American singer-songwriter

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 ...

(December 19, 1940, – April 9, 1976,) wrote or recorded at least 238 songs during his brief career. Most of the songs which he performed he composed himself: they ranged in style from protest songs and

topical song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

s to

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

. In concert, Ochs sometimes

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

songs made famous by other performers. On one occasion, during the height of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

in 1964, he and

Eric Andersen Eric Andersen (born February 14, 1943) is an American folk music singer-songwriter, who has written songs recorded by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, the Grateful Dead and many others. Early in his career, in the 1960s, he ...

performed

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

I Should Have Known Better "I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and originally issued on '' A Hard Day's Night'', their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 J ...

" at a hootenanny, something Ochs described as "very much out of character with this whole program". In the early part of 1970, Ochs surprised his fans by donning a gold lamé suit (commissioned from

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 tailor) and going on tour with a

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

; during the brief concert tour, he sang his own material along with medleys of songs by

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 ...

, Elvis, and Merle Haggard. Ochs never had a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, but one of his records broke into the

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...

. "

Outside of a Small Circle of Friends __NOTOC__ "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" is a song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s. "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", which was originally released on Ochs' 1967 album ''Pleasures of the Harbor'', became one of Och ...

" reached No. 20 in Los Angeles and was No. 119 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s national "Hot Prospect" listing.Eliot, p. 137.

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

had a hit in the U.K. with her cover of " There but for Fortune", a song written by Ochs. (In the U.S. it peaked at No. 50 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

—a good showing, but not a hit.) Ochs' songs, " Bwatue" and "Niko Mchumba Ngombe", which he co-wrote with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa.Cohen, p. 188. were written and recorded in Kenya in 1973, and are early examples of blending Western

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

with world music. Critics note that they predate

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's '' Graceland'' album by more than ten years. The lyrics to "Bwatue" are in

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

, and the lyrics to "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" are in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

. The songs were released as a single in Africa, and most Ochs fans never heard of them until they were included on a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

in 1997.Cohen, p. 35. This is a list of all songs recorded by Ochs that have been officially released. (''

Camp Favorites ''Camp Favorites'' is a studio album by "The Campers" that was released in 1962 or 1963 by Cameo Records. It is the first known commercial record made by folksinger, songwriter, and social activist Phil Ochs. "The Campers" consist of Ochs (who i ...

'', an album of traditional children's songs that was released anonymously, has not been included.) In the case of

studio recordings The term studio recording means any Sound recording and reproduction, recording made in a Recording studio, studio, as opposed to a live music, live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the pe ...

released during his lifetime, the album title and date of album release have been included. For posthumous releases and

demo recordings A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

, the approximate date of recording is shown as well. In the case of live recordings, the date of recording and album on which the track appears have been included. Some recordings have been re-released on compilation albums; their reissue has not been noted. Except where indicated, all songs were written by Ochs.

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Phil Ochs Discography
by

Sonny Ochs Sonia "Sonny" Ochs is a music producer and radio host. She is known for the "Phil Ochs Song Nights" she organizes, at which various musicians sing the songs of her brother, singer-songwriter Phil Ochs. Ochs was born in Scotland on April 12, 1937, ...

, includes lists of Phil Ochs songs and covers {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Phil Ochs Songs Ochs, Phil *

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