It's so hard to believe that Pete Seeger, the folksinging hero to generations of Americans, just turned 90 on Sunday, May 3, 2009. One of my colleagues was lucky enough to get "scalper" tickets and attended the birthday bash at Madison Square Garden. She marveled at his posture, his agility on the stage, his banjo prowess and his ability to rouse the crowd to sing old-time favorites llike Amazing Grace, We Shall Overcome, and This Land is Your Land. The star-studded cast who honored him, included Joan Baez, Bela Fleck, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Bruce Springsteen etc. As we all know, Pete Seeger was a proponent of the anti-war, civil rights and labor movements; he and his Hudson River Clearwater preservation charity have played an enormous role in the clean-up of the Hudson River. The concert served as a fundraiser for that noteworthy organization.
If you want to learn more about him or listen to his music, please feel free to look at the holdings at the Westport Public Library.
I hope you'll enjoy this video of him singing Little Boxes:
