Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter and protest singer. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and distinctive voice. He wrote hundreds of songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums.
Gunfight At Carnegie Hall is the final album by Phil Ochs released during his lifetime, comprising songs recorded at the infamous, gold-suited, bomb-threat shortened first show at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 27, 1970, though it contains less than half of the actual concert. The shows recorded that day served to surprise Ochs' fans, from his gold lamé Nudie suit, modeled after Elvis Presley's, to his covers of Presley, Conway Twitty, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs, to his own re-arranged songs. Some fans loved it, but some attendees at the show were unhappy with the music he was playing, wanting only to hear "old" Ochs. Before he had a chance to convince them, the concert was cut short by a telephoned bomb threat.
I Ain't Marching Any More is Phil Ochs' second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965.
Pleasures of the Harbor is Phil Ochs' fourth full-length album and his first for A&M Records, released in 1967. It is one of Ochs's most somber albums. In stark contrast to his three albums for Elektra Records which had all been folk music, Pleasures of the Harbor featured traces of classical, rock and roll, Dixieland jazz and experimental synthesized music crossing with folk, in hopes of producing a "folk-pop" crossover.
Rehearsals for Retirement is Phil Ochs's sixth album, released in 1969 on A&M Records.
Chords Of Fame was a 2-LP compilation of folksinger Phil Ochs' career, compiled by his brother shortly after Ochs' death in 1976. Released on A&M Records, it compiled tracks Ochs had recorded for both that label and Elektra Records. The compilation included several rarities:
Cross My Heart: An Introduction to Phil Ochs is a British best-of compilation of the U.S. folk singer's A&M recordings. The CD features three tracks each from Pleasures of the Harbor, Tape from California, and Rehearsals for Retirement as well as two from Greatest Hits and one from Gunfight at Carnegie Hall, with the thirteenth track the B-side to his 1973 Africa-only single, "Niko Mchumba Ngobe". Overall, this is a more diverse collection than 2002's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Phil Ochs, which tips the balance more heavily toward Pleasures of the Harbor.
Live at Newport is a 1996 compilation on Vanguard Records of folk singer Phil Ochs' three appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, in 1963, 1964 and 1966. Presenting twelve tracks that also appear on his first, second, third, fourth and fifth albums, Ochs is at his peak as a folk singer throughout, singing anti-war songs alongside those espousing civil rights and worker's rights, and showcasing some more introspective numbers that would be dramatically rearranged on the fourth and fifth albums.
The Early Years is a compilation of seven recordings Phil Ochs made for a Vanguard compilation in 1964 and twelve made at three Newport Folk Festivals in 1963, 1964 and 1966, the latter tracks previously released on the 1996 compilation Live at Newport.
There but for Fortune was a 1989 compilation that summed up the three albums that Phil Ochs recorded for Elektra Records between 1964 and 1966. The album drew heavily from the third, presenting ten of its eleven tracks, and presenting six and five respectively from the first and second.
There and Now: Live in Vancouver 1968 [sic] was a 1990 archival release of a concert by Phil Ochs in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the PNE Garden Auditorium on Thursday, March 13, 1969. Performing solo with guitar, Ochs was worn, weary and despairing in the aftermath of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Ochs presents some of his older material, such as "There But For Fortune," "Changes" and "The Highwayman," alongside then-new songs from the as-yet-unreleased Rehearsals for Retirement such as "The Doll House" and "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed." The album thus documents two eras of Ochs in one seventy-minute show.
American Troubadour is a 1997 British 2-CD set that presented a portrait of singer-songwriter Phil Ochs' later career, featuring selections from each of the five albums he recorded for A&M Records, from various non-album single sides and from a performance Ochs gave on March 13, 1969, in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is notable for the inclusion of Ochs' post-1970 single sides, otherwise unavailable on compact disc and for the inclusion of a cover of Chuck Berry's "School Days", a previously unavailable outtake from Ochs' infamous March 27, 1970, concert at Carnegie Hall.
Farewells & Fantasies is the 1997 posthumous box set of the work of singer/songwriter Phil Ochs, chronicling his life and career in music from 1964 through 1970. With its non-chronological running order, it plays like three separate albums, each showcasing a different side of Ochs. The compilation was produced by Gary Stewart, Michael Ochs and Meegan Lee Ochs. Liner notes include a foreword by Meegan Lee Ochs, "The Sound of Freedom Callin'" by Michael Ventura and "Song of a Soldier: The Life and Times of Phil Ochs" by Mark Kemp, track-by-track explanations by Ben Edmonds, discography, selected bibliography, and many photographs, some of which are from the family's private collections. The box set is dedicated to a friend, co-writer, and inspiration to Phil Ochs, Bob Gibson, who died while the box set was in production. Its title comes from the back of Ochs' LP Tape from California.
What's That I Hear?: The Songs of Phil Ochs is a 1998 tribute compilation to the music of the late Phil Ochs. The various performers cover several generations of Ochs' admirers. All profits from the album's sales were divided equally between the non-profits, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and Sing Out! Magazine.
"I Ain't Marching Any More" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a passionate critic of the American military industrial complex. Originally released on his 1965 album of the same name, "I Ain't Marching Any More" is one of Ochs's best-known songs.
Poison Ochs: A Tribute to Phil Ochs is a tribute compilation to the music of the late Phil Ochs. Ochs' songs, which are generally thought of as folk music and folk rock, are performed by musicians associated with indie rock and experimental rock.
"The War Is Over" is an anti-war song by Phil Ochs, an American protest singer in the 1960s and early 1970s, who is known for being a harsh critic of the war in Vietnam and the American military-industrial establishment. The song, which was originally released on Tape from California (1968), has been described as "one of the most potent antiwar songs of the 1960s".
The discography of Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer and songwriter, consists of seven studio albums, six live albums, six compilation albums, one box set, six other albums, and nine singles.
"Crucifixion" is a 1966 song by Phil Ochs, a US singer-songwriter. Ochs described the song as "the greatest song I've ever written".
Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune is a documentary film on the life and times of folk singer-songwriter Phil Ochs. The film, released theatrically in January 2011, was written and directed by Kenneth Bowser. Its title is taken from one of Ochs' best known songs, "There but for Fortune" (1963).
