PETE SEEGER : SINGER - SONGWRITER - ACTIVIST WALKED WITH TWO CANES THROUGH OCCUPY MOVEMENT CAMP

SF GATE : PETE SEEGER - SINGER SONGWRITER ACTIVIST

 A portion of the article by MICHAEL HILL and CHRIS TALBOTT, Associated Press.

 

"With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk music who outlived his peers. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and wrote or co-wrote "If I Had a Hammer," ''Turn, Turn, Turn," ''Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine." He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo.

 

In 2011, the canes kept Seeger from carrying his beloved instrument while he walked nearly 2 miles with hundreds of protesters swirling around him holding signs and guitars. With a simple gesture — extending his friendship — Seeger gave the protesters and even their opponents a moment of brotherhood the short-lived movement sorely needed..."

CHECK OUT OUR PREVIOUS POSTS ON PETE!
 

THIS VIDEO WAS MADE WHEN PETE WAS 74.

GRAMMY MUSEUM : THE BEACH BOYS and WHITNEY HOUSTON EXHIBITS

GRAMMY MUSEUM - BEACH BOYS EXHIBIT

Christine here! 

Last weekend I went to the GRAMMY MUSEUM, one of my favorite places in Los Angeles.  I wanted to see the Beach Boy's exhibit, celebrating their 50 years in the business and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  The exhibit was one long wall and featured a number of guitar reproductions and copies rather than originals, which I understood but felt disappointed by.  Turns out my visit was about the time the Beach Boys were breaking up - again!

AISHA HARRIS of SLATE  "This is only the latest incident in years of public disagreements (and lawsuits) between cousins Love and Wilson over, among other things, writing credits and publishing rights. When the band reunited for the first time in years at the Grammys this past February, the buzz for fans was built around anticipation for a tour that would see all the surviving members on stage again. But even back in June, with the shows in full swing, trouble was brewing: Love had added some South American dates for the fall that would not include the other guys. “That’s news to me,” Wilson told Rolling Stone at the time."

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE AT SLATE

One of the most fabulous things about the GRAMMY MUSEUM is the interactive computer screens which allow you to locate music in history, by genre, and by artist, AND ALL THAT SOUND SAMPLING.  It's truly an exciting educational experience.

Of great interest to me also is the costuming that various artists wore.  Really, anyone studying fashion in the area should visit the museum every few months.  The last time I visited the museum I got chills when I saw the simple red jacket that Ritchie Valens wore in his publicity photos,  and costumes worn on stage by Michael Jackson and Neil Diamond have been featured in the past.  
This time it was the WHITNEY HOUSTON exhibit that caught my attention.  Now I have to admit I'm not a Whitney Houston fan, but then I'm not that much into the "power singers."  As I looked at her costumes and read about her career, which I knew near nothing about, I learned that no one had won more Grammy's than Whitney. 

As a woman I looked at the costumes and realized that she was about my size but I couldn't help but try on the fact that she had achieved more than the vast majority of us, and yet she had lost it all.  I listened as other museum goers discussed what really was the problem with Whitney.  Was it her husband?  Drugs?  Drugs and her husband? Or maybe simply FAME?  It brought tears to my eyes to think of it.

The museum also has a WOODY GUTHRIE EXHIBIT going on right now, and let me tell you, if you happen to be reading this and are in Los Angeles, you can take METRO there and not worry about parking or parking fees around the Staples Center area.