Mike Seeger, who explored and revealed the rural roots of American music in the South, dies at 75

"Mike Seeger, whose love for traditional songs and tunes inspired many other musicians — including Bob Dylan — to look for the rural roots of American music, died of cancer Friday night at his home in Lexington, Va." So reports Paul Brown for National Public Radio.

"Seeger was one of the most influential voices of the generation that rediscovered American vernacular music in the 1950s and 60s and, in doing so, gave a new shape to American culture as a whole," Folklore Productions reports in Sing Out! (Sing Out! photo) They quote from Dylan's autobiography, Chronicles: “Somebody holds the mirror up, unlocks the door, and your head has to go into a different place. Mike Seeger had that effect on me. He played on all the various planes, the full index of the old-time styles, [and] he played these songs as good as it was possible to play them.” (Read more)

"He was born into a prominent musical family," notes Brown, a friend of Seeger. "His half-brother Pete and sister Peggy are renowned musicians and social activists. His father, Charles, was a folklorist. His mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, was a music scholar, teacher and classical composer." (Read more) "In a 2000 interview, Pete Seeger told The Roanoke Times that Mike Seeger was 'by far, the best musician in the family'," Ralph Berrirer Jr. reports.

"Mike sought out undiscovered or disappeared musicians in the towns and countrysides of southwest Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina — all over the South," Brown recalls. "He brought dozens of ... traditional musicians to the stage, either on his own or with his group, the New Lost City Ramblers. Feeling they merited far more recognition than they were getting, he organized tours — some of them abroad — for these rural Southern players." (Read more)

Patte Wood reports for the Rockbridge Weekly in Lexington, "Seeger was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and decided to forego further treatment and entered hospice care. He was surrounded by family and friends during his last days as he wished. Seeger was 75 years old. ... The family advises there will be a memorial concert for Mike Seeger at a future date." (Read more)