This originally appeared in the Facebook group, ” 50 Phil Ochs Fans Can’t Be Wrong.” I’ve been working on the two person play based on Phil’s life, and I ended up deciding that I probably needed to include “No Christmas in Kentucky,” partly as a way of illustrating Phil’s proficiency at writing topical songs, partly as away of demonstrating Phil’s activism, and mostly as a way of introducing Arthur Gorson, who organized the trip to Hazard county in 1963 and later becomes Phil’s second manager. He’s a fairly important character in the play’s first half (after Jim Glover and a brief appearance by Dylan, and before Michael Ochs, who was Phil’s third manager). Anyway, the song grew out of a trip to Hazard county Arthur organized that Phil participated in, spending five days with miners. Also on the trip were Dylan, Judy Collins, and Eric Anderson, who drove back to New York with Phil, who apparently wrote “The Hills of West Virginia” on the drive. Anyway this slideshow is inspired by that trip and Phil’s song, although only one of the photos, I believe, was actually taken at that time.