Artist:Pete Seeger
Song:Little Boxes
Album:Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits
Of course Pete Seeger is a legend of folk music and political activism. Little Boxes was his one and only charted single. He was born May 3, 1919 in New York City. Both his parents taught at the Juilliard School Of Music. Seeger was studying sociology at Harvard in 1936 when he quit and went to the south with Alan Lomax to do field recordings of folk & blues musicians. He met Woody Guthrie in 1940 and The Almanac Singers set the table for a mix of folk music & political activism. Seeger came to the attention of the general public as a member of The Weavers along with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert & Fred Hellerman. They were very popular in the 50s. Seeger was blacklisted after appearing before HUAC in 1955. He went solo in 1958 when the whole coffee house folk music circuit was just starting. He was a major influence on many of the young singers in the 60s. And his song Turn Turn Turn was a huge hit for The Byrds in 1965. Little Boxes was written by Seeger's pal Malvina Reynolds. Seeger sings it like it's a children's song but it is in fact social commentary about suburbia. The song originally appeared on a recording of a 1963 Carnegie Hall concert. Columbia released it as a single in 1964 and it actually charted. This comp was rereleased in 2002 with some bonus tracks. Of course Pete Seeger continues to perform today and is world famous for his political activism. Here's Pete Seeger performing Little Boxes on a 60s TV show.
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