May 23 2008, Utah Phillips, a working class hero died, but he still delivers humour and a working class story.
From Wikipedia:
Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips
(May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)[1]
was a labor organizer, folk
singer, storyteller,
poet and the "Golden
Voice of the Great Southwest". He described the struggles of
labor unions
and the power of direct
action, self-identifying as an anarchist.[2]
He often promoted the Industrial
Workers of the World in his music, actions, and words.
Early years
Phillips was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Edwin Deroger Phillips and Frances Kathleen Coates. He attended East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father, Edwin Phillips, was a labor organizer, and his parents' activism influenced much of his life's work. Phillips was a card-carrying member of the Industrial Workers of the World, the "wobblies," headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Phillips rode the railroads, and wrote songs.[3]
He served in the United
States Army for three years beginning in 1956 (at the latest).
Witnessing the devastation of post-war
Korea greatly
influenced his social and political thinking.
Lurking amongst my usual load and shouty music, Utah Phillips lives on. Rarely a week goes by when I don't give him a listen , especially his rendition of the Preacher and the Slave. Much missed
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