Preston Chipps created a couple short videos of the San Diego kick-off of the West Coast leg of the Joe Hill roadshow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Bill Raden writes on the lead-up to the centenary of Joe Hill’s execution for Capital & Main:
Hill’s mythic stature continues to serve as the soul of the struggle for workers’ rights and economic equality, and interest in his life shows no sign of abating — a phenomenon that is reflected in the ongoing yearlong seriesof exhibits, book events and concerts commemorating his death.
Joe Hill, of course, was no ordinary organizer but also a poet and balladeer whose knack for taking a well-known hymn or folksong, wryly subverting its original ethos, and transforming it into a stirring Wobbly anthem (“The Preacher and the Slave,” “Rebel Girl,” “Casey Jones — the Unknown Scab”) not only contributed to the Great American Protest Songbook but became the template for future songwriters like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan.
The expanded centenary edition of The Letters of Joe Hill is now available, and its official release is being celebrated with events in Los Angeles (featuring Joan Baez and Tom Morello) and New York (hosted by Amy Goodman and featuring a plethora of musicians and authors, including Walter Mosely). Details are on the Events page. These are part of events marking the centenary being held from Sidney, Australia, to Berlin, Germany, and across the United States. Details are on the Events page, and we will post this weekend a release offering an overview and regional listings.