Peggy Seeger
Biography Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
is totally unique. Sister of Pete Seeger (the great-grandfather of USA folk revivial) and partner of the late Ewan MacColl, theorist and practitioner of UK folk revival), she has carved a special niche for herself in both these countries. Trained in both classical and folk music, her experience spans 55 years of performing, travel and songwriting. She'll sing an unaccompanied traditional ballad, follow it with a tall tale about a circus high-diver, then launch into a topical song about drugs, war, hormones, politicians, unions, women, love or ecology. A multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, English concertina and Appalachian dulcimer), she is probably best known for her feminist songs (such as Gonna Be an Engineer) and for The Ballad of Springhill, which latter is rapidly becoming regarded as a traditional song.
Born in 1935, she regards herself as "seasoned and in my prime". She has has made 23 solo recordings and has participated in over a hundred recordings with other artists. A native North American, she made her home in England with MacColl for 35 years. She returned to the USA for sixteen years but has returned permanently to the UK where her 3 children and 9 grandchldren live. She regards England as Home.
Recording in the past for Folkways, Rounder Records and Appleseed Recordings, her 2014 album Everything Changes, was released on her own label, Signet Music. The one and only full-length authorized biography, ‘Peggy Seeger: A Life of Love, Music and Politics’ by Jean R. Freedman was published in 2017 (University of Illinois Press), and Peggy’s own memoir, ‘First Time Ever’ will be published in October 2017 (Faber & Faber).
" .... must be one of the most complete artists around today." (The Belfast Review)
"Seeger's greatest asset is her uncanny ability to dissolve the gap between artist and audience." (The Irish Times)
"From the moment she stepped on stage, Peggy held every person in that packed auditorium spellbound". (Tradition Magazine)
