Bruce "Utah" Duncan Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)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. He often promoted the Industrial Workers of the World in his music, actions, and words.
His nickname comes from when he was in the army. No one had ever met anyone else from Utah so they called him Utah.
Background information
Birth name Bruce Duncan Phillips
Born May 15, 1935
Died May 23, 2008 (aged 73)
Genre(s) Folk music
Occupation(s) Songwriter, performer, raconteur
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. 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 Cincinnati, Ohio. Phillips rode the railroads, and wrote songs.
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.
