Joe Hill, labor icon and songwriter for the Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, was executed by a Utah firing squad in November, 1915, after being convicted of two murders in a controversial trial. To commemorate the centenary of Hill's death, Folk musician and labor activist John McCutcheon is releasing a new album "Joe Hill's Last Will" which grew out of a one-man play of the same name written by activist and musician Si Kahn.
McCutcheon starred in the play in a 2011 production in Sebastopol, California, and will be touring with it this year. He funded the recording of the album with a Kickstarter campaign and says that no one has ever done a fully realized album of Joe Hill's music and that it's important music and Joe Hill is an important figure in American history. McCutcheon dedicated the album to the late folk musician Bruce "Utah" Phillips.
On Wednesday's AU we'll hear Joe Hill's songs performed by John McCutcheon and talk with McCutcheon and Si Kahn.
