Utah Phillips showing his membership card from the Industrial Workers of the World

Bruce "Utah" Phillips (b. May 15, 1935 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a labor organizer, folk singer, storyteller, poet and self-described "Golden Voice of the Great Southwest". He describes the struggles of labor unions and the power of direct action. He often promotes the Industrial Workers of the World in his music, actions, and words. Image File history File linksMetadata Utah_bw_sm. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Utah_bw_sm. ... Its mine ~~~ Industrial Workers of the World File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: Progress & Prosperity Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA Coordinates: , Country State County Cuyahoga Founded 1796 Incorporated 1814 (village)   1836 (city) Government  - Mayor Frank G. Jackson (D) Area [1]  - City  82. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... For the 2001 film, see Storytelling (film) Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Direct action is a form of political activism which seeks immediate remedy for perceived ills, as opposed to indirect actions such as electing representatives who promise to provide remedy at some later date. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. ...

Utah Phillips' given name is Bruce Phillips. A fan of T. Texas Tyler, Phillips adopted the stage name U. Utah Phillips. T. Texas Tyler (1916 - 1972) was a country music singer and songwriter, primarily known for his song, The Deck of Cards. ...

Phillips served the United States Army for three years beginning in 1956. Witnessing the devastating effects of the post Korean War Korea greatly influenced his social and political thinking. Following service, he returned to Salt Lake City, Utah and joined Ammon Hennacy from the Catholic Worker Movement in establishing a mission house of hospitality named after the activist Joe Hill. Phillips worked at the Joe Hill House for the next eight years, then ran for the U.S. Senate as a candidate of Utah's Peace and Freedom Party in 1968. He received 2,019 votes (0.5%) in an election won by Republican Wallace F. Bennett. The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. ... Ammon Hennacy Ammon Hennacy (July 24, 1893 - January 14, 1970) was an American pacifist, Christian anarchist, vegetarian, social activist, member of the Catholic Worker Movement and a Wobbly, and was known for establishing the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City, Utah and never paying taxes. ... The Catholic Worker Movement is a Catholic organisation founded by Servant of God Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. ... Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, and also known as Joseph Hillström (October 7, 1879 – November 19, 1915) was a radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies. ... The Joe Hill House was a Catholic Worker Movement house of hospitality in Salt Lake City, Utah co-founded in 1961 by Ammon Hennacy. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Politics Portal      The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral United States Congress, the... United States Peace and Freedom Party logo The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a ballot-listed minor political party in California. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... Senator Wallace Foster Bennett (1898–1993) was a United States Senator from Utah. ...

He met folk singer Rosalie Sorrels in the early 1950s, and has remained a close friend of hers ever since. It was Sorrels who started playing the songs that Phillips wrote, and through her his music began to spread. After leaving Utah in the late '60s, he went to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he was befriended by the folk community at the Caffé Lena coffee house, where he became a staple performer throughout that decade. Rosalie Sorrels (1933 - ) is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. ... Saratoga Springs is a city located in Saratoga County, New York. ... Located in Saratoga Springs, NY, Caffè Lena is the oldest continually running coffee house in the United States. ...

An avid railfan, Phillips has recorded several albums of music related to the railroads, especially the era of steam locomotives. His first recorded album, Good Though!, is an example, and contains such songs as "Daddy, What's a Train?" and "Queen of the Rails" as well as what may be his most famous composition, "Moose Turd Pie" wherein he tells a tall tale of his work as a gandy dancer repairing track in the Southwestern United States desert. Railfans practicing their hobby at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. ... This is the top-level page of WikiProject trains Rail tracks Rail transport refers to the land transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ... Tall Tale, also known as Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill is a 1995 family Western movie starring Patrick Swayze, Nick Stahl, Oliver Platt, Roger Aaron Brown, Scott Glenn, Catherine OHara, and Jared Harris. ... Gandy dancer is a slang term for workers who maintained railroads in North America. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ...

In 1991 Phillips recorded an album of song, poetry and short stories entitled I've Got To Know in one take, inspired by his anger at the first Gulf War. The album includes "Enola Gay," his first composition written about the United States' atomic attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Combatants United States Saudi Arabia & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 240 killed in action, 776 wounded in action, 30 taken prisoner Est. ... Citizens of Hiroshima walk by the A-Bomb Dome, the closest building to have survived the citys atomic bombing. ...

Phillips was a mentor to Kate Wolf. He has recorded songs and stories with Rosalie Sorrels on a CD called The Long Memory (1996), originally a college project from Montana. Ani DiFranco has recorded two CDs, The Past Didn't Go Anywhere (1996) and Fellow Workers (1999), with him. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work with Ani DiFranco. His "Green Rolling Hills" was made into a country hit by Emmylou Harris, and "The Goodnight-Loving Trail" has become a classic as well, being recorded by Ian Tyson, Tom Waits, and others. Kate Wolf (nee Kathryn Louise Allen, January 27, 1942 - December 10, 1986) was an American folk singer and songwriter. ... Rosalie Sorrels (1933 - ) is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  Ranked 4th  - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 km²)  - Width 255 miles (410 km)  - Length 630 miles (1,015 km)  - % water 1  - Latitude 44°26N to 49°N  - Longitude 104°2W to 116°2W Population  Ranked... Ani DiFranco (IPA: ) (born Angela Maria Difranco on September 23, 1970) is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... The Past Didnt Go Anywhere is an album by American folksinger Utah Phillips and American singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. ... Fellow Workers is an album by folksinger American Utah Phillips and American singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Emmylou Harris (b. ... Famous Alberta cowboy music singer. ... Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. ...

Phillips has become an elder statesman for the folk music community, and a keeper of stories and songs that might otherwise have passed into obscurity. He is also 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 is an important keeper of their history and culture.

When Kate Wolf grew ill and was forced to cancel concerts, she asked Phillips to fill in. Suffering from an ailment which makes it more difficult to play guitar, Phillips hesitated, citing his declining guitar ability. "Nobody ever came just to hear you play," she said. Phillips tells this story as a way of explaining how his style over the years has become increasingly based on storytelling instead of just songs. He is a gifted storyteller and monologist, and his concerts generally have an even mix of spoken word and sung content. He attributes much of his success to his personality. "It is better to be likeable than talented," he often says, self-deprecatingly.

Until it lost its funding, Phillips hosted his own weekly radio show, Loafer's Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind.

In August 2007, Phillips announced [1] that he would undergo catheter ablation in an attempt to help with heart problems.

External links

• Official website
• September 2003 Interview in The Progressive
• Biography from the 1997 Folk Alliance Lifetime Achievement Awards
• Summer 2005 Interview in "Unlikely Stories"
• Fall 2005 Interview in YES! Magazine
• Turtle Vision photo gallery of Utah Phillips