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.| Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Permissions Introduction 1. Very Good Stock 2. The Early Years 3. Coming of Age in Chevy Chase 4. A Rendezvous with Death 5. The Rover, Part One 6. The First Time Ever 7. The Rover, Part Two 8. New Day Dawning 9. At Home Abroad 10. What Is a Folk Song? 11. High Noon 12. Beginnings and Endings 13. Different Stages 14. Things Fall Apart 15. Late in the Day 16. The Day Is Ending 17. The Long Road Home 18. Heading for Home 19. Old New England 20. Everything Changes 21. What Is a Folk Revival? Notes References Cited Index | "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
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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.