁠," which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were ⁠blacklisted⁠ during the ⁠McCarthy Era⁠. In the 1960s, Seeger re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of ⁠protest music⁠ in support of ⁠international disarmament⁠, ⁠civil rights⁠, ⁠counterculture⁠, ⁠workers' rights⁠, and ⁠environmental causes⁠.
A prolific songwriter, his best-known songs include "⁠Where Have All the Flowers Gone?⁠" (with additional lyrics by ⁠Joe Hickerson⁠), "⁠If I Had a Hammer⁠ (The Hammer Song)" (with ⁠Lee Hays⁠ of the Weavers), "⁠Kisses Sweeter Than Wine⁠" (also with Hays), and "⁠Turn! Turn! Turn!⁠ (To Everything There Is a Season)", which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement. "Flowers" was a hit recording for ⁠the Kingston Trio⁠ (1962); ⁠Marlene Dietrich⁠, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962); and ⁠Johnny Rivers⁠ (1965). "If I Had a Hammer" was a hit for ⁠Peter, Paul and Mary⁠ (1962) and ⁠Trini Lopez⁠ (1963) while ⁠the Byrds⁠ had a number one hit with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" in 1965.
Seeger was one of the folk singers responsible for popularizing the ⁠spiritual⁠ "⁠We Shall Overcome⁠" (also recorded by ⁠Joan Baez⁠ and many other singer-activists), which became the acknowledged anthem of the ⁠civil rights movement⁠, soon after folk singer and activist ⁠Guy Carawan⁠ introduced it at the founding meeting of the ⁠Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee⁠ (SNCC) in 1960. In the ⁠PBS⁠ ⁠American Masters⁠ episode "⁠Pete Seeger: The Power of Song⁠", Seeger said it was he who changed the lyric from the traditional "We will overcome" to the more singable "We shall overcome".


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