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Tulsa's Woody Guthrie Center To Soon House Singer Phil Ochs Archive

Phil Ochs outside the offices of the National Student Association in Washington, DC in the mid-1970s.
Chip Berlet
/
Wikimedia Commons
Phil Ochs outside the offices of the National Student Association in Washington, DC in the mid-1970s.

Singer Phil Ochs' archive of lyrics, songbooks, photos and video will soon be on display at the Woody Guthrie Center after his daughter donated the collection to the Tulsa museum.

“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 statement. “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.”

Ochs wrote hundreds of songs and released several albums throughout the 1960s and 70s before taking his own life in 1976 after struggling with alcoholism and bipolar disorder.

“I lost my father at an early age, and I think I clung to his possessions because of that,” said Ochs’ daughter and donor of the collection, Meegan Lee Ochs. “When approached by the Woody Guthrie Center about donating the collection, it suddenly seemed so important for his journals and innumerable notepads where he captured small details alongside moments of genius to be available to those who might want to see and learn from them. I hope somewhere, Woody and my dad are smiling.”

Researchers will also have access to tapes and videos of Ochs' television appearances, scrapbooks, articles written by and about Ochs and numerous photos.

“I am so thrilled that the Phil Ochs archives will sit alongside Woody's at the Woody Guthrie Center. Phil was one of Woody's closest protégés, a true ‘son’. His music and life steadfastly responded to the toughest, and most controversial, issues of his generation,” said Nora Guthrie, daughter of Woody Guthrie. “He was a uniquely fearless and outspoken artist, as was my father. Having their archives in one place is the absolute mother lode for scholars and historians covering the arts and the issues of the twentieth century.”

The Woody Guthrie Center opened in 2013 in downtown Tulsa and honors the folk-singing legend with interactive exhibits, an extensive archive and a concert series that serves as a lasting tribute to his legacy.

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