Clinton Heylin:"Bob Dylan: Behind The Shades, a Biography"
The influence of Bob Dylan, moreover, prompted Ochs to pen several "abstract" political songs like "There But For Fortune" (a hit single for Joan Baez). Ochs' "Pleasures of the Harbor" was an all-too-grand attemot to create his own "Blonde on Blonde" and become a major songwriter/poet. If Dylan could create a successful song cycle by drawing on the poetics of Verlaine and Rimbaud, then Ochs could pursue Keats and Byron. On "Tape from California"...is Och's explosive answer to Dylan's "Desolation Row"- "When in Rome".
How nice to see Phil remembered on this list. Im a little older than you (43), and met Phil twice. The first time was because my girlfriend at the time lived next door to Phil's sister Sonny (it was at Sonny's that he hung himself). Anyway, we went out on my 18th birthday to get me really drunk for the first time, and Phil came along to help. By the way, he succeded.
i ran into him at McSorley's in the Village several years later. He was in pretty rocky shape, and didn't really remember me, but by then he didn't recognize many people.
Anyway, Phil DID idolize Dylan, but Dylan apparently had little but contempt for him. A famous mid-sixties incident had Dylan throwing Phil out of a cab ont the way someplace or another saying "You're not a songwriter - you're a reporter", or some thing like that. .
They eventually patched things up (sort of), to the point that Bob bailed Phil out of a serious jam by appearing at Phil's Allende Memorial Concert at Carnegie Hall at the last minute. Still, Phil's heart was broken when he wasn't invited on the Rolling Thunder tour (as he was led to believe he would be). Some people think this was one of the last straws that led to the suicide. .
Shortly after his death, Sonny & Michael Ochs put together a "Tribute to Phil" concert (also at Carnegie, I think). Dylan was invited, but never responded. Guilt, perhaps? .
tgb
P.S. For more on the Dylan-Ochs connection, listen to "Gunfight at Carnegie Hall" and think Newport '65.
Subject: Re: Phil Ochs From: (Dennis J Green) dengreen@ix.netcom.com Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 09:32:37 -0400 Brandon Zwagerman wrote: > > What does everyone think of Phil Ochs? There seems to be so little info on > him on the internet, as I found searching around this evening. He is really > a forgotten great-- any fame he had is almost erased... rollingstone.com > doesn't even have a profile on him, among the massive collection of artists > they have... any thoughts or opinions on the man? > > Brandon Zwagerman Ochs took over as "The" Topical songwriter/folksinger when Dylan relinquished the role with the release of Another side of BD. Ochs Elektra discography: All the news that fit to sing (1964) i ain't marching anymore (1965) in concert (1966) (containe new songs not repeats) Note: Elektra records like Vanguard was a folkie label, its first rock act was The Doors These three albums contained some of the best topical songs to come out of the Village folkscene but as Dylan showed with BIABH (1965), H61R (1965) and BOB (1966) you don't have to be a topical songwriter to express the ills, foibles and weaknesses of Amerikkkan culture. Topical songwriting overnight became passe and Ochs was an anachronism. What's of concern to thr rmd crowd is that Dylan had a falling out with Ochs (they seemed to be good friends) when Ochs told Bob one of his songs (can you please crawl out your window) was not as good as Positively 4th St. My feeling is that Dylan wanted to dump this musical dinosaur (Dylan was metamorphing into a rock star and topical folksingers just don't fit) for a while and used his comment as an excuse to cut Ochs from the Dylan entourage. CDNOW on Phil Ochs.