At 89


At 89 is a studio album by Pete Seeger, released on September 30, 2008, via Appleseed Records. In 2008, the album earned Seeger the Grammy Award 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 with a large group of people working in community.
"Song of the World's Last Whale" is an anti-whaling song composed by Seeger in 1970 after he listened to the "whale song" discovered by Roger Payne. He gave its rights to the Whale Fund, an auxiliary of the New York Zoological Society which is concerned with whale conservation. Despite playing the song live, he did not record it officially until At 89.

Credits and personnel

Performers

  • Sue Altkin – choir, chorus, vocals
  • David Bernz – banjo, choir, chorus, guitar, guitar, vocals
  • Robert Cagianese – additional violin
  • Karen Cashin – chorus
  • Sonya Cohen – vocals
  • Jonathan Dickau – choir, chorus, engineer, mixing, vocals
  • Angela Dourdis – chorus
  • James Durst – choir, chorus, guitar, vocals,
  • Alison Hartwell – chorus
  • Travis Jeffrey – vocals
  • Caroline Kruzansky – chorus, vocals
  • 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
  • Pete Seeger – banjo, choir, chorus, guitar, guitar, Native American flute, spoken word, vocals
  • Laurie Siegel – choir, chorus, vocals
  • Dave Tarlo – chorus, vocals
  • Bruce K. Taylor – choir, chorus, vocals
  • Connie Taylor – choir, chorus, vocals
  • Sarah Underhill – chorus
  • The Walkabout Chorus – vocals

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