*Ø* Blogmanac December 19, 1940 | Phil Ochs, troubled troubador

1940 Phil Ochs (December 19, 1940 - April 9, 1976), American protest singer of the early 1960s, perhaps best known for his songs ‘Power and Glory’, ‘There But for Fortune’, ‘Changes’, ‘When I'm Gone’, and ‘I Ain't Marching Anymore’. Ochs was a passionate vocalist who wrote poignant lyrics about war, civil rights, labor struggles and other topics.

Intensely disappointed by his lack of commercial success, however, and haunted by other personal demons – namely alcoholism, writer's block and depression – Phil Ochs hanged himself in 1976. His songs have been covered by Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco, John Wesley Harding and They Might Be Giants among many others ...

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