Born May 3 in New York City to a deeply musical family. His father, Charles Seeger, was a musicologist. His mother, Constance de Clyver Edson Seeger, was a violinist and teacher.

During the summer of 1935, while traveling with his father and stepmother, Pete heard the five-string banjo for the first time at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in western North Carolina near Asheville.

Attends Harvard University but leaves to pursue folk music. Travels the country, learning traditional songs, ballads, and spirituals that shape his lifelong repertoire.

Co-founds The Almanac Singers with Woody Guthrie and others.
They perform in union halls and at political gatherings, connecting music directly to working people and social movements.

Served in the U.S. Army during World War II while continuing to write songs. He was assigned to Special Services, where he spent his time entertaining troops with his banjo.

Marries Toshi-Aline Ohta (also known as Toshi Seeger). Their partnership would last more than 70 years - she became his collaborator, organizer, producer, and steady strategic force behind much of his work.

Forms The Weavers with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman.

They achieved major success with “Goodnight, Irene” and “On Top of Old Smoky,” bringing folk music into the mainstream.

During the Red Scare, The Weavers are blacklisted over alleged Communist ties.
Concert bookings collapse. Radio and television appearances disappear.

Pete and Toshi shift to smaller venues, colleges, camps, and community spaces — building audiences from the ground up.

Appears before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Refuses to discuss his political beliefs or associations.

Convicted of contempt of Congress in 1961. Conviction overturned on appeal in 1962.

Becomes closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement. Helps popularize “We Shall Overcome.” Performs at the 1963 March on Washington.

Writes and performs anti-war songs including “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” which initially faces television censorship.

Mentors and influences a new generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Pete and Toshi Seeger co-found Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in response to severe industrial pollution in the Hudson River.

Toshi plays a central role in organizing, fundraising, and shaping the vision — ensuring the effort is both cultural and environmental.

The 106-foot wooden sloop Clearwater is launched from the Harvey Gamage Shipyard in Maine and sails to New York.

It becomes a floating classroom, performance space, and organizing tool for environmental advocacy and education.

The Great Hudson River Revival begins at Croton Point Park - founded as a fundraiser for Clearwater’s environmental work.

The festival blends music, activism, and education, creating a model that influences generations of gatherings to come.

Clearwater’s advocacy helps draw national attention to PCB contamination and contributes to federal cleanup efforts along the Hudson.

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Receives the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.

At 89, performs at the Lincoln Memorial during President Barack Obama’s inaugural celebration, leading “This Land Is Your Land.”

Toshi Seeger passed away on July 9, 2013. Pete Seeger passed away on January 27, 2014 at age 94.

Their legacy continues through environmental advocacy, community singing, and the ongoing work to protect the Hudson River.