American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger whose songs include Turn, Turn, Turn! and If I Had A Hammer, has died at the age of 94.
His grandson says he died at a hospital in New York after a short illness.
Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen perform at the Lincoln Memorial in January 2009. Photo: AFP (file)
Seeger gained fame in The Weavers, formed in 1948, and continued to perform in his own right in a career spanning six decades. He was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
Renowned for his protest songs, Seeger was blacklisted by the US Government in the 1950s for his leftist stance.
Denied broadcast exposure, Seeger toured US college campuses spreading his music and ethos, later calling this the "most important job of my career".
He was quizzed by the Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 and later charged with contempt of Congress, but the sentence was overturned on appeal.
He returned to TV in the late 1960s but had a protest song about the Vietnam War cut from broadcast.
The BBC reports he was a standard bearer for political causes from nuclear disarmament to the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011.
Other songs that he co-wrote included Where Have All The Flowers Gone, and he was credited with making We Shall Overcome an anthem of resistance.
Turn! Turn! Turn! was made into a number one hit by The Byrds in 1965 and covered by a multitude of other artists including Dolly Parton and Chris de Burgh.
He won Grammy awards in 1997 and 2008 and again in 2010. He was a nominee at Sunday night's ceremony in the spoken word category.
He was due to being honoured with the first Woody Guthrie Prize next month, given to an artist emulating the spirit of the musician's work.
Presidential praise
President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised Seeger's activism , saying he used his voice to strike blows for worker's rights, civil rights, world peace and environmental conservation.
