Saturday, May 31, 2008

Happy Birthday to Walt Whitman . . . and rest in peace, Utah Phillips (photo).

At the Medora poetry gathering, I sang "The Goodnight-Loving Trail," Utah's ode to an aging cowboy. I didn't know that he had passed away just hours before.

Although I never met Utah, I wrote him a letter once and sent him two of my CDs. I've been a big fan since 1975, when Dad brought home a vinyl record called El Capitan. To hear a sample of Utah's story-telling and song, listen here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

oh chris, how i could ramble on about Utah Phillups, and Olympia, and you, and Larry Penn, and us, and me...

but i'll have you know (or remind you), that the first Utah song i ever heard was your Love's Hangover Sale version of "the Goodnight-Loving Trail".

great great guy.
-alex