History Music / PhilOchs

* CreatorBreakdown: The cover of his 1969 album ''Rehearsals for Retirement'' depicts Ochs' own tombstone, which stated that he died in "Chicago, Illinois, 1968". This was later [[GallowsHumor parodied]] in ''AMightyWind'''s fictional album, ''Calling It Quits'', which provided the image for this trope.

* GreatestHitsAlbum: Subverted; his album ''Greatest Hits'' consisted of 10 completely new songs.

* {{Hypocrite}}: "Draft Dodger Rag" is about a red-blooded conservative who's all for that war in Vietnam, so long as he doesn't have to go himself[[hottip:*:Don't bother potholing this to a certain former president, it'll only get edited out again]], while "Love Me, I'm a Liberal," is about someone who pays lip service to every left-wing cause until it becomes dangerous, distasteful or personally uncomfortable. ("The people of old Mississippi/ should all hang their heads in shame,/I can't understand how their minds work./ What's the matter, don't they watch Les Crane?/But if you ask me to bus my children/ I hope the cops take down your name ....")

* DeepSouth: "Here's to the State of Mississippi"
* DirtyCop: In "Here's to the State of Mississippi", he depicts the police in Mississipi that way:

* HurricaneOfExcuses: "Draft Dodger Rag"

* ElvisImpersonator: One misfire was ''Greatest Hits'', Ochs' homage to Buddy Holly and Elvis. He even wore a gold suit like The King, which was interpreted as selling out. Privately, Ochs expressed anxiety about his career, as well as his plans to craft a popular image for himself: [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Che Guevara meets Elvis]]. For this reason, many purists abandoned him for prioritizing his own fame over the music, including BobDylan. Ochs gives the impression of a man torn between his healthy-sized ambition and his ideals.

* CreatorBreakdown: The cover of his 1969 album ''Rehearsals for Retirement'' depicts Ochs' own tombstone, which stated that he died in "Chicago, Illinois, 1968".

* ElvisImpersonator: One misfire was ''Greatest Hits'', Ochs' homage to Buddy Holly and Elvis. He even wore a gold suit like The King, which was interpreted as selling out. Privately, Ochs expressed anxiety about his career, as well as his plans to craft a popular image for himself: [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Che Guevara meets Elvis]]. For this reason, many purists abandoned him for prioritizing his own fame over the music, including BobDylan. Ochs gives the impression of a man torn between his ideals and a healthy-sized ambition.

But {{Monopoly}} is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game.''

* SignatureSong: His anti-war song "I Ain't Marching Anymore".
** Also, "The War Is Over."

* NoHitWonder

* JesusWasWayCool: "Ballad of the Carpanter" (written by Evan [=MacColl=] presents Jesus as an advocate for the poor workers, who was killed by the rich because of that, and makes no mention of religion.

* {{Hypocrite}}: "Draft Dodger Rag" is about a red-blooded conservative who's all for that war in Vietnam, so long as he doesn't have to go himself[[hottip:*:Don't bother [[PotHole potholing]] this to a certain former president, it'll only get edited out again]], while "Love Me, I'm a Liberal," is about someone who pays lip service to every left-wing cause until it becomes dangerous, distasteful or personally uncomfortable. ("The people of old Mississippi/ should all hang their heads in shame,/I can't understand how their minds work./ What's the matter, don't they watch Les Crane?/But if you ask me to bus my children/ I hope the cops take down your name ....")

* {{Hypocrite}}: "Draft Dodger Rag" is about a red-blooded conservative who's all for that war in Vietnam, so long as he doesn't have to go himself[[hottip:*:Don't bother [[PotHole potholing]] this to a certain former president, it'll only get edited out again, while "Love Me, I'm a Liberal," is about someone who pays lip service to every left-wing cause until it becomes dangerous, distasteful or personally uncomfortable. ("The people of old Mississippi/ should all hang their heads in shame,/I can't understand how their minds work./ What's the matter, don't they watch Les Crane?/But if you ask me to bus my children/ I hope the cops take down your name ....")

* {{Hypocrite}}: "Draft Dodger Rag" is about a red-blooded conservative who's all for that war in Vietnam, so long as he doesn't have to go himself[[hottip:*:Don't bother [[PotHole potholing]] this to a certain former president, it'll only get edited out again]], while "Love Me, I'm a Liberal," is about someone who pays lip service to every left-wing cause until it becomes dangerous, distasteful or personally uncomfortable. ("The people of old Mississippi/ should all hang their heads in shame,/I can't understand how their minds work./ What's the matter, don't they watch Les Crane?/But if you ask me to bus my children/ I hope the cops take down your name ....")

Philip David "Phil" Ochs (1940-1976) was an American singer and songwriter, famous for his {{protest song}}s, or "topical songs", as he liked to call them. He was the most active during TheSixties, when he wrote hundreds of songs, covering many topics, such as the VietnamWar, the CivilRightsMovement and labor rights. After the events of 1968 (the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the police riot in Chicago, and the election of RichardNixon) he became increasingly disillusioned and depressed. By the mid-'70s, he had serious mental problems, and the eventually [[DrivenToSuicide hanged himself]] in 1976.

* FolkMusic

* {{Hypocrite}}: "Draft Dodger Rag" is about a red-blooded conservative who's all for that war in Vietnam, so long as he doesn't have to go himself, while "Love Me, I'm a Liberal," is about someone who pays lip service to every left-wing cause until it becomes dangerous, distasteful or personally uncomfortable. ("The people of old Mississippi/ should all hang their heads in shame,/I can't understand how their minds work./ What's the matter, don't they watch Les Crane?/But if you ask me to bus my children/ I hope the cops take down your name ....")

Phil Ochs (1940-1976) was an American singer and songwriter, famous for his {{protest song}}s, or "topical songs", as he liked to call them. He was the most active during TheSixties, when he wrote hundreds of songs, covering many topics, such as the VietnamWar, the CivilRightsMovement and labor rights. After the events of 1968 (the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the police riot in Chicago, and the election of RichardNixon) he became increasingly disillusioned and depressed. By the mid-'70s, he had serious mental problems, and the eventually [[DrivenToSuicide hanged himself]] in 1976.

Phil Ochs (1940-1976) was an American singer, famous for his {{protest song}}s, or "topical songs", as he liked to call them. He was the most active during TheSixties, when he wrote hundreds of songs, covering many topics, such as the VietnamWar, the CivilRightsMovement and labor rights. After the events of 1968 (the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the police riot in Chicago, and the election of RichardNixon) he became increasingly disillusioned and depressed. By the mid-'70s, he had serious mental problems, and the eventually [[DrivenToSuicide hanged himself]] in 1976.