Why Bob Dylan and Fellow Folk Singer Phil Ochs Didn’t See Eye to Eye

Bob Dylan is certainly the most notable musician to come out of the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. However, at the time of his rise to fame, several musicians were right on his tail in terms of notoriety. Those musicians include Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Odetta, and Phil Ochs. Dylan was seemingly the prince of this movement, and consequently, he had a little bit of an ego. An ego that would ultimately taint his relationship with fellow folk singer Phil Ochs.

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For those of you unfamiliar with Phil Ochs, he was a folk singer who crafted the staple protest songs “I Ain’t Marching Anymore” and “The War Is Over”. He was an integral figure of the scene and a peer of Bob Dylan’s. However, thanks to some choice words and actions from Dylan, the two didn’t remain too friendly over the years.

Bob Dylan Was Not Pleased by Phil Ochs’ Opinion About One of His Songs

More often than not, a friendship or at least an acquaintanceship, is not ruined by one singular event. Though, it certainly does happen, but that is not what happened between Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan. According to the biography, Behind The Shades, the falling out between the two musicians was a buildup of several events. However, it seems the final straw was when Ochs delivered his honest opinion about one of Dylan’s new singles.

On the day of the event, a photographer held a photo shoot for Dylan while he performed his new single, “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window”. Ochs was there, and Dylan asked him what he thought about the new single. In the biography, Ochs is quoted as stating, “He asked me what I thought, and I said I didn’t like it. And he said, ‘What do you mean, you don’t like it?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s not as good as your old stuff, and speaking commercially, I don’t think it’ll sell.’”

After the two shared a limousine ride home, an infuriated Dylan kicked Ochs out of the vehicle and set him on his way.

Ochs’ life was cut short in 1976 due to his struggles with mental health. That being said, it seems the two never fully reconciled. Bob Dylan has only spoken about Ochs on a few occasions. One mention transpired two years after his death with the reporter Mark Rowlands. In that interview, Dylan called one of Ochs’ staple protest songs, “a good song.”

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