Contents

Introduction

PART I
Background

1 Gene Marine: Guerrilla Minstrel (1972)

2 Studs Terkel: Pete Seeger: 2002 (2005)

PART II
The Early Years

3 Lawrence Emery: Interesting Summer: Young Puppeteers in Unique Tour of Rural Areas (1939)

4 Pete and His Banjo Meet Some Fine Mountain Folks (1940)

5 Pete Seeger: Banjo Picker in Kentucky

6 Pete Seeger: Back Where I Come From (1941)

7 George Lewis: America Is in Their Songs: Pete Bowers and Al [sic] Hays Collect U.S. Folk Ballads (1941)

8 The Almanac Singers [Pete Seeger] to Son House (1942)

9 E.A.: The “Almanacs” Part, But Keep on Singing (1943)

10 Pete Seeger: Notes of an Innocent Bystander (1945)

11 Woody Guthrie: People’s Songs and Its People (1990)

12 Pete Seeger: People’s Songs Workshop, The Jefferson School of Social Science Newsletter (1946)

13 Pete Seeger: People’s Songs and Singers (1946)

14 Pete Seeger: Report to Members (1946)

15 Pete Seeger: Two Letters to People’s Songs Supporters (1948)

16 Pete Seeger: Minutes of the Meeting of the National Board of Directors of People’s Songs (1948)

PART III
The 1950s

17 Robert W. Dana: Village Vanguard Has Real Hoe-Down (1950)

18 Jay Russell: How the Weavers Break Night Club Ice (1950)

19 Frederick Woltman: Melody Weaves On, Along Party Lines (1951)

20 Alan Lomax: Liner Notes to Darling Corey (1950)

21 Letter to Ray M. Lawless (1953)

22 Irwin Silber: Pete Seeger—Voice of Our Domestic Heritage (1954)

23 Monty Muns: Pete Seeger: An Appreciation (1955)

24 Pete Seeger: Summary of Government Charges, 1955–1957 (1957)

25 Pete Seeger: A Letter of Greetings to the Editors and Readers of Sing Along (1957)

26 “Blind Rafferty” (aka Dave Van Ronk): Untitled Article (1957)

27 Emerson L. Batdorff: It’s Not Nose in Folk Song, Artist Proves (1958)

28 Ronald Radosh: Excerpt from Commies (2001)

PART IV
The 1960s

29 Moses Asch: Foreword to Pete Seeger, American Favorite Ballads (1961)

30 Pete Seeger: Statement to the Court Before Judge Thomas F. Murphy, Federal Court, New York (1961)

31 David Marcus: Seeger Cites Battle of Politics, Arts (1961)

32 Eric Winter: Pete Seeger Sails In to a Hero’s Welcome (1961)

33 Pete Seeger: When You’re Singing Just Be Yourself (1961)

34 Allan Hjerpe: Pete Seeger in L.A. Concert (1962)

35 Pete Seeger: The Country Washboard Band (1963)

36 Pete Seeger: Introduction to The Bells of Rhymney (1964)

37 Pete Seeger: Letter to Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen (1963)

38 Pete Seeger: What’s in a Word? (1964)

39 Harold Leventhal: Newsletter about Seeger Concert Tour (1964)

40 Ruth Daniloff: Pete Seeger in Moscow (1964)

41 Jon Pankake: Pete’s Children: The American Folksong Revival, Pro and Con (1964)

42 [Pete Seeger]: Pete Seeger (1965)

43 Ralph J. Gleason: A Singer Who Meets You Half Way (1965)

44 Paul Cowan: Non-Confrontation in Beacon, New York (1965)

45 Big and Muddy (1967)

46 Pete Seeger: To Save a River (1970)

PART V
The 1970s and After

47 Tom Smucker: If Every Concert Were a Benefit, Pete Seeger Would Be Frank Sinatra (1976)

48 Joe Klein: Pete Seeger’s Steelyard Benefit (1977)

49 Marc Fisher: America’s Best-Loved Commie: Even a Radical Can Become a National Treasure. Just Ask Pete Seeger (1994)

50 Scott Alarik: No More Awards! Pete Seeger (1996)

51 Greg Kot: The Boss Pulls Off Celebrating Seeger (2006)

52 Dick Flacks: Pete Seeger’s Project (2009)

Afterword

Bibliography

Index