Previously published (in slightly different form) on the FB group 50 Phil Ochs Fans Can’t Be Wrong. This is another slideshow that grew out of my Phil Ochs’ two-person play project, which currently exists as a longhand first draft. I have reached the point of looking into rights and performance permissions, and I’ve even been considering what pre-show and interval music might be appropriate. The pre-show music will almost certainly include some of Phil’s influences (Bob Gibson, Faron Young, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie) while for the interval I thought I would include some cover versions of Phil’s songs. Some of these artists are quite well known (Joan Baez, Peter and Gordon), and some less so (Sammy Walker, Jim and Jean).
Jim Glover was Phil’s roommate at Ohio State, apparently introducing him to folk music as well as teaching him to play guitar. They formed a duo—The Sundowners—but never actually performed publicly. When Phil left OSU in a huff, he came to Greenwich Village and stayed with his old friend and Jean Ray in their apartment on Thompson street in Greenwich Village. They already had a following at Cafe Raffio’s performing as Jim and Jean, and later headed to California to appear on Art Linkletter’s TV show (Jean’s mom was Linkletter’s longtime secretary) and later on Andy Williams. They also released three albums before splitting up, including a number of original songs that Jim wrote and seven Phil Ochs’ covers. Most are worth listening to, and this one is little short of magnificent, as it adeptly interweaves Phil’s song with three others: The McCoys’ “Hang on Sloopy” (which apparently became something of an OSU theme song for awhile), Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” and Seeger/Angulo’s “Guantanamera.” The effect is quite powerful, as well as giving Phil’s rather cinematic protest song a slightly psychedelic (or at least surreal) edge. I hope you like the song, in any event, whatever you think about the slideshow (I apologize if anyone is offended by the way I blend images from the sixties with more current ones).