Editing Phil Ochs (section)

== Career ==
=== New York City: 1962–1966 ===
{{quote box|width=40%|quote=In the early 1960s, there was a [[folk music]] rebirth in this country with the likes of [[Peter, Paul and Mary]], [[Joan Baez]], [[Pete Seeger]] and [[Bob Dylan]]. Although his fame was probably limited, Ochs became an integral part of that crowd. His songs "[[Draft Dodger Rag]]" and "[[I Ain't Marching Anymore (song)|I Ain't Marching Anymore]]" became a rallying cry for the [[Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War|peace movement]] much the way that Dylan's did. |salign=right |author=Leba Hertz |source="'Phil Ochs' Review: A Voice Made for Marching", ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', March 18, 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Phil-Ochs-review-A-voice-made-for-marching-2389322.php |title='Phil Ochs' Review: A Voice Made for Marching |first=Leba |last=Hertz |date=March 18, 2011 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |access-date=November 20, 2018 }}</ref> }}

Ochs arrived in New York City in 1962 and began performing in numerous small folk nightclubs, eventually becoming an integral part of the [[Greenwich Village]] folk music scene.<ref>Schumacher, p. 53.</ref> He emerged as an unpolished but passionate vocalist who wrote pointed songs about current events: war, [[civil rights]], [[labour movement|labor struggles]] and other topics. While others described his music as "protest songs", Ochs preferred the term "topical songs".<ref>Brend, pp. 101–102.</ref>

However, in order to get by, in November 1962, Ochs accepted $50 to record a children's album, a collection of traditional popular [[campfire songs]], titled ''[[Camp Favorites]]'' (1963).<ref>{{Cite web |date=1963 |title=Phil Ochs - First Real Album (Campfire Songs) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D91B6ind6U |access-date=May 3, 2024 |website=YouTube |via=June 2, 2014}}</ref> In 1963, [[Cameo Records]] released this budget LP.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1963 |title=The Campers – Camp Favorites |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/4319109-The-Campers-Camp-Favorites |access-date=May 3, 2024 |website=Discogs}}</ref> Ochs requested his name not be used and it wasn't until well after his death that its existence became known. The Campers consists of Ochs (who is not credited on the record), an unknown female vocalist and a group of children.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-08-17 |title=Camp Favorites |url=https://celebratingphilochs.com/camp-favorites/ |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=Celebrating Phil Ochs |language=en}}</ref><ref>Cohen, David. "Another Side of Phil Ochs". 2000.</ref>

Ochs described himself as a "singing journalist",<ref>{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=Peter |title=The Rough Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to More Than 1200 Artists and Bands |edition=3 |year=2003 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=978-1-85828-457-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock00roug/page/742 742] |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock00roug/page/742 }}</ref> saying he built his songs from stories he read in ''[[Newsweek]]''.<ref>Schumacher, p. 54.</ref> By the summer of 1963, he was sufficiently well known in folk circles to be invited to sing at the [[Newport Folk Festival]], where he performed "Too Many Martyrs" (co-written with Bob Gibson), "Talking Birmingham Jam", and "[[Power and the Glory]]"—his patriotic Guthrie-esque anthem that brought the audience to its feet. Other performers at the 1963 folk festival included [[Peter, Paul and Mary]], [[Joan Baez]], [[Bob Dylan]], and [[Tom Paxton]].<ref>Schumacher, pp. 59–63.</ref> Ochs' return appearance at Newport in 1964, where he performed "Draft Dodger Rag," "Talking Vietnam Blues," and other songs, was widely praised.<ref>Schumacher, p. 84.</ref> However, he was not invited to appear in 1965, the festival when Dylan famously performed "[[Maggie's Farm]]" with an electric guitar. Although many in the folk world decried Dylan's choice, Ochs admired Dylan's courage in defying the folk establishment, and publicly defended him.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 98, 101–104.</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Ochs |title=It Ain't Me, Babe |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=August 12, 1967 }}</ref>

