Phil Ochs
American protest singer and songwriter (1940-1976)
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter, protest singer (or, as he preferred, "topical singer"), and political activist. Ochs's songwriting frequently addressed political issues, often with humor. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums.
Ochs performed at many political events, including the 1968 Democratic National Convention, mass demonstrations sponsored by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, civil rights rallies, student events, and organized labor events. Ochs initially described himself as a democratic socialist but grew more radical after the police riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
After years of prolific writing in the 1960s, Ochs' mental stability declined in the 1970s as he struggled with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. He died by suicide on April 9, 1976.
Ochs's influences included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Bob Gibson, Faron Young, and Merle Haggard. His best-known songs include "I Ain't Marching Anymore", "When I'm Gone", "Changes", "Crucifixion", "Draft Dodger Rag", "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", "Power and the Glory", "There but for Fortune", and "The War Is Over".
Early life
Philip David Ochs was born on December 19, 1940, in El Paso, Texas, to Jacob "Jack" Ochs (August 11, 1909 – April 30, 1963), a physician who was born in New York to Polish-Jewish parents, and Gertrude Ochs (née Phin; February 26, 1912 – March 9, 1994), who was born in Scotland to Jewish parents.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q379802. VIAF identifies the subject as 17421592. The Library of Congress control number is n88152158. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1976, 1968 and 1909.
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This entry incorporates text from “Phil Ochs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.