Pete Seeger
's acknowledged major influences are
Leadbelly
and
Woody Guthrie
, and he performed their songs frequently. In 1968,
Folkways Records
combed through its extensive catalog of
Seeger
recordings to compile two collections,
Pete Seeger Sings Leadbelly
Pete Seeger Sings Woody Guthrie
. The
album consists entirely of live performances, including ones drawn from
shows performed with
Big Bill Broonzy
(
"Midnight Special"
),
Sonny Terry
"Pick a Bale of Cotton"
), and the team of
Memphis Slim
Willie Dixon
"New York City"
).
is an expert at re-creating
's playing style on the 12-string acoustic guitar (he has even made an instructional record on the subject), and that can be heard particularly on the later selections here. In terms of the lyrics, however,
necessarily comes at the material from a sympathetic remove, if only because he's not a Southern black man and must offer songs like
"Bring Me Little Water, Silvy"
"Bourgeois Blues"
as stories involving someone other than himself. The biggest popular hit of
's career is
"Goodnight Irene,"
a song of
's that concludes the disc, and his audience willingly sings along. The album constitutes
's tribute to a performer who helped to shape his musical sensibility. ~ William Ruhlmann