In 1963, Ochs performed at New York's [[Carnegie Hall]] and [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]] in [[Hootenanny|hootenannies]].<ref>Schumacher, p. 67.</ref> He made his first solo appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1966.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 112–115.</ref> Throughout his career, Ochs would perform at a wide range of venues, including civil rights rallies, anti-war demonstrations, and concert halls.<ref>Cohen (1999), pp. 12–15.</ref>

Ochs contributed many songs and articles to the influential ''[[Broadside Magazine]]''.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 54–55.</ref><ref name="smithsonian">{{cite web |url=https://folkways.si.edu/search?query=Phil+Ochs |title=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings |publisher=Folkways.si.edu |access-date=March 24, 2018 }}</ref> He recorded his first three albums for [[Elektra Records]]: ''[[All the News That's Fit to Sing]]'' (1964), ''[[I Ain't Marching Anymore]]'' (1965), and ''[[Phil Ochs in Concert]]'' (1966).<ref>Cohen (1999), pp. 189–191.</ref> Critics wrote that each album was better than its predecessors, and fans seemed to agree; record sales increased with each new release.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 91–92, 117.</ref>

On these records, Ochs was accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. The albums contain many of Ochs's topical songs, such as "Too Many Martyrs", "[[I Ain't Marching Anymore (song)|I Ain't Marching Anymore]]", and "Draft Dodger Rag"; and some musical reinterpretation of older poetry, such as "[[The Highwayman (poem)|The Highwayman]]" (poem by [[Alfred Noyes]]) and "[[The Bells (poem)|The Bells]]" (poem by [[Edgar Allan Poe]]). ''Phil Ochs in Concert'' includes some more introspective songs, such as "Changes" and "When I'm Gone".<ref>Eliot (1989), pp. 77, 86–89, 99–103.</ref><ref>Schumacher, pp. 76–77, 90–91, 116–117.</ref>

During the early period of his career, Ochs and Bob Dylan had a friendly rivalry. Dylan said of Ochs, "I just can't keep up with Phil—and he's gettin' better and better".<ref>{{cite news |first=Karl |last=Dallas |title=Dylan Said It—'I Can't Keep Up With Phil' |work=[[Melody Maker]] |page=10 |date=November 27, 1965 }}</ref> On another occasion, when Ochs criticized either "[[One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)]]" or "[[Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?]]" (sources differ), Dylan threw him out of his limousine, saying, "You're not a folk singer. You're a journalist."<ref>Schumacher, p. 106.</ref>

In 1962, Ochs married Alice Skinner, who was pregnant with their daughter Meegan, in a [[civil marriage|City Hall ceremony]] with [[Jim Glover]] as best man and [[Jim and Jean|Jean Ray]] as bridesmaid, and witnessed by Dylan's girlfriend at the time, [[Suze Rotolo]].<ref name="Rotolo2008">{{cite book|last=Rotolo|first=Suze|author-link=Suze Rotolo|title=A freewheelin' time: a memoir of Greenwich Village in the sixties|year=2008|publisher=Broadway Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7679-2687-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780767926874/page/249 249]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780767926874/page/249}}</ref><ref>Eliot (1979), pp. 61-63.</ref> Phil and Alice separated in 1965, but they never divorced.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 58, 67, 92.</ref><ref>Eliot (1989), p. 148.</ref>

Like many people of his generation, Ochs deeply admired President [[John F. Kennedy]], even though he disagreed with the president on issues such as the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]], the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], and the growing [[Role of the United States in the Vietnam War|involvement of the United States in the Vietnamese civil war]]. When Kennedy [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|was assassinated on November 22, 1963]], Ochs wept. He told his wife that he thought he was going to die that night. It was the only time she ever saw Ochs cry.<ref>Schumacher, p. 68.</ref><ref>Schumacher, pp. 68–69.</ref>

Ochs's managers during this part of his career were [[Albert Grossman]] (who also managed Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul, and Mary and Gordon Lightfoot) followed by [[Arthur Gorson]].<ref>Eliot (1989), p. 64, 94.</ref> Gorson had close ties with such groups as [[Americans For Democratic Action]], the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]], and [[Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)|Students for a Democratic Society]].<ref>Eliot (1989), pp. 66–67.</ref>

