Pete Seeger

PETE SEEGER, an iconic American folk musician and political activist, died Monday night in New York City. He was 94. Seeger, banjo or guitar in hand, could be heard singing (and leading concert audiences and rally attendees in singing) songs that fired the labor, civil rights and antiwar movements throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, and was blacklisted after refusing to testify before the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee. As a member of The Weavers and as a solo performer, meanwhile, he was a key figure in the American folk revival and hugely influenced Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and other roots-based artists; he co-penned the standard "If I Had a Hammer," wrote the antiwar classic "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"and co-founded the Newport Folk Festival. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972 and achieved a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1993, as well as the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 1994. It was an extraordinary valediction when, alongside Springsteen, he led the throng at President Obama's first inauguration in a hearty rendition of "This Land Is Your Land," as seen above. His survivors include his three children and six grandchildren. (1/28a)