Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs
Born	Philip David Ochs December 19, 1940 El Paso, Texas, United States of America
Died	April 9, 1976 New York City, State of New York, United States of America
Cause of death	Suicide

Philip David Ochs was a Statesian Left-wing protest singer and songwriter, mostly within the Folk genre.

He participated in the Folk Revival musical movement in the United States, as well as several political movements including the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-Vietnam War movement, and the Labor Rights movement.

His political views changed throughout his life, with him advocating for the Democratic Party in his early years, before identifying as a Marxist and a Communist later.

Early Life

Phil Ochs was born December 19, 1940 in El Paso Texas to Jacob and Gertrude Phin Ochs. His father was Jewish and his mother was raised in Scotland, where she and Jacob met. He was raised with his older sister Sonia, nicknamed Sonny, and a younger brother Michael.

Jacob Ochs was a military doctor, and as a result of this occupation was made to move often. After the entry by the United States into the Second World War Ochs' was sent to Europe to treat wounded soldiers. Ochs suffered from bipolar depression, then called manic depression. This, compounded with trauma from his work treating wounded soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War, led to Ochs' honorable discharge from the military in 1945.

In late 1945 the Ochs family moved to Far Rockway, New York. Jacob Ochs was hospitalized in Long Island for psychiatric treatment soon after, where he spent two years. In February 1947 Gertrude Ochs took her children to Scotland to stay with her family. They stayed for six months. When Jacob Ochs was released from treatment he started a small private medical practice.

Jacob and Gertrude Ochs' marriage was strained and unhappy from this point, with Jacob Ochs becoming reclusive and distant from his family, described later by Sonny Ochs as being, "like a phantom." Jacob moved without his family to Otisville, New York to work in a small tuberculosis clinic.

In June 1951 the Ochs family moved again, this time to Perrysburg, New York, for Jacob's work. Here, all three children began playing instruments, with Phil choosing the clarinet. Here, Phil Ochs' lifelong passion for music first became evident.

In 1954 the clinic Jacob Ochs worked at closed, and the family, now without Sonny, who was at school in Switzerland, moved again, this time to Columbus, Ohio, where Jacob found work at another tuberculosis clinic. Noticing Phil's talent, his clarinet teacher offered to let Ochs stay with him to continue his studies, but Gertrude refused, and Phil moved with his family.

Gertrude Ochs, disliking the school her children went to in Columbus, deciding to transfer them to the Columbus Academy. Phil disliked the idea and, after Staunton Military Academy in Virginia in a magazine, asked to go there instead. His mother agreed, and he was transferred there.

Ochs began to build his identity there, as well as beginning to go by Phil rather than Philip. He was a member of the school's marching band, but felt stifled by the uniformity of the military school's band.

At Staunton, Ochs first began to listen to country music. Like with the clarinet, he demonstrated an obsessive passion for it. At this time he first began to entertain the idea of fame as a musician.

After finishing high school, Phil decided to go to Ohio State.

Personality and Early Influences

Ochs was considered shy and quiet throughout his childhood by his family as well as being forgetful, losing his school books, glasses and later his wallet. His teachers considered him inattentive and his sister described him as a "dreamer, with a capital D."

Movies played a very important role in Phil's early identity. He and his brother Michael spent large amounts of time at movie theaters, sometimes watching up to nine movies a week. He enjoyed action movies and actors such as John Wayne and Audie Murphy, whose conservative, chauvinistic beliefs contrasted with Phil's later radical beliefs. Actors such as them also led Ochs' aspiration to fame. As an older teenager in Ohio, Ochs idolized James Dean, whose tragic death at the age of 24 deeply effected Phil. His song "Jim Dean of Indiana" was written about James Dean.

Education and Early Career

In late 1958 Phil Ochs began to attend classes at Ohio State University. He grew unhappy there and after a semester took a leave of absence from the university and, despite disapproval from his family, traveling to Florida to try to make a living as a singer in February of 1959. Quickly after arriving in Florida with no means of income and no place to stay he was arrested and sent to jail for 15 days for sleeping on a park bench. After his release, still without a place to stay and sick from malnutrition, Ochs returned to Ohio.

Back at school, Ochs began to look for off campus housing in late 1959. Ochs shared the room, but soon after he moved in his roommate moved elsewhere. Later a fellow student and musician Jim Glover, hearing Ochs' music introduced himself to Phil. They quickly became friends and soon Glover became Ochs' roommate. Glover introduced Ochs to folk music and taught him to play the guitar. Glover, whose parents were fellow travelers for the Communist Party USA, discussed politics with Ochs, who had been captivated by the Cuban revolution earlier that year. Ochs also spent time with Glover's family, discussing politics with his father. Here Ochs' political ideology was first developed.

