
Greenwich Village, known as a birthplace of artistic movements, mourned the death of one of its beloved symbols, the father of modern protest music, Pete Seeger. Seeger died on January 28, 2014 at the age of 94.
Veteran Village resident and musician, 58-year-old George Usher said that local musicians came together to mourn the loss.
“It really does feel like a death in the family,” Usher said. “This feels a little closer to home for some reason. He’s sort of the father of us all.”
Usher explained why many musicians have felt the loss of Seeger so keenly.
Seeger was, “the template for just about every Greenwich Village musician on some level,” Usher added.
“Everyone who does benefit concerts is doing a Pete Seeger,” Usher said. “Everyone who does traditional songs is doing a Pete Seeger. And he also wrote his own stuff, so he covered all the ground that any musician could ever try to.”