One hundred years ago this November, labor activist Joe Hill was executed by firing squad in Salt Lake City. He was convicted of murder, but the evidence was less than circumstantial, the motive was unclear and the murder weapon was missing. The trial was called politically motivated and rapidly became the subject of folklore. In some accounts Hill shouted “Fire! Go on and fire!” to his executioners. His dying words were said to have been “Don’t mourn, organize!”
A tireless advocate for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which proposed to organize the working class across national borders into one big union, Hill left behind a stack of songs as well as legends surrounding his life and death. To commemorate the centennial of his execution, the IWW co-organized a series of regional concerts focused on Hill’s work and music, culminating in a November tribute in Salt Lake City. Milwaukee’s tireless advocate of old-time music, Lil’ Rev, is the project’s Midwest point man. His five-person “Joe Hill Roadshow” comes to town this weekend.
“Looking at what’s going on in Wisconsin—we really need this!” Rev says. “It’s one way to spread some inspiration.”
Could history be repeating itself? A century ago, unions were more or less illegal in most parts of the U.S., wages were low for most workers and working conditions were often poor. Labor organizers were commonly met with violence from corporate thugs and the law. Music was integral to the union movement in those days; new words were often set to old familiar tunes to motivate the marchers, picketers and strikers. The IWW published its own songbook, subtitled: “To Fan the Flames of Discontent.” Hill’s contributions to the labor repertoire included “Casey Jones,” “The Preacher and the Slave” and “There is Power in a Union.”
“The heart and soul of the movement was in the singing,” Rev says. “A police chief once said, ‘You have to love these guys. You lock them up and they’d sing all night long.’”
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Rev is familiar with the repertoire. He performed and recorded some of Hill’s songs, along with IWW tunes by T-Bone Slim and Ralph “Solidarity Forever” Chaplin, on his own and with his mentor, the late Larry Penn, Milwaukee’s longshoreman-folksinger. For the Midwest version of the “Joe Hill Roadshow,” Rev teamed up with J.P. Wright, a singing IWW activist from Kentucky; Jan Hammarlund, a Swedish folk singer and historian; American labor singer Anne Feeney; and Bucky Halker, a Wisconsin-born Illinois-based recording artist.
“Every time I sing the songs of Joe Hill and the Wobblies [as IWW members were called], I am reminded of the fragile character of worker rights in America, from the right to free speech to a safe work environment to collective bargaining to a living wage,” Halker says. “Keeping the rights we have requires constant vigilance and struggle, as Hill’s work and life makes painfully clear.”
The five artists will present Hill’s songs within the framework of a narration about his life. Milwaukee poet Harvey Taylor and folksingers David Drake and Will Branch will also perform. “There’ll be lots of sing-alongs,” Rev adds. “We’ll be encouraging audience participation.”
Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Anodyne Coffee Roasters, 224 W. Bruce St. Suggested donation is $10.
