Legendary US folk singer Pete Seeger dies aged 94

Pete Seeger, whose songs included If I Had a Hammer, died after a short illness at a New York Hospital.

15:14 28 January 2014

Legendary singer and activist Pete Seeger, who first became famous after joining the group The Weavers and whose popular songs included If I Had A Hammer and Turn! Turn! Turn!, has died at the age of 94 after a short illness at a New York Hospital his grandson confirmed.

In 1950, two years after The Weavers formed, Seeger was blacklisted in the US because of his protest songs. Denied broadcast exposure, he decided to play at US college campuses singing songs which echoes his leftist stance. He described his campus tour as “most important job of my career.”

By 1955, he was interrogated by Un-American Activities Committee and was charged with contempt of Congress. However, the sentence was overturned on appeal. He continued to voice out his ideals and became a standard bearer for political causes from nuclear disarmament to the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.

Proof of his influence in the music industry includes an entire Bruce Springsteen album containing the songs that he originally sung. Also, on his 90th birthday, he was feted by artists including Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, and Dave Matthews in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Springsteen called him "a living archive of America's music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture to nudge history along".