Piece Comment

Review of Interview with legendary folk singer PEGGY SEEGER


A good interview with an important and fascinating figure. It's unfortunately done over the phone rather than by tape sync, but that's my only gripe. Seeger tells of growing up in her musical family, her mother's early death, her father's victimization in the McCarthy scare, and her move into the Women's Movement. We hear a couple of Seeger's recordings and she reflects on song writing and the enduring appeal of folk music. Seeger points out that despite its progressive image, the Anglo-American folk music tradition is not kind to women. In the vast majority of such songs, women are portrayed in 'unpowerful' positions--as property, victims of murder (by men), or spinsters deserving of ridicule. In her early seventies, Peggy Seeger is still performing and recording. And, yes, she has a Web site. "I'm in very good voice," she declares.