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...