Ochs was writing songs at a fast pace. Some of the songs he wrote during this period were held back and recorded on his later albums.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 118, 149.</ref>

===California: 1967–1969===
In 1967, Ochs—now managed by his brother Michael—left [[Elektra Records]] for [[A&M Records]] and moved to Los Angeles, California.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 129–130, 134.</ref> He recorded four studio albums for A&M: ''[[Pleasures of the Harbor]]'' (1967), ''[[Tape from California]]'' (1968), ''[[Rehearsals for Retirement]]'' (1969), and the ironically titled ''[[Greatest Hits (Phil Ochs)|Greatest Hits]]'' (1970; which actually consisted of all new material).<ref>Cohen (1999), pp. 191–193.</ref> For his A&M albums, Ochs moved away from simply produced solo acoustic guitar performances and experimented with ensemble and even orchestral instrumentation, "baroque-folk",<ref>Brend, p. 106.</ref> in the hopes of producing a pop-folk hybrid that would be a [[Hit single|hit]].<ref>Eliot (1989), pp. 131–133.</ref>

Critic [[Robert Christgau]], writing in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' of ''Pleasures of the Harbor'' in May 1968, did not consider this new direction a good turn. While describing Ochs as "unquestionably a nice guy", he went on to say, "too bad his voice shows an effective range of about half an octave [and] his guitar playing would not suffer much if his right hand were webbed." "''Pleasures of the Harbor''", Christgau continued, "epitomizes the decadence that has infected pop since ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band|Sgt. Pepper]]''. [The] gaudy musical settings ... inspire nostalgia for the three-chord strum."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column3.php |title=Dylan-Beatles-Stones-Donovan-Who, Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield, John Fred, California |access-date=January 24, 2009 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |date=May 1968 |work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] }}</ref>

With an ironic sense of humor, Ochs included Christgau's "webbed hand" comment in his 1968 songbook ''The War is Over'' on a page titled "The Critics Raved", opposite a full-page picture of Ochs standing in a large metal garbage can.<ref>Ochs (1968), p. 44.</ref> Despite his sense of humor, Ochs was unhappy that his work was not receiving the critical acclaim and popular success he had hoped to achieve.<ref>Schumacher, p. 166.</ref> Still, Ochs would joke on the back cover of ''Greatest Hits'' that there were 50 Phil Ochs fans ("50 fans can't be wrong!"), a sarcastic reference to an Elvis Presley album that bragged of [[50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong|50&nbsp;million Elvis fans]].<ref>Schumacher, p. 226.</ref>

None of Ochs's songs became hits, although "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends" received a good deal of [[Airplay (radio)|airplay]]. It reached No. 119 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''{{'}}s national "Hot Prospect" listing before being pulled from some radio stations because of its lyrics, which included "smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer".<ref>Eliot (1989), pp. 136–137.</ref> It was the closest Ochs ever came to the Top 40. [[Joan Baez]], however, did have a Top Ten hit in the U.K. in August 1965, reaching No. 8 with her recording of Ochs's song "There but for Fortune",<ref>{{cite book |last=Warner |first=Jay |title=Notable Moments of Women in Music |year=2008 |publisher=Hal Leonard |location=Milwaukee, Wisc. |isbn=978-1-4234-2951-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/notablemomentsof0000warn/page/133 133] |url=https://archive.org/details/notablemomentsof0000warn/page/133 }}</ref><ref name=pc34>{{Pop Chronicles|34|3}}</ref> which was also nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for "Best Folk Recording".<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Timothy Dean |title=Global Pop: World Music, World Markets |url=https://archive.org/details/globalpopworldmu00tayl |url-access=registration |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York City|isbn=978-0-415-91872-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/globalpopworldmu00tayl/page/225 225] }}</ref> In the U.S. it peaked at No. 50 on the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1917|pure_url=yes}} |title=Billboard singles |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | access-date=February 3, 2009 }}</ref>—a good showing, but not a hit.<ref>Schumacher, p. 95.</ref>

