''At 89'' is a studio album by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

, released on September 30, 2008, via Appleseed Records. In 2008, the album earned Seeger the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Composition

The album features a blend of instrumental and vocal songs, interspersed with spoken word segments. Several tracks were recorded at the Howland Center in

Beacon, NY Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2020 census placed the city total population at 13,769. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area as we ...

with a large group of people working in community. "Song of the World's Last Whale" is an

anti-whaling Anti-whaling refers to actions taken by those who seek to end whaling in various forms, whether locally or globally in the pursuit of marine conservation. Such activism is often a response to specific conflicts with pro-whaling countries and organ ...

song composed by Seeger in 1970 after he listened to the "

whale song Whales use a variety of sounds for communication and sensation. The mechanisms used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. Marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are much more dependent on sound than ...

" discovered by

Roger Payne Roger Searle Payne (born January 29, 1935) is an American biologist and environmentalist famous for the 1967 discovery (with Scott McVay) of whale song among humpback whales. Payne later became an important figure in the worldwide campaign to e ...

. He gave its rights to the Whale Fund, an auxiliary of the

New York Zoological Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

which is concerned with

whale conservation Whale conservation refers to the conservation of whales. Conservation status Prior to the setting up of the IWC in 1946, unregulated whaling had depleted a number of whale populations to a significant extent, and several whales species were se ...

. Despite playing the song live, he did not record it officially until ''At 89''.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Performers

* Sue Altkin – choir, chorus, vocals * David Bernz – banjo, choir, chorus, guitar, guitar (12-string), vocals * Robert Cagianese – additional violin ("Alleluya") * Karen Cashin - chorus * Sonya Cohen – vocals ("When I was most Beautiful") * Jonathan Dickau – choir, chorus, engineer, mixing, vocals * Angela Dourdis - chorus * James Durst – choir, chorus, guitar ("Little Fat Baby"), vocals, ("Little Fat Baby, and "We Will Love or We Will Perish") * Alison Hartwell - chorus * Travis Jeffrey – vocals ("It's a long haul") * Caroline Kruzansky - chorus, vocals ("Or Else!") * Lisa McVey - chorus * Sara Milonovich – violin * Jenny Murphy - chorus * Mark Murphy – bass, choir, chorus, vocals * Melissa Ohrquist - chorus * Perry Robinson – clarinet * Martha Sandefer – choir, chorus, vocals ("Bach at Treblinka," "Little Fat Baby," and "We Will Love or We Will Perish") * Pete Seeger – banjo, choir, chorus, guitar (12-string), guitar (nylon string), Native American flute, spoken word, vocals * Laurie Siegel – choir, chorus, vocals * Dave Tarlo - chorus, vocals ("Now We Sit us Down," and "We Will Love or We Will Perish") * Bruce K. Taylor – choir, chorus, vocals * Connie Taylor – choir, chorus, vocals * Sarah Underhill - chorus * The Walkabout Chorus - vocals ("Tzena, Tzena, Tzena," "If this World Survives")

Songwriting/Arranging

* Johann Sebastian Bach – composer * David Bernz – arranger, composer, lyricist * Travis Jeffrey – composer, lyricist * Gordon Jenkins – composer, lyricist * Alan Lomax – arranger, collection * John A. Lomax – arranger, collection * Pete Seeger - arranger, composer, lyricist * Malvina Reynolds – composer, lyricist * Lorre Wyatt – composer, lyricist

Production

* David Bernz – engineer, photography, producer * Jonathan Dickau – engineer, mixing * Christina Galbiati – graphic design * David Glasser – mastering * Judy Jacobs – photography * Jim Musselman – executive producer, liner notes * Pete Seeger – producer

References

External links

''At 89'' at Appleseed Recordings
{{Authority control 2008 albums Pete Seeger albums