In 1960, during the United States presidential election, Ochs and Glover disagreed over who they believe would win. Ochs made a bet with Glover. He would bet 50 dollars on John F. Kennedy winning and Glover would bet his guitar on Nixon's victory. Kennedy won and Ochs, with teaching from Glover, began to play the guitar.

Ochs became a writer for the Ohio State student newspaper The Lantern and the Sundial and quickly became one of it's most prolific writers. The ideas he expressed in the newspaper, particularly his support for the Cuban Revolution, were seen as too radical by editors and the sources of funding for the newspaper and, angry with the restrictions placed on him by the newspaper, looked for other ways to share his ideas, writing letters to local newspapers and briefly ran his own newspaper. Eventually Ochs began to express his political views and thoughts on issues of his time through music. Ochs began to write songs. His first song was "The Ballad of the Cuban Invasion," about the Bay of Pigs invasion by the United States, followed by "Ballad of Billie Sol," about a price fixing scandal.

Glover and Ochs began a musical group called the Singing Socialists. They performed at small gatherings and, in one instance, a party hosted by a powerful conservative family. Prior to a performance at a local talent show Ochs renamed the group to The Sundowners in order to appeal to a wider audience.

The group auditioned for a performance at a coffee house in Cleveland. After the audition they were chosen to play for a weekend there and, if they were well received, would play again. Ochs, determined to do well, prepared for the performance and demanded Glover do the same. Ochs gave Glover a new song to learn and, after returning the next day and finding Glover had not looked at it, declared an end to the Sundowners and ended his friendship with Glover.

Soon after Jim Glover moved to Greenwich Village in New York, seeking a solo career in music. Ochs continued to try to establish himself in Ohio, playing opening acts at performances Eventually Ochs began to perform regularly at a Cleveland club called Faragher's, which was looking for cheap entertainment at a time of economic difficulty. After a performance by a well known musician at the club however Faragher's became very popular, with musicians from around the country performing there. One of these musicians was Bob Gibson, who helped Phil Ochs progress musically, including by providing the melody for and helping him write the songs "One More Parade" and "That's the Way it's Gonna Be."

In Ochs' final year at Ohio State he was turned down for the editor-in-chief position at The Lantern and the Sundial due to his political beliefs and, after his reunion with Jim Glover and performances with the two of them in Ohio, Ochs, despite urgings from his mother to pursue a more stable job in journalism, decided to go to Greenwich Village to seek out a career in music.

Career and Activism

When Ochs moved to Greenwich village it was the center of folk music in the United States, with many musicians who would in the coming years become well known worldwide performing there.

In New York Ochs stayed with Jim Glover and his wife Jean Ray, who had been performing together with the name Jim and Jean. Despite Glover seeing it as a temporary living arrangement, Ochs showed no signs of planning on leaving and this combined with Glover and Ray's annoyance with Ochs' messiness led to Jean introducing Phil to Alice Skinner in the hopes he would move in with her. Ochs eventually moved to Skinner's apartment, which was in the same building as Glover and Ray's.

Ochs met with many other musicians and journalists at the founders of the music magazine Broadside Gordon Friesen and Agnes Cunningham apartment. There he collaborated with these people and gained a reputation as a great songwriter among them.

Ochs went to Florida in April 1962 for a series of performances at a club called the House of Pegasus. While he was there, he received a telegram from Alice Skinner stating that she was pregnant. She traveled to Florida to discuss what to do with him.

Alice intended to have the baby, and wanted to marry Phil before she did, but she did not want to pressure him into marriage and promised to keep her pregnancy secret until Phil decided on what he would do. It was eventually Phil's sister Sonny who convinced Phil to marry Alice. He announced he would marry her at his father's funeral. They married later in 1962.

1963

In 1963 folk music continued to grow in popularity, with musician Bob Dylan, one of Phil Ochs' friends in Greenwich Village, becoming popular around the country. Between July 26 and 28 of that year the annual Newport Folk Festival was held, with Phil Ochs performing his songs "Too Many Martyrs" and "Talking Birmingham Jam" among others. The festival was a great success and progressed Ochs' career in music.

Also in 1963 Ochs became involved with a boycott of the ABC program Hootenanny over its refusal to have folk singer Pete Seeger perform because of his left-wing politics. Eventually, with the company ownership and those involved in the boycott not conceding, the show was taken off the air.

Around this time Ochs began looking for a manager, first seeking out Harold Leventhal, who did not become his manager but reached a publishing agreement with Ochs and Appleseed Music.

Phil's growing popularity put a strain on Alice, who, while still pregnant, had to deal with her own job, household chores, and calls to her house regarding professional opportunities for Ochs while he was away from home, which he almost always was. Their child Meegan was born September 4, 1963 while Phil was away.

Ochs performed at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in New York, both prestigious concert venues in late September 1963.

When then president of the United States John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963 Ochs was devastated. Despite this, Ochs continued to publicly perform songs critical of Kennedy, despite warnings from managers at some venues that it could lead to anger from the crowd and even put him in danger.

Phil's growing success put strain on his relationship with his brother Michael. Michael, like Phil, possessed great interest in music. He wanted to attend a recording session for an album Phil was involved in. After he asked, Phil told him there was no room for him to watch. Despite this, Ochs invited another friend to watch and, enraged by this, Michael ended his relationship with Phil and left New York.

In December 1963 Ochs entertained striking coal miners in Hazard, Kentucky with other left-wing folk singers. There, he further developed his songwriting style and wrote several songs about the plight of miners there.

One December 5 1963 the first of several FBI reports of Phil Ochs were written.

1964

In 1964 Ochs recieved a contract for his first record. The record, called All the News that's Fit to Sing, after the New York Times slogan All the News that's Fit to Print, was recorded in Febuary and released later that year.

Ochs spent much of 1964 performing, writing, meeting with fellow musicians, and involved in activism, putting further strain on his marriage.

The 1964 Newport Folk Festival was another success, with Ochs' performance being celebrated by critics. Bob Dylan, Ochs friend and the musician quickly becoming the most prominent in folk music, was critisized widely by folk musicians and critics for his performance. Ochs defended Dylan in an article in Broadside magazine.

Ochs was involved in the Mississippi Caravan of Music as part of a campaign for voter registration by the Council of Federated Organizer, performing at benefit concerts and meeting with activists. Others involved include folk singers and activists Pete Seeger and Len Chandler among many others. In Mississippi they faced constant threat of harassment and violence from reactionaries there.

1965

In 1965 Ochs' second album, I Ain't Marching Anymore. The title anti-war song became one of Ochs' most popular songs, and the album became one of his most successful.

Due to his long absences and economic difficulties Phil and Alice separated shortly before the release of I Ain't Marching Anymore. In an attempt to get a more stable income Ochs replaced his then manager, Albert Grossman, with Arthur Gorson, who has previously organized benefit concerts and shared Ochs' political views. Later in 1965 Alice Skinner and Meegan moved to California without Phil.

A cover by Joan Baez of Ochs' song "There But For Fortune" became a hit in England, reaching #13 on the charts. Other folk musicians also performed Ochs songs including Jim and Jean, the Modern Folk Quartet and the Weavers.

While auditing lectures, Ochs met Paul Krassner, the publisher for Realist magazine. Ochs had previously corresponded with Krassner while writing his song William Worthy, based on an article Krassner had written. Krassner shared Ochs' interest in politics and introduced Ochs to Jerry Rubin, another political organizer. Rubin was planning a teach-in at Berkeley and Krassner suggested that Ochs could play music there. Ochs liked the idea and even cancelled several performances he had scheduled elsewhere to be involved with the teach-in.

Ochs performed at the first annual New York City Folk Festival at Carnegie Hall between June 17 and June 20 in 1965. There he performed two then recent songs, I'm Going to Say It Now and Love Me I'm a Liberal, two of his most popular songs. Ochs was being increasingly critisized in mainstream media for his radical views, and this combined with his use of the word "bullshit" in this performance led to his Carnegie Hall performance being widely condemned and criticized in mainstream circles, while the performance was celebrated by the growing counterculture movement.

Ochs was not invited to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival and, insulted by this, Ochs, Paul Krassner, and Arthur Gorson snuck backstage during the performance. The 1965 festival was different from past ones, with many artists now far more uptight and professional and a larger and more strict police presence. The largest controversy however surrounded Bob Dylan's performance. He played music with amplifiers and electric guitars, leading to boos from the crowd and anger from other performers including Pete Seeger, who threatened to cut the cords to the amplifiers. Ochs defended Dylan's performance after the festival, arguing the performance showed progress in the music genre.

