I've recently become obsessed with Phil Ochs'
music. I found out about him a few years back and only recently began
listening to him. right now I think he tops my list of songwriters, but
it's his voice that amazes me. There are a few singers that when I hear
their voices and I'm floored - Cass Elliot, Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog are two others - but Ochs tops the list.
Ochs was born in El Paso, Texas in 1940. He attended Ohio State University for three years before dropping out and moving to Greenwich Village where he began singing at open mic nights and by 1964 was well established enough to release his first album. His songs were for the most part highly political and varied between extremely lighthearted and farcical to extremely dark in tone. He suffered from Bipolar disorder and was a heavy drinker before his suicide in 1975 at age 35.
One of my personal favorites of Ochs' songs is the The War Is Over from 1968 - here he is singing live from The Bitter End...
Ochs was born in El Paso, Texas in 1940. He attended Ohio State University for three years before dropping out and moving to Greenwich Village where he began singing at open mic nights and by 1964 was well established enough to release his first album. His songs were for the most part highly political and varied between extremely lighthearted and farcical to extremely dark in tone. He suffered from Bipolar disorder and was a heavy drinker before his suicide in 1975 at age 35.
One of my personal favorites of Ochs' songs is the The War Is Over from 1968 - here he is singing live from The Bitter End...
A second fave for me is I Ain't Marching Anymore from 1965...
And a good example of his caustic wit is Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends from 1967...
And the last song is an example of an Ochs ballad - William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed (with Where Were You In Chicago? preceding)...
Lastly is the 1984 bio of Ochs called Chords of Fame, named for the Ochs song, directed by Michael Korolenko...
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