Guide Note

Phil Ochs was an American folk musician whose songs were heavily influenced by the political and social issues of his generation, including the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and the Nixon Watergate scandal. Unlike some of the protest singers of the 1960s, his commitment to the anti-war movement and other political causes was reflected in his vast journalistic knowledge on the subjects and his presence at rallies and demonstrations, including the infamous 1968 Democratic Convention held in Chicago.

Fast Facts

1. Full Name: Phillip David Ochs
2. Birth Date: December 19, 1940
3. Birthplace: El Paso, Texas
4. Joan Baez had a hit covering his song "There But for Fortune"
5. Admired John Wayne, John F. Kennedy, and Fidel Castro
6. Influenced by Woody Guthrie, Buddy Holly, Merle Haggard, and Pete Seeger
7. Was of Jewish and Scottish descent
8. Suffered from bipolar disorder and alcoholism
9. Committed suicide April 9, 1976 in Far Rockaway, New York

Although he played the clarinet in high school and was praised for his musical prowess, Phil Ochs did not become interested in folk music or even know how to play a guitar until he was a student at Ohio State University. It was there that his roommate introduced him to folk music, bought him his first guitar, and taught him how to play. Soon after, he was composing his own his music. It was also during this time that he developed an interest in journalism, writing radical articles that were often rejected by the school newspaper, prompting him to start an underground publication on campus.

Phil Ochs left school before graduating and made his way to New York City's Greenwich Village, where the folk scene was in full swing. It was here that he began composing music alongside the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Tom Paxton, writing protest songs and eventually gaining the attention of Elektra Records following a performance in Rhode Island at the Newport Folk Festival. Elektra signed him, and in 1964 he released his first album, All The News That's Fit to Sing.

The 1970s brought an end to the Vietnam War, and with it a very bleak Phil Ochs. He battled alcoholism and depression, suffering from bipolar disorder just like his father. The declining activism from the previous decade left him with little motivation to write songs, resulting in a long bout with writer's block. Then, on April 9, 1976 at his sister's house in Far Rockaway, New York, Phil Ochs hung himself. He was 36 years old.

Three months after his death, a six-and-a-half hour tribute concert was held in his memory at Madison Square Garden to a crowd of over 4,500. Those gathered paid their respects to both Phil Ochs the man, and Phil Ochs the political, folk icon whose music continues to inspire and influence musicians today, over thirty years after his death. There are websites, discussion groups, song nights, and publications dedicated to his life and career, and his songs continue to leave a lasting impression through cover versions by contemporary artists like Eddie Vedder, Ani DiFranco, Jello Biafra, The Weakerthans, John Wesley Harding, and They Might Be Giants.