Although he was trying new things musically, Ochs did not abandon his protest roots. He was profoundly concerned with the escalation of the Vietnam War, performing tirelessly at anti-war rallies across the country. In 1967, he organized two rallies to declare that "The War Is Over"—"Is everybody sick of this stinking war? In that case, friends, do what I and thousands of other Americans have done—declare the war over."<ref>{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Ochs |title=Have You Heard? The War is Over! |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=November 23, 1967 }}; reprinted in Ochs (1968), p. 92; excerpted in Schumacher, p. 171.</ref>—one in Los Angeles in June, the other in New York in November.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 139–148, 170–173.</ref> He continued to write and record anti-war songs, such as "The War Is Over" and "White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land". Other topical songs of this period include "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends", inspired by the [[murder of Kitty Genovese]], who was stabbed to death outside of her New York City apartment building while dozens of her neighbors reportedly ignored her cries for help, and "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed", about the despair he felt in the aftermath of the Chicago [[1968 Democratic National Convention]] [[police riot]].<ref>Schumacher, pp. 149, 208.</ref>

Ochs was writing more personal songs as well, such as "Crucifixion", in which he compared the deaths of Jesus Christ and assassinated President [[John F. Kennedy]] as part of a "cycle of sacrifice" in which people build up heroes and then celebrate their destruction; "Chords of Fame", a warning against the dangers and corruption of fame; "Pleasures of the Harbor", a lyrical portrait of a lonely sailor seeking human connection far from home; and "Boy in Ohio", a plaintive look back at Ochs's childhood in Columbus.<ref name="Eliot 1989, p. 193">Eliot (1989), p. 193.</ref><ref>Schumacher, pp. 110, 160, 214–215, 223–224.</ref>

A lifelong movie fan, Ochs worked the narratives of justice and rebellion that he had seen in films into his music, describing some of his songs as "cinematic".<ref>For example, in the spoken introduction to "Ringing of Revolution" on ''[[Phil Ochs in Concert]]''.</ref> He was disappointed and bitter when his onetime hero [[John Wayne]] embraced the [[Vietnam War]] with what Ochs saw as the blind patriotism of Wayne's 1968 film, ''[[The Green Berets (film)|The Green Berets]]'':

<blockquote>[H]ere we have John Wayne, who was a major artistic and psychological figure on the American scene, ... who at one point used to make movies of soldiers who had a certain validity, ... a certain sense of honor [about] what the soldier was doing. ... Even if it was a cavalry movie doing a historically dishonorable thing to the Indians, even as there was a feeling of what it meant to be a man, what it meant to have some sense of duty. ... Now today we have the same actor making his new war movie in a war so hopelessly corrupt that, without seeing the movie, I'm sure it is perfectly safe to say that it will be an almost {{Sic|?|hide=y|technically|-}}robot-view of soldiery, just by definition of how the whole country has deteriorated. And I think it would make a very interesting double feature to show a good old Wayne movie like, say, ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon'' with ''The Green Berets''. Because that would make a very striking comment on what has happened to America in general.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cunningham |first=Sis |author-link=Sis Cunningham |author2=Gordon Friesen  |year=1968 |title=Interview with Phil Ochs |journal=[[Broadside Magazine]] |issue=91 |author2-link=Gordon Friesen }}; quoted in Schumacher, p. 178.</ref></blockquote>

Ochs was involved in the creation of the [[Youth International Party]], known as the Yippies, along with [[Jerry Rubin]], [[Abbie Hoffman]], [[Stew Albert]], and [[Paul Krassner]].<ref>Eliot (1989), p. 140.</ref> At the same time, Ochs actively supported [[Eugene McCarthy]]'s more mainstream bid for the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1968|1968 Democratic nomination for President]], a position at odds with the more radical Yippie point of view.<ref>Schumacher, p. 182–184.</ref><ref>Despite their disagreements, the Yippies used several Ochs songs in their media, in particular, the anti-war "I Ain't Marching Anymore". For example, see [http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/videodir/pacificaviet/yippie.ram this Yippie-produced documentary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528201004/http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/videodir/pacificaviet/yippie.ram |date=May 28, 2008 }}.</ref> Still, Ochs helped plan the Yippies' "[[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity|Festival of Life]]" which was to take place at the 1968 Democratic National Convention along with demonstrations by other anti-war groups including the [[National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam]].<ref>Brend, pp. 106–107.</ref>

