Maybe this is on near you. It looks like I missed it. It's a PBS "American Masters" program about folk singer Pete Seeger. I have lots of his CDs. I mean lots. I am sorry I didn't see it. I have to start paying more attention to PBS, I guess.
Anyway, there's a little preview that probably sums up most of the biography. I'd recommend watching it even if you have no idea who Pete Seeger is. As important is he was in 20th Century American music, you probably should.
For those of you who prefer YouTube, here's a clip of the program on which I first saw him. I am not old enough to have watched "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" when it first aired, of course, but I saw the re-run years ago.
The Smothers Brothers wanted to have Pete perform on their show, but CBS censored the song he played, a Vietnam War protest song called "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy." The outcry was so great, Seeger came back on a later episode and performed the song, among some other historical folk songs. This link shows that performance. It runs a little over seven minutes, but is worth watching.
The Smothers' show looks pretty tame by today's standards, but in its day it really pushed the envelope of what could be on TV. Seeger was a part of that.
1 comment:
Public Television IS the best TV.
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