Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday
Thanks to a gift from a grateful coaching client, I attended Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday Party at Madison Square Garden here in Manhattan on Sunday, May 3. Officially called The Clearwater Concert, a Benefit for www.clearwater.org, it was a four-and-a-half hour celebration of the life of a leader not just in the field of folk music but in so many other areas, including the environment.
A fierce liberal, Seeger’s dedication to his causes and to making the world a little better was celebrated in a moving tribute by over 40 musicians.
On Monday evening during the “Employee Development and Training Class” I teach at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, the nation’s most diverse campus, I did a survey of my students by asking a few questions about the performers who showed up to join in the birthday celebration.
“How many of you have heard of Pete Seeger?” No hands went up.
“How many of you have heard of Joan Baez?” No hands went up.
“How many of you have heard of Richie Havens?” No hands went up.
“How many of you have heard of Bruce Springsteen?” No one needed to raise their hand; they let me know with their facial expressions, “Who do you think we are?”
What was very clear from this survey was the cultural gap that existed. It was also a perfect example of what can happen in a training class or the workplace. We have of our own individual preferences for music, art, theatre, entertainment in general. The lesson for the class of seniors majoring in Human Resources was clear: don’t assume shared knowledge of students who attend a training class.
On Wednesday evening, I showed a You Tubeclip of Seeger performing with Springsteen at President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial. “Oh, yes. I know who he is now,” said one student and others agreed. Another student said with a big smile on her face, “I saw the article in the newspaper about the concert.”
I wasn’t promoting Seeger or Clearwater’s efforts to clean up the Hudson River, although that’s a great idea which I support. What I was doing as an educator was opening opportunities to bridge the gaps between our worlds. It was also, I realized, a process, to share names of performers who were instrumental in developing my appreciation for their work.
In addition, it was the unstated wish that when my students’ music idols are 90, they who have aged along with their idols, can remember the moments when a song (”Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” written by Seeger and Joe Hickerson and sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary on a stage in San Francisco when I was in college), or a performer (Joan Baez coming out on stage at the Greek Theatre on the University of Berkeley campus when I was on a date with a handsome guy) impacted their lives.
A birthday party is a celebration. A celebration of a life and a celebration of all the memories that have gone into creating that life. And the chance to reflect on the memories that make up your own life.
Happy Birthday, Pete!