Onstage at the Madison Square Garden celebration of Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday, Bruce Springsteen gives a moving tribute to Seeger, specifically honoring Seeger’s long participation in progressive causes. “Despite Pete’s somewhat benign, grandfatherly appearance, he is a creature of a stubborn, defiant, and nasty optimism,” Springsteen says. Seeger was a trade-union supporter, a civil rights marcher, an anti-war demonstrator, and an environmental activist. Pete Seeger passed away January 28, 2014 at the age of 94. In 2006 Springsteen released an entire album of songs associated with Seeger.