If you follow my postings on social media, you know that I often honor the birthdays of people who have changed the course of events in their countries — and indeed the world — in the field they happen to work in: politics, social activism, the arts, whatever it may be. I do this because I always feel it is important to remember the lives of those who came before us and the sacrifices they made, that we may learn and follow in their footsteps for a better future.

But we need not wait until those people pass on and become ancestors and figures from a distant past. It is always better, of course, to honor and pay tribute to these elders and veterans of Life while they are still living and still with us. And today (May 3) being the 94th birthday of one those veterans of the Good Fight, I would like to pay tribute to an “old folkie” who lives and works among us today: Pete Seeger.

Folk singer, musical historian, environmental educator, social activist/organizer — Pete Seeger has worn many hats and served in many roles in his 94 years. In many ways, his life story is the story of “America” in the last century and into this new century, with many ups and downs and hard lessons learned along the way.

In the late 1930s during the Great Depression years in the United States, a time of economic recession and social upheaval, Seeger as a young man got involved in politics (including with the Communist Party) and dropped out of his studies at the prestigious Harvard College. He worked for a while for the U.S. Library of Congress, helping to document and archive the roots music of the United States.

In the early 1940s, as guitarist and banjo player, Seeger cofounded the New York-based musical group The Almanac Singers, which played pro-labor union, anti-racism and anti-war songs in the American folk and blues traditions. Seeger often performed at “racially integrated” events at a time when it was dangerous for artists to do so. In the late 1940s/early 1950s, that band evolved into a group called The Weavers, and their records, featuring folk songs from countries around the world as well as blues, gospel music and children’s songs, sold millions in its heyday. It was The Weavers, more than any other band, that paved the way for the “folk music boom” that followed in the U.S. and internationally in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the mid-1950s, paranoia was in full swing as the political powers-that-be in America searched high and low for “communists” hiding in the arts, politics, military and everywhere else. Seeger was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in New York and ordered to name names, to answer questions about his past affiliation with the Communist Party and its members. One of Pete Seeger’s answers to the committee stands out for me:

“I am proud that I have sung for Americans of every political persuasion, and I have never refused to sing for anybody because I disagreed with their political opinion, and I am proud of the fact that my songs seem to cut across and find perhaps a unifying thing, basic humanity, and that is why I would love to be able to tell you about these songs, because I feel that you would agree with me more, sir.”

In the end, Seeger refused to give the committee the names and answers it kept pressing for, and he was charged with contempt of Congress. Seeger would spend the next seven years in court, fighting a legal battle to clear his name and stay out of prison. He eventually won in 1962.

Looking back now, going after Pete Seeger in such a public way was probably the biggest mistake that America’s “commie hunters” could have made. That is because even after he won his court case, Seeger was essentially blocked out of coverage by the major U.S. media companies, who treated him as persona non grata. So, in the years following his court case, Seeger bypassed the media and took his songs directly to the people — especially to schoolchildren and university students. The result was that a generation of youth in the U.S. from that time grew up directly on the music of a true musical troubadour and storyteller.

“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, “Guantanamera” and yes, even the classic “We Shall Overcome” are among the folk or gospel songs that Seeger helped to rework and re-release to the public, breathing new life into traditional tunes for the turbulent times. When the times called for it, Seeger went down to the American South and lent his voice to the Black churches and mass rallies in the 1960s during the height of the U.S. civil rights movement (which I prefer to call the U.S. “human rights movement,” since that was what African Americans were actually fighting for back then).

In June 1963 Seeger held a charity concert in New York City to help raise money for the organizations in the South that were on the frontlines of the Black freedom struggle. That historic recording is now available on CD in its entirety as “We Shall Overcome: The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert,” a vintage piece of American musical history.

Many of Seeger’s songs of struggle and hope have stood the test of time and proven to be an indelible part of the rich musical heritage of the U.S. Every culture has its own version of a “people’s poet,” and if there is such a thing as an American musical treasure, then we can say that Pete Seeger is one of them.

But not only Americans were inspired by Seeger; musicians all around the world were too. The Chilean folk singer Victor Jara (who died in 1973 during the U.S.-sponsored military coup in his country), as one example, recorded a beautiful cover version of Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” for the Chilean people and their own freedom struggle titled “El Martillo” (The Hammer). I know too that Japanese folk musicians were inspired by Seeger: One of them, Goro Nakagawa, in 1969 covered Seeger’s anti-Vietnam war song “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” (which was censored on U.S. television at one point), and it remains a part of Nakagawa’s repertoire to this day.

I think the late U.S. singer/songwriter Harry Chapin, though, put it best when he recorded a tribute to Seeger in the 1980s titled “Old Folkie”:

For forty years now he's been pushin’ on
Carrying the dream ’cause Woody [Guthrie]’s long gone
He’s the last voice singing that “bound for glory” song
And if you never seen him, you might take a look
He’s the man who put the meaning in the music book
Yeah, the world may be tired but Pete’s still going strong....

Over the past few decades, Pete Seeger has taken on the environmental pollution plaguing the United States and other related issues. His environmental education programs for young people aboard a sailboat that sails along the Hudson River in New York state, the Clearwater, are still being held, and they have without a doubt helped raise public awareness of the importance of keeping waterways clean.

In these early years of the 21st century, Pete Seeger still remains relevant. In January 2009 Seeger performed at the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president, and a few months later Seeger’s 90th birthday was celebrated with an all-star musical tribute at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Bruce Springsteen’s introduction to a song at that tribute concert is unforgettable; check it out.

Last year in 2012, having topped the 90-year mark, Seeger released another inspiring song, “God’s Counting on Me, God’s Counting on You,” encouraging people to get out and get involved in changing the things around them that need changing. You can see a wonderful video of the song here.

While you’re at it, sit back, take some time out of your busy schedule today and have a look at a well-produced documentary film about Pete Seeger titled The Power of Song, which was shown on U.S. public television in 2007. It tells the story of the “old folkie” better than I've ever seen it told — the songs, the issues, and Seeger as the conscience of a nation that often seemed to have no conscience. You can watch it in its entirety here.

So while he is still here with us and not yet gone, let me add my own personal wishes to one who has fought the Good Fight in his lifetime and never lost sight of the most important role of music in the world: to inspire, to speak up, to bring people together, to help correct wrongs in society. It has been a real joy to spend the day today going through Seeger's life and music, and being reminded once again of the powerful spirit of music in our lives.

A very Happy 94th Birthday today, Pete Seeger....and thank you!