A Toast To Those Who Are Gone was a 1986 compilation of recordings that Phil Ochs made in the early-to-mid 1960s, mostly between his contracts with Elektra Records and A&M Records. In line with recordings made on the former, Ochs espouses his left-leaning views on civil rights on songs like "Ballad of Oxford", "Going Down To Mississippi" and "Colored Town", his views on worker's rights on "No Christmas in Kentucky", his attack on the American Medical Association on "A.M.A. Song", and the unwilling hero (perhaps Ochs himself) on the title track. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Phil Ochs (1940-76) Photograph from the Michael Ochs Archives Philip David Ochs (December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was a protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer) of the early 1960s, perhaps best known for his songs Power and Glory, There But for Fortune, Changes, When I... Elektra Records was a record label started in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickholt, who both invested $300. ... A&M Records is a record label formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. ...

The CD carried an extra track, "The Trial", and the liner notes were by noted Ochs fan Sean Penn. Sean Penn at Cannes, 2000 Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an Oscar winning American film actor. ...

Track Listing

1. Do What I Have To Do (P. Ochs, 2:36)
2. The Ballad of Billie Sol (P. Ochs, 2:24)
3. Colored Town (P. Ochs, 3:00)
4. A.M.A. Song (P. Ochs, 2:17)
5. William Moore (P. Ochs, 3:07)
6. Paul Crump (P. Ochs, 3:34)
7. Going Down To Mississippi (P. Ochs, 3:04)
8. I'll Be There (P. Ochs, 2:10)
9. Ballad of Oxford (Jimmy Meredith) (P. Ochs, 2:51)
10. No Christmas in Kentucky (P. Ochs, 3:04)
11. A Toast to Those Who Are Gone (P. Ochs, 3:31)
12. I'm Tired (P. Ochs, 2:20)
13. City Boy (P. Ochs, 1:58)
14. Song of my Returning (P. Ochs, 5:17)
15. The Trial (P. Ochs, 2:44) - bonus track on CD

Participants

• Phil Ochs - guitar, vocals
• A. N. Other - bass, piano, guitar, mandolin