So Long, It's Been Good to Know You

Smithsonian Folkways

I tip my tiny top hat today in memory of an American legend who died late last night, Pete Seeger.

Growing up in the late '60s and early '70s in Appalachian Ohio gave Momma an appreciation for folk music. In fact, my darling Clementine is named after his rendition of the old ballad, Clementine.
 
Seeger, who was 94 when he died, was an American folk singer. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s but was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.

If you have never truly listened to this musical genius, Momma and I highly recommend Seeger's American Favorite Ballads, Vol. 1 by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.