Who is Joe Hill, union leader and songwriter
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Why I'm making this page about Joe Hill, union leader and songwriter
I'm making this page about Joe Hill, union leader and songwriter because Joe Hill was both a powerful force for the success of the labor movement in the early part of the 20th century in America and a writer of several good folk songs which added music to the labor movement cause. I refer briefly to Joe Hill in my lens: American Folk Music, Past, Present and Future. the songs of Joe Hill were later sung by The Almanac Singers and The Weavers.
Who was Joe Hill?
(info.gleaned from Wikipedia)
He was born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund in Gävle, Sweden. He was also known as Joseph Hillström. He was a Swedish-American labor activist, cartoonist poet and songwriter. He was a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, also called the "Wobblies").In 1902, at the age of 23, he emigrated to the U.S. and became a migrant laborer. He moved from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio, and then to the west coast.
He joined the IWW under the name Joseph Hillstrom around 1910. Rising in the organization, he traveled widely to organize workers, speaking and writing satirical poems and political songs. He shortened his pen name to 'Joe Hill,' under which his songs, cartoons and other writings appeared. His songs often appropriated familiar melodies from popular songs and hymns. He coined the phrase "pie in the sky."
Read the Wikipedia article
Three reasons to love Joe Hill
I admire Joe Hill because he stood for what he believed in and because in doing so, he earned a better life for the working people--plus he wrote some pretty good songs about it.
Read more about Joe Hill
Notable songs by Joe Hill:
- "The Preacher and the Slave" (a take off on the hymn "In the Sweet By-and-By").
- "The Tramp"
- "There is Power in a Union",
- "The Rebel Girl"
- "Casey Jones-the Union Scab".
Get one of Joe Hill's albums from Amazon
OR from eBay
Or get Joe Hill's songs from iTunes
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Preacher and the Slave ("Pie In the Sky") | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| There Is Power In a Union | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| The Rebel Girl | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| Casey Jones (The Union Scab) | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| We Will Sing One Song | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Utah Phillips | Don't Mourn-Organize! - Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill | |
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| Joe Hill's "Casey Jones" | Pete Seeger | Dangerous Songs!? | |
| Joe Hill's Ashes | Mark Levy | Don't Mourn-Organize! - Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill | |
| My Paper Heart | The All-American Rejects | The All-American Rejects | |
| The Tramp | Cisco Houston | Don't Mourn-Organize! - Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill | |
| Mr. Block | Mark Ross & Utah Phillips | Rebel Voices - Industrial Workers of The World |
OR on Amazon MP3
Check out my favorite songs! I've handpicked these MP3s from Amazon. Take a listen. If you like, you can click to buy them on Amazon.
The sad end of Joe Hill
Despite the lack of corroborating evidence, Joe was executed on a bogus murder charge by the state of Utah on November 19, 1915. As the first video above suggests, the leading evidence was that he was a member of the IWW..
The Portland alliance held a celebration of Joe Hill last November. For details, go here
The Portland alliance held a celebration of Joe Hill last November. For details, go here
The ballad of Joe Hill
Hill was memorialized in a tribute poem written about him c. 1930 by Alfred Hayes titled "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", sometimes referred to simply as "Joe Hill." Hayes's lyrics were turned into a song in 1936 by Earl Robinson. The song is called either "The ballad of Joe Hill" or just "Joe Hill."
curated content from YouTube
Get the Ballad of Joe Hill from Amazon
Mp3 downloads:
OR from iTunes
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ballad of Joe Hill | Arthur Johnstone | North By North | |
| Ballad of Joe Hill | Iain MacIntosh | A Better Class of Folk | |
| The Ballad of Joe Hill | Paul Robeson | 20 Songs & Transatlantic Exchange | |
| Joe Hill's/the Ballad of Joe Hill | Rube Waddell | StinkBait | |
| Joe Hill | Wolfhound | The Best Of Irish Rebel Ballads | |
| Joe Hill | The Dubliners | The Essential Collection of Beautiful Irish Ballads | |
| Joe Hill | Dublin Folk Band | The Very Best of Irish Folk Ballads | |
| Ballad of Joe Hill | James Preston Allen | Days After the Rains | |
| Joe Hill | Joan Baez | From Every Stage (Live) | |
| Joe Hill | Pete Seeger | If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle | |
| Joe Hill | Phil Ochs | Tape from California | |
| Joe Hill | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill |
OR from Amazon MP3
Check out my favorite songs! I've handpicked these MP3s from Amazon. Take a listen. If you like, you can click to buy them on Amazon.
Quick, what do you think of Joe Hill?
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Shout Out For Joe Hill!
Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...
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---Chazz
May 20, 2012 @ 10:47 am | delete
- I was introduced to Joe Hill by Joan Baez back in the day and he has been an inspiration ever since.
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richard myers
Jul 7, 2011 @ 5:31 pm | delete
- Joe Hill:
http://unionreview.com/man-who-never-died-life-times-and-legacy-joe-hill
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Photahsiamirabel Feb 9, 2011 @ 6:16 pm | delete
- I have heard the song Joe Hill and once saw a documentary about him. Blessed this lens today on my travels :)
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traveller27
Feb 8, 2011 @ 5:28 pm | delete
- I definitely remember a recording by Joan Baez called "Joe Hill"...beautiful song..
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Joe Hill's Last Will on iTunes:
Joe Hill's last will was eventually set to music by Ethel Raim, founder of The Pennywhistlers.
Here it is:
| Track | Artist | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Utah Phillips | Don't Mourn-Organize! - Songs of Labor Songwriter Joe Hill | |
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Joe Glazer | Songs of Joe Hill | |
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Kathy Taylor & Robin Oye | Rebel Voices - Industrial Workers of The World | |
| Joe Hill's Last Will | Black 47 | Bittersweet Sixteen |
"Joe Hill..." is listed in:
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Get your own Joe Hill poster
Joe Hill Poster Movie 11x17 Thommy Berggren Anja Schmidt Kelvin Malave Evert Anderson
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Joe Hill reproduction Approx. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Style A mini poster print
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