In the new Pete Seeger biography, To Everything There is a Season: Pete Seeger and the Power of Song by Allan M. Winkler (Oxford University Press, 2009), the author notes that throughout his life, Seeger “didn’t smoke, drink or chase women; instead he chased causes.”
Pete Seeger’s life was “singing truth to power” and author Winkler notes that “The labor movement of the 1930s, the peace movement on the eve of World War II, the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, and the green crusade for clean water all bear the mark of Seeger’s melodies and echo the rhythms of a century of change.”
Seeger came from a privileged background and attended Harvard before dropping out because he “wanted to use music—his kind of music—to make the world a better place. Above all he wanted to use music to help the growing labor movement achieve its aims of respect for the dignity of working men and women and of play levels that would allow them to survive and prosper. He dreamed of being in the forefront of workers singing songs that created a sense of common identity.”
In 1940 Seeger met Woody Guthrie, the major influence on his life, and the two formed the Almanac Singers. A radical from his earliest days, Seeger’s politics rankled—and still rankle—many. According to Winkler, Seeger “was, and is, a communist in the pure, idealistic sense of wanting equality for all—no rich, no poor—just everyone sharing together.”
His communistic sympathies got him into trouble during the Communist hunts of Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s. By this time, Seeger had formed “People’s Songs,” an “informal association to encourage the creation and spread of radical protest songs.” That organization, formed in 1946, held a national convention in Chicago but fell into bankruptcy and closed its doors in 1950. However, the core group of people who worked with “People’s Songs” established the folk music magazine, Sing Out!
Seeger was a member of the group The Weavers, along with Fred Hellerman, Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hayes, whose hits included “Good Night, Irene,” “On Top of Old Smoky,” “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and “So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You.” The group was incredibly successful, selling over four million records in two years before the McCarthy hearings came knocking.
The question was asked “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” and Seeger replied, “I am not going to answer any questions to my associations, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political 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, especially under such compulsion as this.”
Seeger had Communist connections and Winkler pointed out that he sympathized openly with Communism’s egalitarian goals, he read the Daily Worker, and he had even been a formal member of the Party for a time.”
The summer of 1951 was a difficult one for Seeger and the Weavers bookings dwindled to almost nothing before they held a final concert in December, 1952 in Town Hall in New York but in 1955 the Weavers reunited although Seeger left the group in 1957 to sing on his own.
Meanwhile, Seeger was indicted for “contempt of Congress” in March 1957 on ten counts. At his trial in 1961 he was sentenced to a year in prison but the conviction was overturned on a technicality. Seeger took it all in stride, saying “Being indicted just gave me a lot of free publicity.” However, Seeger was blacklisted and could not appear on the TV networks for a number of years. Seeger became a one man band, leading audiences in songs. Creativity as synthesis is part of the folk tradition, taking songs, lyrics, melodies and ideas from the past or just “floating around” and forming a new song. In that manner, Seeger is responsible for songs like “If I Had a Hammer,” “We Shall Overcome,” “Turn, Turn Turn” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” It is an impressive legacy.
Emerson wrote “If a man plant himself on his conviction and then abide, the whole huge world will come round to him” and that may hold true for Pete Seeger, still alive and going strong in his 90s. In October, 1994 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts and in December of that year was honored at the Kennedy Center. In 1997 he won a Grammy and in 1998 the Library of Congress named Seeger one of “America’s Living Legends.” In 2006, Bruce Springsteen did a tribute album to him, The Seeger Sessions.
Seeger has said “I don’t want people to forget their struggles” and continues to be committed to music that furthers causes. For a number of years he has been involved in the environmental movement, helping clean up the Hudson River. He has remained a lightning rod for criticism while, at the same time, has become a conscience for the music business. Author Winkler notes that Seeger’s “success in getting others to sing—something he had sought all his life—was a testament to the power of song.” It’s also testament to the power of an individual.
Underwood Crawls To Sesame Street
/by contributorIf you missed her debut, subsequent appearances are planned for March 17, April 8 and April 26. Check out Underworm/wood singing the “Worm Anthem” to to NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon.
AT&T Olympics CD Goes Country
/by contributorThe previously unreleased songs will be available exclusively via the iTunes Store, and via AT&T wireless devices, tones will available starting tomorrow (2/12).