Despite warnings that there might be trouble, Ochs went to Chicago both as a guest of the McCarthy campaign and to participate in the demonstrations. He performed in [[Lincoln Park]], [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]], and at the [[Chicago Coliseum]], witnessed the violence perpetrated by the Chicago police against the protesters, and was arrested at one point.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 194–196.</ref><ref>See also the documentary film [https://vimeo.com/64409865 ''Conventions: The Land Around Us''] at [[Vimeo]]</ref> Ochs also purchased the young boar who became known as the Yippie 1968 Presidential candidate "[[Pigasus (politics)|Pigasus the Immortal]]" from a farm in Illinois.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wChZDwAAQBAJ&q=phil+ochs+bought+pigasus&pg=PT89 |title = Uncle John's Unsinkable Bathroom Reader|isbn = 9781607104605|last1 = Institute|first1 = Bathroom Readers'|date = October 2011| publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/222656-yippie-party-pigasus-the-immortal-1969-i |title = YIPPIE Party Pigasus the Immortal 1969 Inauguration Vietnam Pinback Button Lot |work=Collectors Weekly}}</ref>

[[File:REHEARSALS.jpg|thumb|right|The cover of Ochs's 1969 album, ''[[Rehearsals for Retirement]]'']]

The events of 1968{{snd}}the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] and [[Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy|of Robert F. Kennedy]] weeks later, the [[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity#August 28: The Battle for Michigan Avenue|Chicago police riot]], and the election of [[Richard Nixon]]{{snd}}left Ochs feeling disillusioned and depressed.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 201, 204.</ref> The cover of his 1969 album ''[[Rehearsals for Retirement]]'' portrayed a tombstone with the words:

<div style="text-align:center;">
PHIL OCHS<br/>(AMERICAN)<br/>BORN: EL PASO, TEXAS, 1940<br/>DIED: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, 1968<ref>Schumacher, p. 211.</ref><!--don't change this, Chicago 1968 is correct, it is not his literal death, it is a reference to the events surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention-->
</div>

At the trial of the [[Chicago Seven]] in December 1969, Ochs testified for the defense. His testimony included his recitation of the lyrics to his song "I Ain't Marching Anymore". On his way out of the courthouse, Ochs sang the song for the press corps; to Ochs's amusement, his singing was broadcast that evening by [[Walter Cronkite]] on the ''[[CBS Evening News]]''.<ref>Eliot (1989), pp. 175–188.</ref>

===''Greatest Hits'': 1970===
After the riot in Chicago and the subsequent trial, Ochs changed direction again. The events of 1968 convinced him that the average American was not listening to topical songs or responding to Yippie tactics. Ochs thought that by playing the sort of music that had moved him as a teenager he could speak more directly to the American public.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 222–223.</ref>

Ochs turned to his musical roots in country music and early rock and roll.<ref name=Schumacher224>Schumacher, p. 224.</ref> He decided he needed to be "part Elvis Presley and part [[Che Guevara]]",<ref>Schumacher, p. 227.</ref> so he commissioned a [[Lamé (fabric)|gold lamé]] suit from Elvis Presley's costumer [[Nudie Cohn]].<ref>Brend, p. 108.</ref> Ochs wore the gold suit on the cover of his 1970 album, ''[[Greatest Hits (Phil Ochs album)|Greatest Hits]]'', which consisted of new songs largely in rock and country styles.<ref name="Eliot 1989, p. 193"/><ref name=Schumacher224/>

Ochs went on tour wearing the gold suit, backed by a rock band, singing his own material along with medleys of songs by Buddy Holly, Elvis, and Merle Haggard. His fans did not know how to respond. This new Phil Ochs drew a hostile reaction from his audience. Ochs's March 27, 1970, concerts at [[Carnegie Hall]] were the most successful, and by the end of that night's second show, Ochs had won over many in the crowd.<ref name="wolf">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=92624|title=The Sad End of the First Elvis Impersonator|last=Wolf|first=Buck|date=August 16, 2001|publisher=ABC News|access-date=October 31, 2015}}</ref> The show was recorded and released as ''[[Gunfight at Carnegie Hall]]''.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 227–233.</ref>

