We've learned from several sources that Pete Seeger, the man who picked up the banner where Woody Guthrie left off and activated a nation to right the wrongs through his music and his actions has died.
He was 94 and died of natural causes at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Monday evening.
Peter "Pete" Seeger, born on May 3, 1919 was an American folk singer and so much more. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s with a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers; most notably their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950
Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. In the PBS American Masters episode "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song", Seeger stated it was he who changed the lyric from the traditional "We will overcome" to the more singable "We Shall Overcome".
"Well, of course he passed away!" "But that doesn't mean he's gone" said life-long friend Arlo Guthrie.
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