U. Utah Phillips
was raised in a family of union organizers. He began to ride the rails as a
teen and started to play the ukulele to keep himself company. He eventually
learned to play the guitar and soon was writing songs about his life on the
road. He has always been a social and political activist, joining the Industrial
Workers of the World (IWW) and founding the Poor People's Party. In the
1970s he decided to make a living with his music. 