Phil Ochs fans will be happy to know, if they do not know already, that Phil Ochs' legacy will live on in The House of Woody Guthrie in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The placement of Phil Ochs' archives in the Woody Guthrie Center is a wise and wonderful development! Here's a screenshot from the Woody Guthrie Center website.
Much as thousands of young balladeers like Phil and his buddy Jim Glover, such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Len Chandler, Odetta, Melanie, Dave Van Ronk, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Janis Ian, Patrick Sky, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGee, and too many more to mention here, derived much of their songwriting inspiration from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Ledbelly ... Now it looks like another generational wave of broadside balladeers are being inspired by the songs of Phil Ochs.
Phil Ochs had over 70 songs published in the pages of "Broadside: The National Topical Song Magazine". The only other songwriter as prolific in Broadside was Berkeley's own Malvina Reynolds. Malvina also had about 70, as I recall Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen explaining to me on a visit to their New York City apartment once upon a time so long ago... Many do not realize that Sis "Agnes" Cunningham was in a band before the more famous and commercially successful "Weavers" with Pete Seeger came along. Sis and Gordon, like Woody, had come to New York from Oklahoma roots. The band that Sis was a leading member of was called "The Almanac Singers". Sis played the accordion along with partners Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Imagine that! Sis and Gordon published songs by me and my brother Joe Sadot, and I got to know them and Phil. Broadside magazine is the namesake of this blog about political folk music. Click on the photo to watch the new 2015 video (30:10) created for the 1973 reel-to-real audio interview with Phil Ochs at his best!
So let's have a look at what's going on with this inclusion of Phil Ochs under the roof of the Woody Guthrie Center. Here's what I found on a visit to their comprehensive and intellectually engaging website. The Tulsa World has reported the news, and it would seem that it could turn into a smart tourist attraction as well as a way to encourage the artists who embrace these legacies.
“Phil Ochs Archives Donated to Woody Guthrie Center” Posted in Tulsa World: Thursday, September 4, 2014 12:00
am By JERRY WOFFORD World Scene Writer.
Excerpt: “The collection of an influential protest singer/songwriter will join the work of his major influence when the Phil Ochs archive comes to the Woody Guthrie Center this year. Ochs wrote and sang hundreds of folk and rock songs during his career and released eight albums in the 1960s and ’70s, including songs “I Ain’t Marching Anymore,” “Changes,” “Power and the Glory,” “The War is Over” and more.
The archives will be unveiled at an event later this year at the center, 102 E. M.B. Brady St. in the Brady Arts District. “The topical songs that Phil Ochs wrote are still relevant today, just as the music of Woody Guthrie continues to address the struggles that we face in our society,” Deana McCloud, executive director for the Woody Guthrie Center, said in a press release. “We are honored to be the caretakers of the work that these advocates for social justice left, and we look forward to expanding our collection in the future to include more work that is empowering, gives voice to the voiceless and makes positive changes in our society.” The Woody Guthrie Center & Phil Ochs Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma http://woodyguthriecenter.org
Broadside Balladeer Blog always ends with good wishes and a song!
This one is called "BROADSIDE BALLADEER" and the sound track for this video is from the CRAZY PLANET BAND 1987 studio full band cut. It was released on a 2005 "Best of 25 Years of Recordings of Vic Sadot" CD titled "BROADSIDES & RETROSPECTIVES" available at CD Baby. Video by Dean A. Banks. Thanks again, Dean!
BROADSIDE BALLADEER 2011 acoustic duo version. Broadside Balladeer is a tribute song to Phil Ochs written in 1977 by Vic Sadot. This free download version has Vic Sadot on vocals and acoustic guitar with Eric Golub on violin. This version was released on 9-11-11 on a CD titled “9/11 Truth & Justice Songs” available at CD Baby. Free download at SoundCloud.com/BroadsideBalladeer
Blogs by Vic Sadot:
BERKELEY CALLING BLOG - The Living Tradition of Free Speech in Berkeley & the San Francisco Bay Area http://www.berkeleycalling.wordpress.com
TRUTH TROUBADOUR BLOG - 9/11 & Other False Flag Truth Emergencies
http://www.truthtroubadour.blogspot.com
BROADSIDE BALLADEER BLOG - Focus on Topical Truth & Political Folk Songs
http://www.broadsideballadeer.blogspot.com
