News of legendary folk singer Pete Seeger’s death at the ripe old age of 94 just broke, and you know what that means: Twitter mourning the wrong person entirely.
Spreading like a nasty flu is the misconception that Pete Seeger is the same person as Bob Seger, a rock musician known in part for a song titled “Night Moves.” These were all retweeted by sharp-eyed critic Craig Jenkins, who writes for Pitchfork and SPIN, among others:
I woke up to the radio telling me about the death of Seeger. Rest in peace, Pete Seeger, but man I'm glad we still got the night moves.
— Selena Coppock (@SelenaCoppock) January 28, 2014
RIP Pete Seeger, I'll be playing Night Moves on a loop today in memory.
— Mr. J Roboto (@MrJoebot) January 28, 2014
Pete Seeger is working on his Night Moves with the angels now
— Patrick (@pattymo) January 28, 2014
RIP Pete Seeger. Now he can work on his night moves in the sky.
— Miguel (@miggiesmalls) January 28, 2014Other users took the mix-up further, not even getting the deceased's name correct; here it became hard to tell just who was in on the joke. (Seger's own official Twitter account has been silent for nearly two weeks, which probably isn't helping matters.)
I always thought "Turn the Page" was an awesome song. RIP Bob Seger
— Resistor (@ResistorSings) January 28, 2014
RIP Bob Seger. Your folkways were our ways.
— Lyndon L.Ron Johnson (@lyndonjohnson) January 28, 2014
RIP Bob Seger. Chillin up there Like a Rock in Heaven.
— John F. Bittrich (@JohnVonB) January 28, 2014Then there were the people who clearly sought to exploit and enhance the mounting confusion. (We’re generously assuming that no one thinks “Fly Like an Eagle” or “The Gambler,” tunes by the Steve Miller Band and Kenny Rogers, respectively, were part of Bob Seger’s oeuvre.)
RIP Bob Seger, gone to eternal Baker St. May he forever Fly Like An Eagle. #TheGambler
— FanSince09 (@FanSince09) January 28, 2014
Oceans of Storify articles consisting of RIP Bob Seger tweets
— SUPER BOWL SPILLY (@IAmSpilly) January 28, 2014
Apologies, gang. Bob Seger is alive and well. It's his father Pete who passed away.
— Black Larry King (@BlackLarryKing) January 28, 2014"Once called 'America’s bottle opener,' Bob Seger believed deeply in the power of singles bars ... And he always invited us to come along."
— JAMES ❄ POULOS (@jamespoulos) January 28, 2014
RIP folk legend Bob Seger who's song Old Time Rock And Roll was the soundtrack and inspiration of the civil rights movement.
— Sean Walsh (@seanbwalsh) January 28, 2014
RIP Bob Seger, inventer of the silver bullet can
— Louisville Humer (@LouisvilleHuMer) January 28, 2014In all the noise, however, one noble, helpful voice rang out.
RIP to Pete Seeger. I don't know who you are but I know it's not Bob Seger.
— Jeff (@TheDefJef) January 28, 2014Good enough for us.
Photo by reneerwest/Flickr