During this period, Ochs was taking drugs to get through performances. He had been taking [[Valium]] for years to help control his nerves, and he was also drinking heavily.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 216–217, 233.</ref> Pianist [[Lincoln Mayorga]] said of that period, "He was physically abusing himself very badly on that tour. He was drinking a lot of wine and taking uppers. The wine was pulling him one way and the uppers were pulling him another way, and he was kind of a mess. There were so many pharmaceuticals around – so many pills. I'd never seen anything like that."<ref>Schumacher, p. 233.</ref> Ochs tried to cut back on the pills, but alcohol remained his drug of choice for the rest of his life.<ref name=Eliot>Eliot (1989), pp. 207, 213, 236.</ref><ref name=Schumacher>Schumacher, pp. 260, 265, 275, 301–302, 310–311.</ref>

Depressed by his lack of widespread appreciation and suffering from [[writer's block]], Ochs did not record any further albums.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 226, 235, 255.</ref> He slipped deeper into depression and alcoholism.<ref name=Eliot/><ref name=Schumacher/> His personal problems notwithstanding, Ochs performed at the inaugural benefit for [[Greenpeace]] on October 16, 1970, at the [[Pacific Coliseum]] in Vancouver, [[British Columbia]]. A [[Amchitka (album)|recording of his performance]], along with performances by Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, was released by Greenpeace in 2009.

===Traveling: 1971–1975===
[[File:Phil Ochs rewrite of his song.jpg|thumb|Phil Ochs rewrite of his song "[[Here's to the State of Mississippi]]" into "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon". Typed at the apartment of [[Chip Berlet]] in 1974 prior to Ochs's performance of the song at Impeachment Ball. Copy sent to his brother Michael Ochs for registration. Original at [[Chicago History Museum]].]]

In August 1971, Ochs went to Chile, where [[Salvador Allende]], a [[Marxism|Marxist]], had been democratically elected in the [[1970 Chilean presidential election|1970 election]]. There he met Chilean folksinger [[Víctor Jara]], an Allende supporter, and the two became friends. In October, Ochs left Chile to visit [[Argentina]]. Later that month, after singing at a political rally in [[Uruguay]], he and his American traveling companion David Ifshin were arrested and detained overnight. When the two returned to Argentina, they were arrested as they left the airplane. After a brief stay in an Argentinian prison, Ochs and Ifshin were sent to [[Bolivia]] via a commercial airliner where authorities were to detain them.<ref name="auto">Schumacher, pp. 239–253.</ref>

Ifshin had previously been warned by Argentinian leftist friends that when the authorities sent dissidents to Bolivia, they would disappear forever. When the airliner arrived in Bolivia, the American captain of the [[Braniff International Airways]] aircraft allowed Ochs and Ifshin to stay on the aircraft and barred Bolivian authorities from entering. The aircraft then flew to [[Peru]] where the two disembarked and they were not detained. Fearful that Peruvian authorities might arrest him, Ochs returned to the United States a few days later.<ref name="auto"/>

Ochs was having difficulties writing new songs during this period, but he had occasional breakthroughs. He updated his sarcastic song "[[Here's to the State of Mississippi]]" as "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon", with cutting lines such as "the speeches of the Spiro are the ravings of a clown", a reference to Nixon's vitriolic vice president, [[Spiro Agnew]]—sung as "the speeches of the President are the ravings of a clown" after Agnew's resignation.<ref>Schumacher, p. 255.</ref><ref>Eliot, p. 216.</ref><ref>The "Spiro" lyrics can be heard in {{YouTube|Qxk0x5wuRH0|this clip}} from the 1971 "Free John Sinclair" rally. The "President" lyrics can be heard in the 1974 single release.</ref>

