Pete Seeger (1919–2014) appears on this stamp in the Music Icons series. Generations of fans regard him not just as a folk singer but also as a folk hero.
The stamp art features a color-tinted black-and-white photograph taken in the early 1960s by Dan Seeger, the performer's son. Pete Seeger is shown in left profile, singing and playing his iconic banjo. The stamp pane is designed to resemble a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the pane includes the 16 stamps, the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out the top of the sleeve, and a short verso text. On the reverse is a larger version of the stamp-art photograph, the words “Pete Seeger FOLK SINGER,” and the logo for the Music Icons series.
Born in New York to musician parents, Seeger intuitively took to any musical instrument put within his reach. Rural Southern folk music he heard during early family travels, and the five-string banjo that characterized it, would define his long career.
During the Great Depression, he roamed America seeking regional music. On his travels, he met Woody Guthrie, who became a mentor. They organized the Almanac Singers, who tunefully promoted labor unions, then patriotic songs as war loomed. After World War II, Seeger formed a quartet, the Weavers, whose first record, “Goodnight, Irene,” became the number one song of 1950.
The Pete Seeger stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.