To commemorate the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, AT&T is joining with recording artists to create the special project, which will debut on the Olympics’ opening day and will offer inspirational songs for Team USA, sports and music fans across the country. In addition, Gloriana, Rascal Flatts, Mariah Carey, and 3 Doors Down have created exclusive music videos that will appear during broadcasts of the Olympic Games on NBC and will be available via TV, PC and wireless device through AT&T U-verse, AT&T Fan Zone and wirelessly through AT&T Mobile Video. All proceeds from the purchase of songs, participating ringtones and answer tones from February 12, 2010 through March 1, 2010 will be donated to Team USA.
Additional information about AT&T’s sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic Team is available here.
Jones Collection Revives “Musicor” Years
/by contributorLongtime Jones fans point to this era of his career as his best, and the 34 songs culled from the over 250 recordings Jones made for Musicor were carefully selected to reflect this. The tracks included on The Great Lost Hits are a mix of songs that have become classics and rarities that few have heard in many years.
The Great Lost Hits includes Jones classics “A Good Year for the Roses,” “Walk through This World With Me,” “I’ll Share My World With You,” “Love Bug,” and “When the Grass Grows Over Me.” The original version of “Beneath Still Waters,” which later became a No. 1 country hit for Emmylou Harris, and “Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven,” later recorded by Elvis Costello and The Flying Burrito Brothers, are other standouts. Also included is the original version of “Where Grass Won’t Grow” a song Jones later recorded with Trisha Yearwood, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Fans can also hear Tammy Wynette anonymously singing harmony on “Never Grow Cold” soon after they began their relationship. It was actually Jones’ marriage to Wynette that prompted his departure from Musicor for her label, Epic.
Jones is the #2 best-charting country artist of all time, with 143 Top 40 hits to his name, and two Grammy Awards. He is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and holds a National Medal of Arts. At 78, he continues as an active country superstar, headlining dozens of concerts each year.
Chicks Re-Emerge as Court Yard Hounds
/by contributorRealizing that The Dixie Chicks hiatus would last longer than originally anticipated, Robison and Maguire dove head first into recording their debut as The Court Yard Hounds. To launch the new project, the sisters will appear at SXSW for their first live concert as part of the Americana Music Association showcase at Antone’s on Thursday March 18. The Court Yard Hounds will tour North America throughout the summer and head to Europe and Australia this fall.
“It was time,” said Robison. “We had been on hiatus from The Dixie Chicks for about a year, I was getting very restless and needed to be creative for my own sanity. And at the same time I was going through my divorce so it was very fertile ground for writing.”
“Emily was just writing and writing all of these deeply personal and truly beautiful songs,” added Maguire. “She was initially going to pitch them to other artists and I kept telling her no, no, you have to save that for you. It’s too good and too personal.”
Joey+Rory Set For Zac Brown Band Tour
/by contributor“This is our sophomore album and the title cut is a humorous take on the pressure put on artists when they make their second album,” says Rory. “Rather than worry about it or avoid it, it’s more our nature to just face it head on, and even find the humor in it.”
The new album is helmed by Grammy award-winning producer Carl Jackson who also produced their debut album, Life of a Song. That album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Country Album Chart and remained there for 50 weeks, selling 200,000 copies. The duo’s debut single, “Cheater Cheater,” hit the Top 30 and became a Top 10 Dance Club hit.
The Vanguard/Sugar Hill artists are set to hit the road this spring with Grammy winner Zac Brown Band for the Breaking Southern Ground tour. Joey+Rory will perform and act as emcee for the tour.
“We’re beyond excited about going on tour with the Zac Brown Band,” says Joey. “Over the last year, we’ve become good friends. They’re the real deal. They don’t compromise. We love that.”
Rack-N-Roll Partners With Soles4Souls
/by contributorPeople and companies interested in donating can drop new or gently used shoes by Rack-N-Roll Audio at 20 Music Square West, Suite 104. Rack-N-Roll is offering a 10% discount on all pro-audio rentals to those who participate. The collected shoes will go directly to Haiti to help out earthquake victims that are trying to rebuild their lives.
“We can use the shoes taking up space in your closet to change the world one pair at a time,” said Soles4Souls CEO, Wayne Elsey. “We need our partners in Rack-N-Roll Audio to ‘step up’ and get behind our call for action.”
Seeger Bio Celebrates “Power of Song”
/by DonCusicPete Seeger’s life was “singing truth to power” and author Winkler notes that “The labor movement of the 1930s, the peace movement on the eve of World War II, the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, and the green crusade for clean water all bear the mark of Seeger’s melodies and echo the rhythms of a century of change.”