Ochs was personally invited by [[John Lennon]] to sing at a large benefit at the University of Michigan in December 1971 on behalf of [[John Sinclair (poet)|John Sinclair]], an activist poet who had been arrested on minor drug charges and given a severe sentence. Ochs performed at the [[John Sinclair Freedom Rally]] along with [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], [[David Peel (musician)|David Peel]], [[Abbie Hoffman]], and many others. The rally culminated with Lennon and [[Yoko Ono]], who were making their first public performance in the United States since the breakup of [[the Beatles]].<ref>Schumacher, pp. 256–259.</ref>

Although the 1968 election had left him deeply disillusioned, Ochs continued to work for the election campaigns of anti-war candidates, such as [[George McGovern]]'s unsuccessful [[1972 United States presidential election|Presidential bid in 1972]].<ref>Schumacher, pp. 262–263.</ref>

In 1972, Ochs was asked to write the theme song for the film ''[[Kansas City Bomber]]''. The task proved difficult, as he struggled to overcome his writer's block. Although [[Kansas City Bomber (song)|his song]] was not used in the soundtrack, it was released as a single.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 263–264, 269, 271.</ref>

[[File:Mackay296.jpg|thumb|Phil Ochs performing at Stables in [[East Lansing, Michigan]], May 1973]]

In mid-1972, Ochs traveled to Australia and New Zealand<ref>Schumacher, pp. 264–271.</ref> and then to Africa the following year, where he visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa. While visiting Tanzania one night, he was attacked and choked by robbers in [[Dar es Salaam]], which damaged his vocal cords, causing a loss of the top three notes in his vocal range.<ref>{{cite web|title=Phil Ochs Biography|url=http://www.sonnyochs.com/philbio.html | publisher=SonnyOchs.com| access-date=April 17, 2009}}</ref> The attack also exacerbated his growing mental problems, and he became increasingly paranoid. Ochs believed the attack may have been arranged by US government agents, perhaps the CIA. Still, he continued his trip, even recording a single in Kenya, "[[Bwatue]]".<ref>Schumacher, pp. 279–285.</ref>

On September 11, 1973, the Allende government of Chile was [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|overthrown in a ''coup d'état'']]. Allende committed suicide during the bombing of the presidential palace,<ref>{{cite news |title=Chile court confirms Salvador Allende committed suicide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19567445 |publisher=BBC News |date=September 12, 2012}}</ref> and singer Victor Jara was rounded up with other professors and students, tortured and murdered.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Clyde |title=He Died Giving a Voice to Chile's Poor. A Quest for Justice Took Decades.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/18/us/victor-jara.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 18, 2018|access-date=September 14, 2023}}</ref> When Ochs heard about the manner in which his friend had been killed, he was outraged and decided to organize a benefit concert to bring to public attention the situation in Chile, and raise funds for the people of Chile. The concert, "An Evening with Salvador Allende", was held on May 9, 1974, at New York City's [[Felt Forum]], included films of Allende; singers such as [[Pete Seeger]], [[Arlo Guthrie]], [[Dave Van Ronk]], and Bob Dylan; and political activists such as former [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]] [[Ramsey Clark]]. Dylan had agreed to perform at the last minute when he heard that the concert had sold so few tickets that it was in danger of being canceled. Once his participation was announced, the event quickly sold out.<ref>Schumacher, pp. 287–297.</ref>

After the Chile benefit, Ochs and Dylan discussed the possibility of a joint concert tour, playing small nightclubs. Nothing came of the Dylan-Ochs plans, but the idea eventually evolved into Dylan's [[Rolling Thunder Revue]].<ref>Schumacher, pp. 298–299.</ref>

The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schomp |first=Virginia |title=The Vietnam War |year=2002 |publisher=Benchmark Books |location=Tarrytown, N.Y. |isbn=978-0-7614-1099-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/vietnamwar00scho/page/78 78] |url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamwar00scho |url-access=registration }}</ref> Ochs planned a final "War Is Over" rally, which was held in New York's [[Central Park]] on May 11. More than 100,000 people came to hear Ochs, joined by [[Harry Belafonte]], [[Odetta]], Pete Seeger, [[Paul Simon]] and others. Ochs and Joan Baez sang a duet of "There but for Fortune" and he closed with his song "[[The War Is Over (Phil Ochs song)|The War Is Over]]".<ref>Schumacher, pp. 304–306.</ref>