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| Pete Seeger's 'The Complete Bowdoin College Concert 1960' Out April 17 After being blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s, folk song revivalist, civil rights advocate, and social activist Pete Seeger began performing unannounced "community concerts" at schools, camps and community centers. Seeger considers these performances to be some of his most important work. On April 17, 2012, Smithsonian Folkways will release 'The Complete Bowdoin College Concert 1960, ' recorded live on campus at the Brunswick, ME, school in 1960. This is the earliest complete Seeger concert recording available and the only available complete "community concert" recording. The live album features 35 tracks on two discs including two songs - "Al Smith Holds the Bottle" and "I Had a Dream" - unavailable on any other Seeger recording. 'The Complete Bowdoin College Concert, ' produced and annotated by GRAMMY Award-winning Smithsonian Folkways archivist Jeff Place from a pristine recording of the 1960 event by the staff at WBOR FM, captures Seeger's breathtaking show for a rapturous audience that audibly hangs on his every note and word. In a notably ironic twist, Seeger's blacklisted status resulted in him communicating directly to the young audiences authorities were possibly trying to shelter. "...the only thing that could make me any happier is to know a lot of you take these words and spread them around the world wherever you go." - Pete Seeger's commentary from 'The Complete Bowdoin College Concert' Seeger's college concerts capture not only his finest twelve-string guitar and banjo performances, but also his ability to share and celebrate folk music with a community of young intellectuals eager to create change in the face of political strife. Seeger's charisma shines as he introduces each song with candor and humor, encouraging the audience to join him for a wide array of traditional, topical and international music pieces during a revolutionary time in American history. Pete Seeger is a recipient of The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1993), The National Medal of Arts (1994), the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Honor (1994) and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1996). In 2008 he was honored with a GRAMMY Award for best traditional album for 'At 89, ' and he earned The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for his commitment to peace and social justice as a musician, songwriter, activist, and environmentalist. He has also been suggested as a worthy recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Seeger will celebrate his 93rd birthday on May 3rd, 2012 and he continues to compose and perform folk music as well as advocate for social change. In January 2009, he was seen singing "This Land Is Your Land" before hundreds of thousands on the Lincoln Memorial steps during the pre-inauguration concert before Barack Obama became President of the United States. Moses Asch, founder of Folkways Records, released 49 albums by Pete Seeger, and Smithsonian Folkways has released seven more. It's the largest collection of Seeger's work. The Complete Bowdoin College Concert, 1960 Disc 1: 1. Goofing Off Suite-Opening Theme (Pete Seeger) 2. Penny's Farm 3. He Lies in the American Land (Andrew Kovaly/Pete Seeger) 4. Deep Blue Sea 5. Hieland Laddie 6. Oh, Riley 7. Banjo Medley: Cripple Creek/Old Joe Clark/Old Dan Tucker 8. Summertime (George and Ira Gershwin) 9. D-Day Dodgers (Hamish Henderson) 10. Quiz Show (Ernie Mars) 11. Al Smith Holds the Bottle 12. What a Friend We Have in Congress (Ernie Mars) 13. Living in the Country (Pete Seeger) 14. Water Is Wide 15. Bells of Rhymney (Pete Seeger/Idris Davies) 16. Goodnight Irene (Lead Belly) 17. Intermission Disc 2: 18. Big Rock Candy Mountain (Harry McClintock) 19. I Had a Dream (Big Bill Broonzy) 20. Oh, What a Beautiful City 21. In the Sweet Bye and Bye/Preacher and the Slave (Joe Hill) 22. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream (Ed McCurdy) 23. Medley: Colorado Trail/Spanish Is the Loving Tongue/From Here on Up/Texas Girls/We Pity Our Bosses Five/The Scabs Crawl In/Swarthmore Girls 24. Open the Door Softly/Road to Athay/Why Do Scotsmen? 25. Hold Up Your Petticoat/Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (Pete Seeger)/Step By Step/Joe Hill's Last Will (Joe Hill) 26. Vive La Quince Brigada 27. Suliram (Indonesian Lullaby) 28. Wimoweh (The Weavers) 29. Michael, Row the Boat Ashore 30. Commentary 31. Bourgeois Blues (Lead Belly) 32. Black Girl (Lead Belly)/ Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (The Weavers) 33. Tzena, Tzena, Tzena 34. Worried Man Blues (A.P. Carter) 35. Conclusion About Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States, dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials, Smithsonian Folkways seeks to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others. This mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music, " spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |