Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute in New York City.
Pete Seeger always put other people’s voices before his own. He loved nothing more than to hear his audience surround him with their singing, amplifying the song’s message, certifying its use.
For this reason, people tend not to talk about Seeger as a singer. They speak of him more readily as a symbol, a hero, a pioneer, a brave soul – all roles he played with a modesty that deflected attention away from himself and towards the point he meant to make.
Orville Myers/AP
Pete Seeger plays on the main stage at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2009 in Monterey, Calif.
But Pete wasn’t just a metaphorical “voice for the people,” he was a literal one. As a singer, he had great focus, unfailing ease and genuine beauty.
RELATED: PETE SEEGER, AMERICAN TROUBADOUR AND ACTIVIST, DIES AT 94
Richard Drew/AP
Pete Seeger, left, performing at the Rally for Détente at Carnegie Hall in New York.
His tone was clarion clear, enriched by a full and honeyed vibrato. His delivery eschewed the fussy or elaborate, honing in on the note with stirring certainty.
It’s a deceptively simple style he favored: obvious in the best sense of the word. Pete’s voice was something everyone got. Instantly.
Mark Costantini/AP
Folk singer Pete Seeger performing in a one-man benefit concert in Berkeley, Calif., at the Berkeley Community Theater. The American troubadour, folk singer and activist Seeger died Monday at age 94.
Like the best singers, Pete could find in his voice every expression of his character. He could be boyish or fatherly, humble or proud, gentle or assertive. Often he seemed teacherly, not in a condescending way, but in a manner that led listeners to re-discover what they already knew but had too often forgotten.
RELATED: PETE SEEGER, FAMED FOLKSONG CROONER AND WRITER, DEAD AT 94
Evan Agostini/AP
Pete Seeger died at the age of 94 and was known as a ‘voice for the people.’
Pete delivered the melodies of his songs with a sure resolve, but he never stooped to cheap or vain righteousness. His singing had too much gentility for that, too much grace.
And more: He had the most encouraging voice I’ve ever heard. It had with all the pluck of the crinkly strings of his old banjo.
There’s a famous quote from Pete about his version of “We Shall Overcome.” He said that the only thing he did to the song was to change its original line from “we will overcome” to “we shall.” He did it, he said, because the word “shall” opened the throat.
That’s a good parallel to the way Pete sang all his songs. He opened them up, leading listeners straight to their heart.
email:jfarber@nydailynews.com
http://ift.tt/1f93uYm
via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1
No comments:
Post a Comment