In Pete Seeger: The Power of Song Jim Brown documents the life of one of the greatest American singer/songwriters of the last century. For over seventy years Pete Seeger was involved in the major movements of his time – labor, civil rights, peace, environment and more.
In addition to his solo career, he sang with Woody Guthrie and others in the Almanac Singers. Their album Talkin’ Union was the classic labor recording. In the late forties Seeger helped found the Weavers, who had a number one hit with “Goodnight Irene” before they were blacklisted during the McCarthy era.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song uses interviews, archival footage and home movies to illustrate a social history of this great folk artist and activist. Some of his best known songs are “If I Had a Hammer”, “Where Have all the Flowers Gone”, and “Turn, Turn,Turn”. He also popularized songs such as “We Shall Overcome”, “This Land is Your Land” and “Guantanamera”.
Seeger had a great influence on younger musicians. Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Maines, and Peter, Paul & Mary all appear in this intimate portrait and discuss Seeger’s lasting influence on the fabric of American music.
“I don’t know if Pete Seeger believes in saints, but I believe he is one. He’s the one in the front as they go marching in. “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” is a tribute to the legendary singer and composer who thought music could be a force for good, and proved it by writing songs that have actually helped shape our times (“If I Had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn”) and popularizing “We Shall Overcome” and Woody Guthrie’s unofficial national anthem, “This Land Is Your Land.” – Roger Ebert
In 1995 the Labor Heritage Foundation gave Pete the Joe Hill Award for lifetime achievement in the field of labor culture.
