Peggy Seeger: A Life of Music, Love, and Politics

by Jean R. Freedman

Overview

Born into folk music's first family, Peggy Seeger has blazed her own trail artistically and personally. Jean Freedman draws on a wealth of research and conversations with Seeger to tell the life story of one of music's most charismatic performers and tireless advocates.Here is the story of Seeger's multifaceted career, from her youth to her pivotal role in the American and British folk revivals, from her instrumental virtuosity to her tireless work on behalf of environmental and feminist causes, from wry reflections on the U.K. folk scene to decades as a songwriter. Freedman also delves into Seeger's fruitful partnership with Ewan MacColl and a multitude of contributions which include creating the renowned Festivals of Fools, founding Blackthorne Records, masterminding the legendary Radio Ballads documentaries, and mentoring performers in the often-fraught atmosphere of The Critics Group. Bracingly candid and as passionate as its subject, Peggy Seeger is the first book-length biography of a life set to music.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252085130
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	02/12/2020
Series:	Music in American Life
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.94(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jean R. Freedman earned a Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University. She is the author of Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Permissions xv

Introduction 1

1 Very Good Stock 5

2 The Early Years 23

3 Coming of Age in Chevy Chase 39

4 A Rendezvous with Death 54

5 The Rover, Part One 72

6 The First Time Ever 82

7 The Rover, Part Two 93

8 New Day Dawning 107

9 At Home Abroad 118

10 What Is a Folk Song? 133

11 High Noon 144

12 Beginnings and Endings 160

13 Different Stages 173

14 Things Fall Apart 187

15 Late in the Day 199

16 The Day Is Ending 216

17 The Long Road Home 239

18 Heading for Home 248

19 Old New England 268

20 Everything Changes 278

21 What Is a Folk Revival? 294

Notes 305

References Cited 339

General Index 353

Index of Selected Recordings and Publications Peggy Seger 365

Editorial Reviews

”Peggy Seeger has lived her life at the sharp end of folk music. Jean Freedman tells the story of this free-spirited artist and agitator.”—Billy Bragg


”Freedman, a professional folklorist, is the perfect biographer for the incomparable Peggy Seeger. She skillfully weaves together insights from the many interviews she conducted with family, friends, and Peggy herself, with her own expert observations about the musical gifts and accomplishments of the folk music icon. Those of us for whom Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl were living legends will especially savor this book, but everyone will be fascinated and moved by the life of a uniquely talented musician who bridged so many divides: classical and folk music, the British and American folk scenes, and her roots in one of America’s great musical families to the several lives she created in the UK and the US.”—Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing THAT?


”O, how I love this book! It gives me everything I wanted to know about my friend, the salty and sweet Peggy Seeger and her unique and prolific family. All the pain is there, but so are the achievements and the joys. This book goes on my shelf next to The Mayor of MacDougal Street, and I can offer no higher praise than that.”—Tom Paxton


”Freedman illuminates Seeger's life and career, creating a powerful, in-depth portrait of the woman, artist, activist, and champion of the folk music genre. . . . A must.”—Library Journal


”An elaborately detailed investigation of Seeger's enduring musical legacy.”—Booklist

"Jean R. Freedman's thoroughly researched book is the definitive biography—a masterpiece."—FolkWorks

"This biography is at its best in evoking what it must have felt like to be Peggy Seeger, developing a political, feminist, consciousness while realizing her own loving and artistic self within a formidable family and political community. Recommended."—Choice

"Her account will be welcomed by Seeger's perennial fan base while providing a fair, thoughtful introduction to new admirers."—Bookreporter

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2017
Peggy Seeger's (b. 1935) contributions to folk music and its popular revival in the United States and Britain have long been recognized. Drawing on personal interviews, letters, diaries, and archival sources, Freedman (Whistling in the Dark: Memory and Culture in Wartime London) illuminates Seeger's life and career, creating a powerful, in-depth portrait of the woman, artist, activist, and champion of the folk music genre. The thoughtful examination of Seeger's parents, who provided her (as well as brothers Pete and Mike) with solid musical and cultural foundations, leads naturally into Seeger's story of lifelong discovery—seeking her own way as an instrumental virtuoso and folk singer, traveling (sometimes controversial politically), recording, composing, teaching/mentoring, and partnering personally and professionally with British folk singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl. Freedman is honest yet respectful as she explores the highs and lows of Seeger's complex journey, which continues into her ninth decade. This consummately researched and engagingly readable biography, with comprehensive material about the folk music revival and its historical framework skillfully woven in, deserves more than one reading and should be accompanied by listening to selections from the generous list of recordings cited. VERDICT A must, not only for fans of Peggy Seeger and the folk music genre, but also for academic and public music/folklore collections.—Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Library Journal