Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips was an American labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller and poet.
37 Facts About Utah Phillips
2.
Utah Phillips described the struggles of labor unions and the power of direct action, self-identifying as an anarchist.
3.
Utah Phillips often promoted the Industrial Workers of the World in his music, actions, and words.
4.
Utah Phillips's father, Edwin Phillips, was a labor organizer, and his parents' activism influenced much of his life's work.
5.
Utah Phillips was a card-carrying member of the Industrial Workers of the World headquartered in Chicago.
6.
Utah Phillips was adopted at the age of five by his stepfather, Syd Cohen, who managed the Hippodrome Theater in Cleveland, one of the last vaudeville houses in the city.
7.
Utah Phillips attended East High School in Salt Lake City, where he was involved in the arts and plays.
8.
Utah Phillips served in the United States Army for three years in the 1950s.
9.
Utah Phillips gave credit to Hennacy for saving him from a life of drifting to one dedicated to using his gifts and talents toward activism and public service.
10.
Utah Phillips assisted him in establishing a mission house of hospitality named after the activist Joe Hill.
11.
Utah Phillips received 2,019 votes in an election won by Republican Wallace F Bennett.
12.
Utah Phillips ran for president of the United States in 1976 for the Do-Nothing Party.
13.
Utah Phillips adopted the name U Utah Phillips in keeping with the hobo tradition of adopting a moniker that included an initial and the state of origin, and in emulation of country vocalist T Texas Tyler.
14.
Utah Phillips met folk singer Rosalie Sorrels in the early 1950s, and remained a close friend of hers.
15.
Sorrels started playing the songs that Utah Phillips wrote, and through her his music began to spread.
16.
Utah Phillips became a staple performer there for a decade, and would return throughout his career.
17.
Utah Phillips was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World.
18.
Utah Phillips's views of unions and politics were shaped by his parents, especially his mother who was a labor organizer for the CIO.
19.
An avid trainhopper, Utah Phillips recorded several albums of music related to the railroads, especially the era of steam locomotives.
20.
In 1991 Utah Phillips recorded, in one take, an album of song, poetry and short stories entitled I've Got To Know, inspired by his anger at the first Gulf War.
21.
Utah Phillips recorded songs and stories with Rosalie Sorrels on a CD called The Long Memory, originally a college project "Worker's Doxology" for 1992 'cold-drill Magazine' Boise State University.
22.
Utah Phillips was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work with DiFranco.
23.
Utah Phillips's "Green Rolling Hills" was made into a country hit by Emmylou Harris, and "The Goodnight-Loving Trail" became a classic as well, being recorded by Ian Tyson, Tom Waits, and others.
24.
Utah Phillips was a member of various socio-political organizations and groups throughout his life.
25.
Utah Phillips enjoyed culinary hobbies, such as pickling, cooking and gardening.
26.
Utah Phillips married Joanna Robinson on July 31,1989, in Nevada City.
27.
Utah Phillips became an elder statesman for the folk music community, and a keeper of stories and songs that might otherwise have passed into obscurity.
28.
Utah Phillips was a member of the great Traveling Nation, the community of hobos and railroad bums that populates the Midwest United States along the rail lines, and was an important keeper of their history and culture.
29.
Utah Phillips became an honorary member of numerous folk societies in the US and Canada.
30.
When Kate Wolf grew ill and was forced to cancel concerts, she asked Utah Phillips to fill in.
31.
Utah Phillips told this story as a way of explaining how his style over the years became increasingly based on storytelling instead of just songs.
32.
Utah Phillips was a gifted storyteller and monologist, and his concerts generally had an even mix of spoken word and sung content.
33.
Utah Phillips attributed much of his success to his personality.
34.
From 1997 to 2001, Utah Phillips hosted his own weekly radio show, Loafer's Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind, originating on KVMR and nationally syndicated.
35.
Utah Phillips lived in Nevada City, California, for 21 years where he worked on the start-up of the Hospitality House, a homeless shelter, and the Peace and Justice Center.
36.
Later that autumn, Utah Phillips announced that due to health problems he could no longer tour.
37.
Utah Phillips died May 23,2008, in Nevada City, California, from complications of heart disease, eight days after his 73rd birthday, and is buried in Forest View Cemetery in Nevada City.