''Greatest Hits'' is

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; 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 ...

' seventh album and final studio album released in his lifetime, released in 1970 on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. Contrary to its title, it offered ten new tracks of material, mostly produced by

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

Music and lyrics

Focusing more on country music than any other album in Ochs' canon, the album included members of

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's backing group, alongside mainstays

Lincoln Mayorga Lincoln Mayorga (born March 28, 1937) is an American pianist, arranger, conductor and composer who has worked in rock and roll, pop, jazz and classical music. Life and career Pop music in the 1950s and '60s Mayorga was born in Los Angeles, Ca ...

and

Bob Rafkin Bob Rafkin (30 March 1944 – 2 May 2013) was an American singer, songwriter and guitar player. Rafkin was born in New York City in 1944. His musical career really took off when he moved to Greenwich Village in the mid-sixties. Here he met ...

. His lyrics were at their most self-referential, with only one overtly political song appearing, "Ten Cents A Coup," which included a spoken introduction strung together from two anti-war rallies. The song is an ironic tribute to

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...

, who Ochs wryly suggests are more laughable than

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

. Among the self-referential tracks was "Chords of Fame", which warned against the dangers of cult of personality. "Boy in Ohio" saw Ochs looking back nostalgically at his childhood. "Jim Dean of Indiana" is a tribute to

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

's life, written after Ochs had visited Dean's grave. "No More Songs" was the most telling, as Ochs would only release five more studio tracks in his lifetime after 1970, never completing another studio album.

Cover

The cover of the album is an homage to

's 1959 album ''

50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong ''50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong: Elvis' Gold Records, Volume 2'' (or simply known as ''Elvis' Gold Records, Volume 2)'' is the fourth compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in November 1959 ...

''. The back cover of ''Greatest Hits'' featured the phrase "50 Phil Ochs Fans Can't Be Wrong". Ochs wore a gold lamé suit inspired by similar suits made famous by Presley, and hired

Nudie Cohn Nuta Kotlyarenko ( uk, Нута Котляренко; December 15, 1902 – May 9, 1984), known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was an American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other ela ...

, who made Presley's suits, to make his. During his show at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, which was recorded to be released as a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, Ochs told the audience a story explaining his choice to wear the suit. He told them he had died in Chicago, in reference to the violence he witnessed during the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He said God gave him a chance to come back to earth as anyone he wanted and Ochs chose Presley. He added that if there was any hope for America it "relies on getting Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara". The suit is now part of the

Phil Ochs archives The Woody Guthrie Center is a public museum and archive located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that is dedicated to the life and legacy of American folk musician and singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie. The Center also contains the archives of folk singer, songw ...

at the

Woody Guthrie Center The Woody Guthrie Center is a public museum and archive located in Tulsa, Oklahoma that is dedicated to the life and legacy of American folk musician and singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie. The Center also contains the archives of folk singer, songw ...

in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Track listing

All songs by Phil Ochs. Side One # "

One Way Ticket Home "One Way Ticket Home" is a 1970 song by Phil Ochs, an American singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s. "One Way Ticket Home" is the first song on ''Greatest Hits'', which—despite its title—was a collection o ...

" – 2:40 # "Jim Dean of Indiana" – 5:05 # "My Kingdom For A Car" – 2:53 # "Boy In Ohio" – 3:43 # "Gas Station Women" – 3:31 Side Two # "Chords of Fame" – 3:33 # "Ten Cents A Coup" – 3:14 # "Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Me" – 5:05 # "Basket in the Pool" – 3:40 # "No More Songs" – 4:31

Personnel (partial list)

*Phil Ochs - guitar, piano, harmonica, vocals *

- producer, keyboards *Andrew Wickham - co-producer on "Gas Station Women" and "Chords of Fame" *

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, ...

- guitar, backing vocals *Laurindo Almeida - guitar *

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

- guitar *

- guitar, bass *

Chris Ethridge John Christopher Ethridge (February 10, 1947 – April 23, 2012) was an American country rock bass guitarist. He was a member of the International Submarine Band (ISB) and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and co-wrote several songs with Gram Parsons ...

- bass *Kenny Kaufman - bass *

Gene Parsons Gene Victor Parsons (born September 4, 1944, in Morongo Valley, California) is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and engineer, best known for his work with the Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released sol ...

- drums * Kevin Kelley - drums *Earl Ball - piano, arrangements *

- keyboards * Mike Rubini - keyboards *Richard Rosmini - pedal steel, harmonica *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

- mandolin on "One Way Ticket Home" *

Don Rich Donald Eugene Ulrich (August 15, 1941 – July 17, 1974), best known by the stage name Don Rich, was an American country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a ...

- fiddle *Gary Coleman - percussion * Tom Scott - tenor saxophone *Bobby Bruce - violin *Anne Goodman - cello *

Merry Clayton Merry Clayton (born December 25, 1948) is an American soul and gospel singer. She provided a number of backing vocal tracks for major performing artists in the 1960s, most notably in her duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Sh ...

Sherlie Matthews Sherlie Matthews (born November 10, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter and former Motown Records producer, best known as a backing vocalist for pop, R&B and rock groups from the mid-1960s to the present time. Early life Matthews started ...

and

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

- backing vocals *Bobby Wayne and

Jim Glover Jim R. Glover (born 1942) is an American peace activist and folk singer. He is from Cleveland, Ohio and lives in Brandon, Florida. Relationship with Phil Ochs Glover attended Ohio State University, where he met Phil Ochs in the fall of 1960 and i ...

- harmony vocals * Bob Thompson - arrangements

References

{{Authority control 1970 albums Phil Ochs albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Van Dyke Parks