Last year I was lucky enough to have tuned in to the BBC when they aired Bruce Springsteen - The Seeger Sessions Live. The performance was filmed in the beautiful St. Luke Old Street church in London and now Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin CD/DVD is set for release on June 5, 2007. The performances are from the Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, recorded at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland in November 2006.

Watch the BBC video of Bruce Springsteen performing “We Shall Overcome”
The BBC Sessions was a great concert and I was intrigued with the idea that Bruce Springsteen would commit a whole night’s worth of music to folk songs by musical and political activist Pete Seeger, which seemed a drastic change from the Bruce Springsteen music we all know and love. I must admit that I didn’t know too much about Pete Seeger and that it was Bruce Springsteen who had brought my attention to him and his music for the most part.

When I was reading about Pete Seeger’s interesting life, family and of course his music, I learned that in addition to the catalog of songs that Bruce Springsteen has covered on his new Live in Dublin CD/DVD, there were surprisingly, some other very familiar song titles.

“Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is A Season),” made famous in the 60’s by The Byrds, was written by none other than Pete Seeger, though the lyrics in the song are text taken from the Bible and then set to music.

Pete Seeger also wrote “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” - which I also hadn’t been aware of. I’ve known that song since I was in the first grade. When our teacher was away on maternity leave, the substitute teacher would come in with her acoustic guitar and sing songs to us kids, including that one. She must have been a Pete Seeger fan and I’ll always remember her for bringing that guitar into class.

Watch Pete Seeger perform Wimoweh and Where Have All the Flowers Gone on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Buy: Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin on amazon.com

More information:

Pete Seeger Appreciation Page
Bruce Springsteen Official Website

By: Jenny May