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Today in Labor History August 19, 1909: The first edition of the IWW’s The Little Red Songbook was published in Spokane, WA. The book’s subtitle is “Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent.” Between 1909 and 1995, the Wobblies printed 36 editions. The songbook always includes songs by Joe Hill, Ralph Chaplin, T-Bone Slim, and Haywire Mac. Most editions contained many of the best-known labor songs, like "The Internationale," "The Preacher and the Slave," and "Solidarity Forever." Haywire Mac, composer of the “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “Hallelujah I’m a Bum,” was one of the original members of the IWW band, in Spokane, in 1907. Mac later participated in the anarchist Magonista Revolution in Baja California, helping to capture and occupy Tijuana. He eventually settled down in San Francisco, where he hosted working-class radio and television programs.

You can read my bio of Haywire Mac here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2021/03/16/the-haywire-mac-story/