Gunfight at Carnegie Hall
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''Gunfight At Carnegie Hall'' is the final album by
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 ...
released during his lifetime, comprising songs recorded at the infamous, gold-suited, bomb-threat shortened first 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 ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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 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 ...
, modeled after
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, to his covers of Presley,
Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
,
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
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. Some angry fans who had paid for a full concert confronted Phil at dinner between shows. He took their names, promising to get them into the second show for free, but the box office was locked and Ochs smashed the glass, severely cutting his thumb. He appeared onstage at the second show with a bandaged hand, telling the audience the story. Breaking into the lockbox was the last straw. While they let Ochs perform the second show, he was banned immediately afterwards from performing again at the venue. On the ''Gunfight'' album, before performing a medley of
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
songs, Ochs describes Holly's influence on the songs for which he would become famous, such as "
I Ain't Marching Anymore ''I Ain't Marching Any More'' is Phil Ochs' second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965. History Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes' " The Highwayman" set to music (much as Poe's "The Bells" had be ...
". Ochs says that Holly's songs were "just as much Phil Ochs as anything else". When some of the audience shout and boo, Ochs admonishes them to "not be like Spiro Agnew", saying that their prejudice against certain forms of music was bigotry: "You can be a bigot from all sides. You can be a bigot against blacks; you can be a bigot against music". Many in the audience cheer at this sentiment. The second show, which started at midnight, went on for more than three hours. When Carnegie Hall cut the power to the microphones in the middle of Ochs' performing a medley of Elvis songs, he shouted out and the remaining audience started chanting "We want power!" until the microphones were turned back on. (Although the ''Gunfight'' album is composed of performances from the first show, the chant from the second show is included.) Many loyal fans remained to the very end of the concert, cheering and dancing, enjoying this chance to share what many felt was an historic moment with Ochs. Ochs begged his record label, A&M, to release an album of his Carnegie Hall performances in late 1970. They refused, and the tapes languished for four years in the vaults until the label relented, releasing fifty minutes of material, mostly the cover versions (four of sixteen originals performed were released, compared to five of seven covers). The album was only released in Canada and Japan; it was not released in the United States until
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label specializing in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engineer ...
issued it on compact disc in the late 1980s. There is no talk of a complete release of either show, although an acoustic version of "
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
" was released on the 1976 compilation '' Chords Of Fame'' and the 1997 box set ''
Farewells & Fantasies ''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, ea ...
'' and an additional cover, Chuck Berry's " School Days", appeared on the 1997 British anthology, '' American Troubadour''. Copies of the entire second show are known to be traded among fans. Ochs had been drinking between shows, and his voice was not in as good shape as it had been for the first show, though the between-song patter gives many insights into his frame of mind and the motives behind '' Greatest Hits'' and the subsequent gold-suited shows. The cover to
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...
's 2011 album ''
World Wide Rebel Songs In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
'' is a homage to ''Gunfight at Carnegie Hall''.


Track listing

# "
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
" (
Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Living ...
,
Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans t ...
) – 3:49 # "
I Ain't Marching Anymore ''I Ain't Marching Any More'' is Phil Ochs' second LP, released on Elektra Records in 1965. History Ochs performs alone on twelve original songs, an interpretation of Alfred Noyes' " The Highwayman" set to music (much as Poe's "The Bells" had be ...
" (Phil Ochs) – 4:23 # " Okie From Muskogee" (Roy Burris, Merle Haggard) – 2:49 # "Chords of Fame" (Ochs) – 4:49 # "Buddy Holly Medley : Not Fade Away /
I'm Gonna Love You Too "I'm Gonna Love You Too" is a song written by Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan and Norman Petty, originally recorded by Buddy Holly in 1957 and released as a single in 1958. It was covered 20 years later by American new wave band Blondie and rele ...
/
Think It Over "Think It Over" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman Petty in 1958, originally recorded by the Crickets. Vi Petty, Norman Petty's wife, played piano on this recording. Chart performance In the US, "Think I ...
/ Oh, Boy! /
Everyday Everyday or Every Day may refer to: Books * ''Every Day'' (novel), by David Levithan, 2012 Film * ''Every Day'' (2010 film), an American comedy-drama starring Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt * ''Everyday'' (film), a 2012 British drama direct ...
/ It's So Easy / Not Fade Away" ( Charles Hardin, Norman Petty,
Joe B. Mauldin Joseph Benson Mauldin, Jr. (July 8, 1940 – February 7, 2015) was an American bass player, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (stand ...
,
Niki Sullivan Niki Sullivan (June 23, 1937 – April 6, 2004) was an American rock and roll guitar player, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing band, the Crickets. Though he lost interest within a ...
, Sonny West, Bill Tilghman,
Jerry Allison Jerry Ivan Allison (August 31, 1939 – August 22, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo chart entr ...
) – 7:18 # "Pleasures of the Harbor" (Ochs) – 5:59 # "Tape from California" (Ochs) – 5:09 # "Elvis Medley : My Baby Left Me /
Ready Teddy "Ready Teddy" is a song written by John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell, and first made popular by Little Richard in 1956. Little Richard sang and played piano on the recording, backed by a band consisting of Lee Allen (tenor saxophone), Alvin " ...
/ Heartbreak Hotel /
All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...
/ Are You Lonesome Tonight? / My Baby Left Me" (
Arthur Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs "That's All Right" (1946), "My Baby Left Me" and "So Gla ...
,
John Marascalco John S. Marascalco (March 27, 1931 – July 5, 2020) was an American songwriter most noted for the songs he wrote for Little Richard. He was born in Grenada, Mississippi and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Marascalco co-wrote several of ...
, Robert Blackwell, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller,
Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), "Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerry Le ...
, Roy Turk,
Lou Handman Lou Handman (September 10, 1894 – December 9, 1956) was an American composer. Born in New York City, in his early career he toured in vaudeville shows in Australia and New York. Handman worked closely with Roy Turk. They went on to make su ...
) – 10:12 # "
A Fool Such as I "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and was published in 1952. Recorded as a single by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953. Since the original Snow version, "F ...
" (Bill Trader) – 2:00


Personnel

*Phil Ochs -
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
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 ...
-
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
* Lincoln Mayorga -
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
*Kenny Kaufman -
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
,
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
* Kevin Kelley -
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...


See also

* Jim Glover


References


Notes


Footnotes


External links

* {{Authority control Phil Ochs live albums 1975 live albums A&M Records live albums Albums recorded at Carnegie Hall