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. <br /><br />His nickname comes from when he was in the army. No one had ever met anyone else from Utah so they called him Utah. <br />Background information <br />Birth name Bruce Duncan Phillips <br />Born May 15, 1935 <br />Died May 23, 2008 (aged 73) <br />Genre(s) Folk music <br />Occupation(s) Songwriter, performer, raconteur <br />Early years <br />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. <br /><br />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.
