The passing of Utah is sad news indeed. I probably first heard Utah in Ithaca or Binghamton c. 1972, and then at numerous festivals, including Fox Hollow. I, too, was touched by his wit and his insights. I did get to interact with him a bit, and he did give a concert here in Bloomington sometime in the '80's. I, too, will miss him. I'll catch the "No Time to Tarry Here" broadcast later in archival form.
Sadly,
Marge
-----Original Message-----
From: study of popular / folk / traditional ballads [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David G. Engle
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 4:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bruce "Utah" Phillips has gone
another man done gone, ...
Paul Stammler (of St. Louis, MO), <[log in to unmask]>, writes:
-------------------
Dear folks:
I'm sorry to report the passing of U. Utah Phillips, singer, storyteller,
songwriter, Wobbly, anarchist, and "The Golden Voice of the Great
Southwest"; he died yesterday at his home in Nevada City, California after a
long struggle with heart disease. He loved traditional songs, and wrote his
own songs with the sure touch and knowledge of a man steeped in the
tradition.
Utah Phillips was someone who influenced me way, way down. His insights, his
humor, and of course his songs touched my soul in ways I can't describe. I
miss him already. There's a letter from Utah, written just ten days ago, at
www.kvmr.org [corrected link], a Nevada City community radio station from
which he broadcast over the years.
I had the privilege of meeting Utah three times -- once at a party after the
St. Louis Storytelling Festival (where he swapped lies with the likes of
Glenn Ohrlin and Art Thieme), once backstage when he was appearing at a
campus coffeehouse (I think I learned more about the world in the 20 minutes
I spent with him that night than I did in my four years of undergraduate
education). And once in 1992, when he was kind enough to appear on "No Time
to Tarry Here" as a guest. He did a bunch of talking and sang a bunch of
songs, all the while radiating the warmth and sense of delight that were his
hallmarks.
Tomorrow (Sunday, May 25th) on "No Time to Tarry Here" I'll replay that
interview; everyone's invited to tune in. I haven't done the transfer and
editing yet, so I don't know how long the tape will run, but I'll play
Utah's songs before and after. "No Time to Tarry Here" airs from 2-4 pm
Central Daylight Time (1900-2100 GMT), and you can tune in to the live
RealAudio stream at www.kdhx.org.
Peace,
Paul
--------------------
some more, probably, at:
http://www.utahphillips.org/
d
--
David Gray Engle
[log in to unmask]
California State University, Fresno
Tel: (559) 278-2708; FAX: (559) 278-7878
The Traditional Ballad Index (English-Speaking World):
http://csufresno.edu/folklore/BalladIndexTOC.html
The German Ballad Index Web Site:
http://csufresno.edu/folklore/balladenindex
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