Damn. Utah Phillips, ¡presente!

[maeve66]

I grew up listening to Child ballads, ultraleft political songs, and left classics from Woody Guthrie through Pete Seeger and Victor Jara to Utah Phillips. Utah Phillips died last night, May 23rd, which I found out from LiveJournal, specifically, sabotabby's LJ. That is a hell of a shame.

I first saw Utah Phillips live in high school, literally AT Evanston Township High School, where he sang at some assembly and made me think of the Pied Piper because there was a student who was a few years older than me, a guitar geek and -- apparently -- GROUPIE of Phillips', because at least in my jumbled recollection, he up and left school to sort of apprentice and tour with Phillips for a while. Later he came back and worked in a guitar shop in town, or owned it, I wasn't clear. But Phillips always seemed so warm and approachable; it wasn't at all a surprise that someone could just attach himself to the guy.

Like Billy Bragg and Woody Guthrie, his voice was not technically stellar. But he could communicate so much feeling and pathos and politics in his songs. It's making me really sad to think that he's gone. Fuck. I don't want to think about Pete Seeger, too.

I think my favorite songs by Utah Phillips are his renditions of classic Wobbly songs, like "The Preacher and the Slave", "The Lumberjack's Prayer" and old union hymns like "There is Power in a Union". But I like his romanticized hobo songs, too. My mother's ex-boyfriend, B., looked (and sounded) just exactly like a hybrid of Utah Phillips and Willie Nelson.

Goodbye, Utah. I'm sorry you had to leave so soon.

If you want to get one album of his, get "We Have Fed You All A Thousand Years".

Comments

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear this. I feel like I've heard Utah Phillips a bunch of times, but maybe it was just the once at the Iron Horse in Northampton. His songs went right at strong feeling and political organizing in ways that could give me a lump in my throat every time.

[slit.livejournal.com]

No!

[erik]

Oh...That is sad news indeed. I have many fond memories of going with my mom to see him play when I was a wee lad. I'm probably making it up, but I remember him staying at our house on at least one occasion. I know that we called him "Uncle Bruce."

He'd been in poor health for quite a while.

I should call my mom.

[maeve66.livejournal.com]

I forget -- you didn't go to ETHS, did you? But I do associate Phillips with Evanston and Chicago; he was there a lot. I called my mom this morning. She'd been expecting it, but it's still sad. Makes me want to rejoin our Labor Chorus out here, though I will wait for my mother to be out here again, in August.

[erik]

No; I was not in Evanston and also was home schooled.

[oblomova.livejournal.com]

That's too bad. I never saw him live, but I've listened to his songs on various mix tapes over the year. Will look for the album you recommend!