Pete Seeger, the singer, folk-song collector and songwriter who spearheaded an American folk revival and spent a long career championing folk music as both a vital heritage and a catalyst for social change, died Monday. He was 94 and lived in Beacon, N.Y.

Despite some questionable associations he was known to have as an idealistic young man, Pete Seeger is a man I have deep respect for. On his worst day, he was no Communist; he is/was/always will be an American treasure. Sadly, Pete died on Monday in a NYC hospital, perhaps 25 miles from his home on the Hudson River. Pete and his music will not be forgotten.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/ ... .html?_r=0

What 66 just said......

+1

A real "national treasure."

asu66 wrote:Pete Seeger, the singer, folk-song collector and songwriter who spearheaded an American folk revival and spent a long career championing folk music as both a vital heritage and a catalyst for social change, died Monday. He was 94 and lived in Beacon, N.Y.

Despite some questionable associations he was known to have as an idealistic young man, Pete Seeger is a man I have deep respect for. On his worst day, he was no Communist; he is/was/always will be an American treasure. Sadly, Pete died on Monday in a NYC hospital, perhaps 25 miles from his home on the Hudson River. Pete and his music will not be forgotten.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/ ... .html?_r=0

Indeed.

One of the greatest quotes!

Through the years, Mr. Seeger remained determinedly optimistic. “The key to the future of the world,” he said in 1994, “is finding the optimistic stories and letting them be known.”

I found this on an internet site:

"I usually do a little meditation and prayer every night before I go to sleep - Just part of the routine. Last night, I decided to go visit Pete Seeger for a while, just to spend a little time together, it was around 9 PM. So I was sitting in my home in Florida, having a lovely chat with Pete, who was in a hospital in New York City. That's the great thing about thoughts and prayers- You can go or be anywhere.

I simply wanted him to know that I loved him dearly, like a father in some ways, a mentor in others and just as a dear friend a lot of the time. I'd grown up that way - loving the Seegers - Pete & Toshi and all their family.

I let him know I was having trouble writing his obituary (as I'd been asked) but it seemed just so silly and I couldn't think of anything that didn't sound trite or plain stupid. "They'll say something appropriate in the news," we agreed. We laughed, we talked, and I took my leave about 9:30 last night.

"Arlo" he said, sounding just like the man I've known all of my life, "I guess I'll see ya later." I've always loved the rising and falling inflections in his voice. "Pete," I said. "I guess we will."

I turned off the light and closed my eyes and fell asleep until very early this morning, about 3 AM when the texts and phone calls started coming in from friends telling me Pete had passed away.

"Well, of course he passed away!" I'm telling everyone this morning. "But that doesn't mean he's gone."

Arlo Gurthrie