Despite Ochs' support for Dylan after Newport their relationship began to deteriorate. One night Dylan played a new song for Ochs and after Ochs said the song was "okay" became angered. Soon after Dylan ordered the driver of the car they were in to pull over and kicked Ochs out of the car while saying, "You're not a folk singer, you're a journalist."

Throughout 1965 Ochs visited Canada several times, performing successfully several times and even having his song "Here's to the State of Mississippi" nominated for Song of the Year by the Canadian Federation of English Teachers. He also went to England, where he was well received in the press.

1966

On January 7, 1966 Ochs performed solo at Carnegie Hall for the first time. Ochs promoted the show in newspapers and placed low prices on tickets, leading to the show being sold out. Before the show, in another example of his performance anxiety, Ochs throat became constricted and his voice raspy. The performance was less successful because of this than he had hoped and because of this the live album they planned to make from that performance was not viable.

Ochs' FBI file was brought to the attention of J. Edgar Hoover in 1966 and subsequently the FBI increased it's surveillance of him, declaring him a "security matter" on February 16.

Ochs began planning, and writing songs for his next album, Pleasures of the Harbor, that year. He planned for the album to be different from his past albums, with more instruments, songs with more introspective themes, and more complicated melodies.

He performed around the country for most of the year and played at the Newport Folk Festival again, as well as performing at many protests against the Vietnam War and other causes.

On November 24 Ochs performed again at Carnegie Hall, this time without the difficulties of the last concert which was praised in both mainstream newspapers like the New York Times and folk reviewers like The Village Voice.

Ochs' relationship, both professional and personal, with Arthur Gorson had begun to deteriorate due to a variety of factors including Ochs' request for Gorson to look into other record labels and Ochs' sloppiness. The two decided it would be best for both of them as well as for the preservation of their friendship for them to part ways professionally.

Phil, looking for a new manager, called his brother Michael, who at the time was in California working as a professional photographer. Michael was at first reluctant, he had only just recently rented a house in Los Angeles and had not been on friendly terms with Phil for years, but he eventually agreed and moved to New York to become Phil's manager.

Ochs, still displeased by Elektra records, attempted to look for another record label. Michael had connections with several record companies from his time in California, and he arranged a meeting with Colombia Records. After a successful meeting Ochs was promised a 25,000 dollar contract with Colombia, but later the company informed them that the company would not pay that and instead offered 10,000 to 15,000 dollars. Michael Ochs refused this and demanded the original deal and after Colombia refused ceased negotiations. Eventually after negotiations with several New York record companies failed, Michael suggested that they try to find a label in California. Eventually, Ochs' signed with A & M Records.

1967

A & M suggested that Ochs travel and perform across the country to promote his next album rather than record and release it right away. Throughout Spring 1967 he did this, and his popularity grew as opposition to the Vietnam War became more commonplace around the country.

In March Ochs met a journalist named Jack Newfield. Newfield, who shared many of Ochs' political views and had written about Ochs before, asked if he would be interested in going to Washington D.C. to meet Robert F. Kennedy and listen to him give a speech. Ochs was exited about the idea and agreed to go with Newfield.

Kennedy's speech in Washington D.C. denounced the Vietnam war and called for an end to the United States' bombing campaign there. Ochs and Newfield traveled to New York on the same plane as Kennedy. Kennedy was familiar with Ochs' music and protest folk music in general, and on the plane Ochs sang his song crucifixion, which was partly about the assassination of Robert's brother John F. Kennedy.

Ochs moved to Los Angeles in May. Ochs kept his apartment in New York as he expected to only be in California for a few months, while recording his next album.

Soon before he moved to Los Angeles Ochs met Andy Wickham. The two became friends quickly, and soon after Ochs moved to Los Angeles he reconnected with Wickham there. Wickham, who was a conservative, was disliked by many of Ochs' friends, but Ochs and him remained close for the rest of Ochs' life.

After moving to Los Angeles Ochs reconnected with Paul Krassner, who by then was a major figure in the counterculture movement. Krassner was going to go onto Joe Pyne's television show. Pyne was a staunch conservative and known for a confrontational style of interview. Krassner was prepared for this, insulting Krassner when Krassner insulted him. After a particularly strong insult Pyne ended the interview portion of the show and started the next part, where audience members were able to ask questions to the guest. People in the audience insulted and condemned Krassner, and eventually Ochs got in the line to ask questions. When it was his turn Ochs said, "What Paul Krassner does is in the finest tradition of American journalism." Pyne began to question Ochs, asking if he was a hippie, Ochs said he was not and in response Pyne asked, "Do you play for hippies mostly?" Ochs responded to this saying, "No, I play for everybody.