Seeger came from a privileged background and attended Harvard before dropping out because he “wanted to use music—his kind of music—to make the world a better place. Above all he wanted to use music to help the growing labor movement achieve its aims of respect for the dignity of working men and women and of play levels that would allow them to survive and prosper. He dreamed of being in the forefront of workers singing songs that created a sense of common identity.”
In 1940 Seeger met Woody Guthrie, the major influence on his life, and the two formed the Almanac Singers. A radical from his earliest days, Seeger’s politics rankled—and still rankle—many. According to Winkler, Seeger “was, and is, a communist in the pure, idealistic sense of wanting equality for all—no rich, no poor—just everyone sharing together.”
His communistic sympathies got him into trouble during the Communist hunts of Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s. By this time, Seeger had formed “People’s Songs,” an “informal association to encourage the creation and spread of radical protest songs.” That organization, formed in 1946, held a national convention in Chicago but fell into bankruptcy and closed its doors in 1950. However, the core group of people who worked with “People’s Songs” established the folk music magazine, Sing Out!
Seeger was a member of the group The Weavers, along with Fred Hellerman, Ronnie Gilbert and Lee Hayes, whose hits included “Good Night, Irene,” “On Top of Old Smoky,” “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” and “So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You.” The group was incredibly successful, selling over four million records in two years before the McCarthy hearings came knocking.
The question was asked “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” and Seeger replied, “I am not going to answer any questions to my associations, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political 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, especially under such compulsion as this.”
Seeger had Communist connections and Winkler pointed out that he sympathized openly with Communism’s egalitarian goals, he read the Daily Worker, and he had even been a formal member of the Party for a time.”
The summer of 1951 was a difficult one for Seeger and the Weavers bookings dwindled to almost nothing before they held a final concert in December, 1952 in Town Hall in New York but in 1955 the Weavers reunited although Seeger left the group in 1957 to sing on his own.
Meanwhile, Seeger was indicted for “contempt of Congress” in March 1957 on ten counts. At his trial in 1961 he was sentenced to a year in prison but the conviction was overturned on a technicality. Seeger took it all in stride, saying “Being indicted just gave me a lot of free publicity.” However, Seeger was blacklisted and could not appear on the TV networks for a number of years. Seeger became a one man band, leading audiences in songs. Creativity as synthesis is part of the folk tradition, taking songs, lyrics, melodies and ideas from the past or just “floating around” and forming a new song. In that manner, Seeger is responsible for songs like “If I Had a Hammer,” “We Shall Overcome,” “Turn, Turn Turn” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” It is an impressive legacy.
Emerson wrote “If a man plant himself on his conviction and then abide, the whole huge world will come round to him” and that may hold true for Pete Seeger, still alive and going strong in his 90s. In October, 1994 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts and in December of that year was honored at the Kennedy Center. In 1997 he won a Grammy and in 1998 the Library of Congress named Seeger one of “America’s Living Legends.” In 2006, Bruce Springsteen did a tribute album to him, The Seeger Sessions.
Seeger has said “I don’t want people to forget their struggles” and continues to be committed to music that furthers causes. For a number of years he has been involved in the environmental movement, helping clean up the Hudson River. He has remained a lightning rod for criticism while, at the same time, has become a conscience for the music business. Author Winkler notes that Seeger’s “success in getting others to sing—something he had sought all his life—was a testament to the power of song.” It’s also testament to the power of an individual.
Miranda Lambert Sets Headlining Tour
/by contributorIn addition to her own tour, Lambert will take part in the upcoming Lilith Fair tour, joining a lineup including Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band and Norah Jones and performing at this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival in June.
“In the last 5 years, I have learned so much from all the amazing artists I’ve toured with,” said Lambert. “Now it’s my turn to venture out and do more shows of my own. I’m happy that there are a lot of great new artists who are willing to come out and support my tour.”
Last week, Lambert taped an episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition, which airs this spring and was a presenter at the Grammy Awards, where she was also nominated for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her self-penned song “Dead Flowers.” While in Los Angeles as part of Brad Paisley’s American Saturday Night tour, she will tape two upcoming shows for the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (air dates TBA.)
Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars tour cities include:
Beckley, WV
Ft Worth, TX
Wichita Falls, TX
Kennewick, WA
Medford, OR
Duluth, GA
Orlando, FL
Airway Heights, WA
Florence, AZ
Cincinnati, OH
Akron, OH
Kalamazoo, MI
Amarillo, TX
Belton, TX
Houston, TX
Jonesboro, AR
Bossier City, LA
Stillwater, OK
Spencer, IA
Mankato, MN
Davenport, IA
New Braunfels, TX
Vince Gill To Clapton Crossroads, Time Jumpers
/by contributorAll profits from this third edition of the festival will benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent persons.
In other news from the land of Vince, the Tennessean reported today (2/10) that Gill will be joining Nashville’s Time Jumpers. A frequent visitor at the western swing band’s steady Monday night gig at Nashville’s Station Inn, Gill will reportedly become a “full-fledged member,” playing with the Time Jumpers every Monday night whenever he’s in town. For a $10 cover charge, fans can now catch the Country Music Hall of Fame member picking and singing in an intimate venue (with a fabulous band) every week.
Daniell To Nine North, Eli Young To Republic, EMI/CMG Extend Relationship
/by contributorTrudie Daniell
Nine North Records President Larry Pareigis, has announced the addition of Trudie Daniell as Manager Of Promotion, SE/SW for the company, effective today (2/10). Based in Atlanta, Daniell brings over 14 years of industry experience to Nine North’s team. Most recently serving as Manager of Promotion/South for Disney’s Carolwood Records, Daniell was part of the team that introduced group Love and Theft to country radio with a Top Ten debut single. Prior to joining Carolwood, she worked with CO5 Nashville, Curb, Atlantic and Decca. Daniell will report directly to Pareigis and Tom Moran, Nine North’s VP/Promotion & Marketing.
“Now my dream team is complete,” says Pareigis. “Trudie is an incredibly gifted and experienced promotion person, and her addition makes this a promotion crew to truly be reckoned with.”
“I have admired the careers of Larry Pareigis and Tom Moran for many years and I am looking forward to working with them, along with my colleagues Stephanie Keshe and Dave Collins, to take Nine North to new heights,”
says Daniell.
Daniell can be reached at trudie@ninenorthmail.com or at (770-253-1784).
• • •
ACM “Top New Vocal Group” nominee The Eli Young Band has joined the Republic Nashville roster. The Eli Young Band comes to the label from their prior home, Universal Republic/Universal South Records. “Guinevere,” a song from the band’s Universal South debut, Jet Black & Jealous, will be the first single released through Republic Nashville. The song will be serviced to radio in the coming weeks.
“This band was born with the fans, grown with the fans and continues to prosper and thrive with the fans on every level,” said Jimmy Harnen, President of Republic Nashville. “It is both exciting and an honor to welcome the Eli Young Band to Republic Nashville.”
Scott Borchetta, President/CEO Big Machine Label Group, said, “I’ve been following the build and momentum of EYB for quite some time. This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to sign them but we’ve got them now and we can’t wait to get to work!”
• • •
EMI CMG Distribution and Gaither Music Group have agreed to extend the 16-year relationship that has already generated sales of more than 22 million albums and videos. The new, long-term agreement extends EMI CMG’s distribution rights in all markets worldwide for all Gaither Music Group audio and video products, including the popular Homecoming series and music from artists such as The Gaither Vocal Band, Bill & Gloria Gaither, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Lynda Randle, The Isaacs, Mark Lowry and more.
The deal also encompasses distribution for Gaither Music Group labels: Spring Hill Music, Coming Home, Slanted Records and Green Hill Music, whose rosters include recent Grammy winner Jason Crabb. Other artists featured on the labels are DecembeRadio, Beegie Adair, John Tesh, Jim Brickman, Jaimee Paul, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jeff & Sheri Easter and The Martins.
Gaither and EMI CMG have launched the newest chapter of their partnership with the release of two new projects from Gaither Vocal Band – the DVD releases Reunited and Better Day.
“EMI CMG and Gaither Music Group have enjoyed a rewarding relationship for more than a decade, says Bill Hearn, President and CEO of EMI Christian Music Group (EMI CMG). We are grateful for the confidence Barry Jennings and the Gaither team have expressed with this distribution agreement extension and look forward to many more years of success together.”
“We do not take for granted the value of the long-standing business relationship we enjoy with EMI CMG,” says Barry Jennings, President of Gaither Music Group and Spring Hill Music. “It is exciting to begin another season working together with Bill Hearn and his talented staff.”