Seeger proves it’s the singer, not the song

With his warbly voice and backwoods smile, Pete Seeger might have been the hippie’s hippie, a folk singer who maintained his Ghandi-esque tranquillity even while persecuted by Joe McCarthy and stoned by angry mobs.

A new documentary, however, shows that the man has had his moments. Or at least one moment -- a 1968 appearance on an unlikely CBS television show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which had taken a risk by hosting the blacklisted singer. There, Seeger sang “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” a bitter ballad inspired by newspaper photos of U.S. soldiers wading through Mekong Delta swamps. Though dressed in a sweater snuggly enough for Mr. Rogers, Seeger visibly boils with rage, battering his acoustic guitar and snarling about “the big fool” who keeps urging the troops deeper into the muck. It’s as fierce as anything by the Clash and, given the era, twice as subversive.

“Pete Seeger: The Power of Song” could have been called “Pete Seeger: The First Punk.” As the film traces the singer’s life -- 88 years and counting -- it also tracks the evolution of American countercultures through much of the 20th century. Union rallies, the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement, the hippie revolution -- Seeger was not only there, he was shoveling coal into the locomotive.

The documentary never directly addresses today’s political climate, even when interviewing Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines. But the timing of its release seems significant, and Seeger himself speaks -- or sings -- loudly enough. Smeared and silenced by a pro-war government, Seeger turned the simplest ditties into anthems of individuality. “This Little Light of Mine” never sounded so dangerous.

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“Pete Seeger: The Power of Song.” MPAA rating: PG for some mild thematic material. Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes. At Laemmle Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills.