Biography
Around the start of 1967, Michael Ochs stepped into the role of manager for his older brother, the noted folk and folk-rock performer Phil Ochs, in a development that occurred almost inadvertently. The siblings had lost contact for roughly three years until Michael, acting through Phil’s wife at the time, passed along word of a label seeking to sign the singer. At that point Michael was an emerging photographer whose portfolio already included shots of Taj Mahal, the Chambers Brothers, and the Sopwith Camel. The message prompted Phil to telephone his younger brother and offer him the management position, even though Michael possessed no prior experience in that field and lingering tensions had kept the two from speaking for an extended period. Over the ensuing years Michael oversaw Phil’s career during a turbulent stretch that included locating a fresh record deal once the Elektra contract lapsed, shifting from acoustic work into electric folk-rock, and navigating Phil’s mounting frustration and unpredictable conduct, which ended with the singer’s death in 1976.
Michael later devoted himself principally to photography, founding the Michael Ochs Archives, a premier repository and source for images of twentieth-century musicians. He has also presented radio music programs and played a key part in assembling posthumous Phil Ochs reissues such as A Toast to Those Who Are Gone, which drew largely from previously unreleased recordings, and the box set Farewells & Fantasies.
Michael later devoted himself principally to photography, founding the Michael Ochs Archives, a premier repository and source for images of twentieth-century musicians. He has also presented radio music programs and played a key part in assembling posthumous Phil Ochs reissues such as A Toast to Those Who Are Gone, which drew largely from previously unreleased recordings, and the box set Farewells & Fantasies.