When Bolivia Tried to Murder a US Folk Legend
When Bolivia Tried to Murder a US Folk Legend
[font size=1]
Philip Ochs was an American protest singer and songwriter who was known for his sharp wit, humor and progressive
views. | Photo: Creative Commons
[/font]
Published 9 April 2015
One of the greatest protest musicians in American history took his life exactly 39 years ago. Driven into a deep depression by both his own demons and the demoralization that faced radical leftists in the mid-70’s, Phil Ochs in many ways died with the movement. This week, I wanted to write about a lesser-known story from Phil’s life, and of his run-ins with another significant part of the history of that time period.
Phil Ochs had said that if a revolution were ever to be possible in the United States, it would require Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara. Phil tried to take on these attributes himself, but unlike Elvis, his gold-lame suit appearance ended with him being pelted with fruit, and his attempts to make pop music were commercially unsuccessful.
On an August day in 1971, on a busy street in Santiago, Chile, Phil met the closest thing to his Elvis Guevara. His name was Victor Jara, and not only did he have the popularity of Presley and the political passion of Che, he also had the topical-folk style of Phil himself.
But Víctor was part of something much more powerful than the Greenwich Village folk scene — Nueva Cancion. Rising alongside and within the social movements of Latin America, Nueva Cancion was political, personal, revolutionary, and exciting.
More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/blog/When-Bolivia-Tried-to-Murder-a-US-Folk-Legend-20150409-0021.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
