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Phil Ochs (1940-76) Photograph from the Michael Ochs Archives
Philip David Ochs (December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was a protest singer (or, when he favorite, the "topical singer") of the early 1960s, perhaps better known for his songs "Power and Glory", "There But for Fortune", "Changes", "When I'm Gone", & "I Ain't Marching Anymore". Natural within El Paso, Texas, he grew up inside the non-political middle class personal. He exposed journalism at Ohio State University, but dropped call at his go month. He moved to New York City and became an integral part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene. He emerged as an graceless however passionate vocaliser world health organization wrote poignant lyrics all about war, civil rights, labor struggles and other topics of the period. He described himself as a "singing journalist," saying he built his songs from either stories he review around Newsweek. He could mayhap exist as described as a socially conscious patriot in the tradition of Woody Guthrie. Ochs wrote numerous other songs than were recorded in his number one 3 albums (''All the News That's Fit to Sing (1964), I Ain't Marching Anymore (1965), and Phil Ochs in Concert'' (1966)), but these records contained some of his best work. 2 traditional genres that Ochs contributed to around his early performances come a talking blues and the musical reinterpretation of older poetry, for instance Alfred Noyes's The Highwayman and Edgar Allen Poe's The Bells. In the period of this early period of his career, his friend Bob Dylan said, "I just can't keep up with Phil. And he's getting better and better and better." Within his late studio albums (Pleasures of the Harbor (1967), Tape from California (1968), Rehearsals for Retirement (1969), and a ironically coroneted Greatest Hits (1970)) he moved away from topical songs & experimented by owning ensemble & possibly orchestral instrumentation in the hopes of producing the pop-folk hybrid that would be the "hit." A virtually all popular tunes from either these albums were "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends," "Chords of Fame," "Pleasures of the Harbor," "Crucifixion," & "Jim Dean of Indiana". None actually became hits, although "Small Circle of Friends" received airplay prior to existence banned from either several radio stations for suggesting (perhaps ironically) that "smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer". It was a nighest Ochs ever come to the Top 40. a womb-to-tomb flick fan, Ochs worked the tale of justice & rebellion that he saw around films as a young human into his music. He was devastated after his erstwhile hero John Wayne embraced the Vietnam War with what Ochs saw as a unsighted nationalism of The Green Berets. Ochs was deeply caring using a escalation of the Vietnam War. He traveled by owning Chilean folksinger Victor Jara and sang with Chilean President Allende before Allende's election and the pair's subsequent assassination in 1973. Ochs organized concerts to protest these Nixon-era developments, & re-recorded his old sarcastic song "Here's To The State Of Mississippi" as "Here's To The State Of Richard Nixon". Intensely defeated by his deficiency of commercial profits & haunted by more personalized demons — videlicet alcoholism, writer's block and depression — Phil Ochs hanged himself in 1976 after a long stretch of erratic behavior. (These are widely reported that the suicide was brought upon by depression sequent from either a severe throat injury. When touring Africa, Ochs was attacked & his robbers cut his throat, purportedly damaging his singing voice.) Fallowing his demise, it was revealed that the FBI experienced a 410-site file in Ochs. His songs use at times been covered by Jim and Jean, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Teenage Fanclub, Ani DiFranco, Dick Gaughan, Eugene Chadbourne, John Wesley Harding, Eddie Vedder, Diamanda Galas, Freddie Feldman and They Might Be Giants among many others. Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon, in their album "Prairie Home Invasion," recorded a version of "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" with updated lyrics. Ochs is besides mentioned in the Dar Williams song "All My Heroes Are Dead," a Will Oldham song "Gezundheit," and a They Might Be Giants song "The Day." A Josh Joplin Group recorded an eponymous tribute to Ochs in their album Useful Music. Schooner Fare recorded "Don't Stop To Rest (Song for Phil Ochs)" on their album Nigher to the Wind (1981).
Discography
Main Studio and Live Recordings
Compilations and Other Albums
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Ochs, Phil Tribute to the protest and folk singer. Includes discography, lyrics, images, quotations, and other writings. All things Phil A list of links relating to the folk artist Phil Ochs. Remembering Phil Ochs Includes a history of the Phil Ochs song nights, and biographies of the performers. Phil Ochs Remembered An article taking a look at the career of this musician, by Phil Mershon. Phil Ochs, Selected Quotations A small selection of quotations, including liner notes. Wilson and Alroys: Phil Ochs Includes a series of reviews of Phil Ochs recordings. Schumacher Interview: Phil Ochs Transcript of an interview with Phil Ochs, by Peter Werbe. |
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