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Pete Seeger Subject of Documentary on PBS' American Masters
"I look upon myself as a planter of seeds," the legendary artist and political activist says in American Masters Pete Seeger: The Power of Song.
American Masters Pete Seeger: The Power of Song premieres Wednesday, February 27 at 9pm (ET) on PBS (check local listings). Directed by three-time Emmy Award-winner Jim Brown (The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!, We Shall Overcome, The Three Pickers), The Power of Song is the first and only authorized biography of Seeger. Michael Cohl, chairman and chief executive officer of Live Nation Artists, said, "Pete has had a lasting influence on the fabric of America's music - and its history - but he has always shunned self-promotion. It is a true honor that he agreed to allow us to document his life's work. This honest, intimate film serves as a testament of his belief in the power of song above all else and his conviction that every one of us can make a difference."
Now 88, Pete Seeger was the architect of the folk revival, writing some of its best known songs, including If I Had a Hammer, Turn! Turn! Turn and Waist Deep in the Big Muddy. In the film, anthems including We Shall Overcome and Where Have All the Flowers Gone? underscore music's importance to the civil rights and peace movements and show how Seeger used songs to drive the clean-up of the Hudson River, one of many issues still close to his heart.
The 90-minute film illuminates Seeger's belief in the ultimate power of song and his conviction that individuals can make a difference. While a member of the American Communist Party, he used music to organize labor unions and was blacklisted as a result. Musicians such as Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt appear in the film to discuss Seeger's numerous contributions.
"He's a living testament to the First Amendment," says the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines in The Power of Song. Arlo Guthrie adds, "He really does believe that everybody has some kind of unique value."
Producer-director Jim Brown said, "Pete Seeger got a whole generation singing together and helped introduce America to its own folk heritage, while using music as an instrument for social change. He has no interest in personal gain and works tirelessly with his wife, Toshi, because he believes we are blindly destroying the world. There are lessons to be learned by exploring his life and music."
The film is also a love story, an homage to his wife, for whom he wrote Kisses Sweeter Than Wine. While on leave from the Army during World War II, Seeger married Toshi Ohta, a Japanese activist, and their marriage has endured for more than 60 years. The Power of Song includes first-ever family interviews and remarkable personal footage of the Seegers and their three young children shot in the early 1960s during a world tour to document music in such far-flung locales as Ghana, Tanzania and Czechoslovakia. The Seegers continue to live simply, in the woods, in a cabin Pete built himself.
To take American Masters beyond the television broadcast and further explore the themes, stories, and personalities of masters past and present, the companion Web site (www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters), created by Thirteen/WNET New York, offers interviews, essays, photographs, outtakes, and other resources.
American Masters is produced for PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York. This acclaimed series, now celebrating its 22nd season, has become a cultural legacy in its own right. The American Masters film library is one of the most highly honored in television history with profiles of more than 140 artistic giants. In addition to eight Peabodys, an Oscar, two duPont-Columbias and two Grammys, American Masters has won 19 Emmys, including Outstanding Primetime Non-Fiction Series for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004. More information about American Masters can be found at: www.pbs.org/ americanmasters.
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