Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (/ˈoʊks/; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and distinctive voice. He wrote hundreds of songs from the 1960s to early 1970s and released eight albums.
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs
December 19, 1940
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
New York City, U.S.
April 9, 1976 (aged 35)
Far Rockaway, New York City, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- Guitar
- vocals
- piano
1962–1976
Ochs performed at many political events during the 1960s counterculture era, including anti-Vietnam War and civil rights rallies, student events, and organized labor events over the course of his career, in addition to many concert appearances at such venues as New York City's Town Hall and Carnegie Hall. Politically, Ochs described himself as a "left social democrat"[1] who became an "early revolutionary" after the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago led to a police riot, which had a profound effect on his state of mind.
After years of prolific writing in the 1960s, Ochs's mental stability declined in the 1970s. He had a number of mental health problems, including depression, bipolar disorder and alcoholism, and died by suicide in 1976.
Ochs's influences included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Gibson, Faron Young, and Merle Haggard. His best-known songs include "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "When I'm Gone", "Changes", "Crucifixion", "Draft Dodger Rag", "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", "Power and the Glory", "There but for Fortune", "The War Is Over", and "No More Songs".
Biography[edit]
Early years[edit]
Phil Ochs was born on December 19, 1940,[2] in El Paso, Texas, to Jacob "Jack" Ochs (1910-1963), a physician who was born in New York,[3] and Gertrude Phin Ochs (1912-1994),[4][5] who was from Scotland.[6] His father was of Polish Jewish descent.[7] His parents met and married in Edinburgh where Jack was attending medical school.[8] After their marriage, they moved to the United States. Jack, drafted into the army, was sent overseas near the end of World War II, where he treated soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge. His war experiences affected his mental health and he received an honorable medical discharge in November 1945.[9]
Suffering from bipolar disorder and depression on his return home, Jack was unable to establish a successful medical practice and instead worked at a series of hospitals around the country.[8] As a result, the Ochs family moved frequently: to Far Rockaway, New York, when Ochs was a teenager; then to Perrysburg in western New York, where he first studied music; and then to Columbus, Ohio.[10] Ochs grew up with an older sister, Sonia (known as Sonny, born 1937), and a younger brother, Michael (born 1943).[4] The Ochs family was middle class and Jewish, but not religious.[11] His father was distant from his wife and children, and was hospitalized for depression;[12] he died on April 30, 1963, from a cerebral hemorrhage.[13] His mother died on March 9, 1994.[5]
As a teenager, Ochs was recognized as a talented clarinet player; in an evaluation, one music instructor wrote: "You have exceptional musical feeling and the ability to transfer it on your instrument is abundant."[14] His musical skills allowed him to play clarinet with the orchestra at the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Ohio, where he rose to the status of principal soloist before he was 16. Although Ochs played classical music, he soon became interested in other sounds he heard on the radio, such as early rock icons Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley[15] and country music artists including Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Sr., and Johnny Cash.[16]
Ochs also spent a lot of time at the movies. His mother did not want to hire a babysitter and instead gave her sons money to spend at the theatre. While living in Far Rockaway, the brothers saw five to six films each week, as there were three theaters in town.[17] He especially liked big screen heroes such as John Wayne[15] and Audie Murphy.[18] Later on, he developed an interest in movie rebels, including Marlon Brando and James Dean.[19]
From 1956 to 1958, Ochs was a student at the Staunton Military Academy in rural Virginia, and when he graduated he returned to Columbus and enrolled at Ohio State University.[20] Unhappy after his first quarter, he took a leave of absence and went to Florida. While in Miami, the 18-year-old Ochs was jailed for two weeks for sleeping on a park bench, an incident he would later recall: