Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger was born on May 3, 1919 in New York City, the son of a musicologist and concert violinist. Regarded as America's best-loved and most influential folk singer, he has touched millions of lives with his songs rich in history, humor and a strong sense of social justice. He took his trademark five-string banjo on the road in the 1930s where he joined Woody Guthrie in labor union rallies and formed the Almanac Singers. In 1948 he formed the Weavers. In the 1950s, at the peak of the group's success, he lost his bookings because of the anti-communist witch hunts. Rather than back down, his convictions grew stronger, Singing at rallies across the world, he produced the hits "If I Had a Hammer," We Shall Overcome" and Where Have all the Flowers Gone," which became rallying cries of the peace movement.

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