''All the News That's Fit to Sing'' was Phil Ochs's first official album. Recorded in 1964 for Elektra Records, it was full of many elements that would come back throughout his career. It was the album that defined his "singing journalist" phase, strewn with songs whose roots were allegedly pulled from '' Newsweek'' magazine. It is one in a long line of folk albums used to tell stories about everyday struggles and hardships. Among these stories was that of William Worthy, an American journalist who traveled to Cuba in spite of an embargo on the country who was forbidden to return to the United States. Civil rights figures Medgar Evers and

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African Americans, African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a whi ...

were lionized in "Too Many Martyrs" (alternatively known as "The Ballad of Medgar Evers".) Two

talking blues Talking blues is a form of folk music and country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict. Christopher Allen Bouchillon, billed as "The Talking Comedian of the South", is cr ...

jabbed sarcastically at Vietnam and the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United ...

. Even a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, " The Bells", was set to music. "The Thresher" was an ode to the sinking of the

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

American submarine : "And she'll always run silent/And she'll always run deep." The song "Celia" is about the long separation of William J. Pomeroy and his wife, Celia Mariano Pomeroy, because of their opposition to the colonial occupation of the Philippines by the United States. Also included was one of Ochs' most well-known songs, "

Power and the Glory "Power and the Glory" (sometimes titled "The Power and the Glory") is an American patriotic song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. protest singer from the 1960s known for being a harsh critic of the American military and industrial establishment. Originally ...

". The title references the motto of '' The New York Times'', "All the news that's fit to print." The ''Times'' was founded by

Adolph Ochs Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of ''The New York Times'' and ''The Chattanooga Times'' (now the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press''). Early life and career Ochs was born t ...

(no relation to Phil), so this may be a joke or

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

to the coincidence.

Track listing

All songs by Phil Ochs unless otherwise noted. # "One More Parade" (Ochs,

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

) – 3:00 # "The Thresher" – 2:50 # " Talkin' Vietnam" – 3:38 # "Lou Marsh" – 4:04 # "

" – 2:15 # "Celia" – 3:08 # " The Bells" ( E. A. Poe, with musical adaptation by Phil Ochs) – 3:00 # "Automation Song" – 2:08 # "Ballad of William Worthy" – 2:15 # "Knock on the Door" – 2:47 # "Talkin' Cuban Crisis" – 2:40 # "Bound for Glory" – 3:15 # "Too Many Martyrs" (Ochs, Bob Gibson) – 2:46 # "What's That I Hear" – 2:00 # "Bullets of Mexico" – 2:34 - bonus track on CD

Participants

* Phil Ochs – first guitar, vocals * Danny Kalb – second guitar *

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

on "Bound for Glory" (uncredited) ;Technical * Paul A. Rothchild – recording director * Jac Holzman – production supervisor

References

External links

Liner notes
from CD reissue by Richie Unterberger {{Authority control Phil Ochs albums 1964 debut albums Albums produced by Paul A. Rothchild Albums produced by Jac Holzman Elektra Records albums