Odetta, singer for the American civil rights movement, dies

My wife and I were lucky to see her perform at Berklee College of Music in Boston about a year before she died. She was amazing and full of life and joy and told the truth in her life and in her music.

Her piano player was one of the best and totally devoted to her. He told us that he has been offered three times what she paid him from other performers, but he loved her and would not leave her.

We all miss her, and I think noone will replace her power and blues and grace.

RIP Odetta! You are awesome! Your impact will not go away, ever.

How very sad.

Life is a cosmic dance. This lady knew it. Our loss is His gain. Peace Odetta, and thanks for the music.

Patio Patty ©

Thanks much for all of your comments!!

amazing singer that inspired the likes of Bob Dylan to do what he does today. No doubt he'll be at her funeral.

she had a magnificent voice.I know that she will be singing with the angels

To see sing at Obama's inauguration would have been wonderful! But regardless, she'll live on through her music. Rest in peace.

She was amazing

Here's Odetta's obituary from her record label - M.C. Records:

Odetta was born in Birmingham Alabama, Dec. 31 1930.

Her father, Reuben Holmes, died when she was young, and in 1937 she and her mother, Flora Sanders, moved to Los Angeles. Three years later, Odetta discovered that she could sing.

She found her own voice by listening to blues, jazz and folk music from the African-American and Anglo-American traditions. She earned a music degree from Los Angeles City College. Her training in classical music and musical theater was "a nice exercise, but it had nothing to do with my life," she said.

In 1950, Odetta began singing professionally in a West Coast production of the musical "Finian's Rainbow," but she found a stronger calling in the bohemian coffeehouses of San Francisco. "We would finish our play, we'd go to the joint, and people would sit around playing guitars and singing songs and it felt like home," she said.

She began singing in nightclubs, cutting a striking figure with her guitar and her close-cropped hair.

Her voice plunged deep and soared high, and her songs blended the personal and the political, the theatrical and the spiritual. Her first solo album, "Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues," resonated with an audience hearing old songs made new.

Bob Dylan, referring to that recording, said in a 1978 interview, "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta." He said he heard something "vital and personal," and added, "I learned all the songs on that record." It was her first, and the songs were "Mule Skinner," "Jack of Diamonds," "Water Boy," " 'Buked and Scorned."

Her blues and spirituals led directly to her work for the civil rights movement. They were two rivers running together, she said in her interview with The Times. The words and music captured "the fury and frustration that I had growing up."

Her fame hit a peak in 1963, when she marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and performed for President John F. Kennedy. But after King was assassinated in 1968, the wind went out of the sails of the civil rights movement and the songs of protest and resistance that had been the movement's soundtrack. Odetta's fame flagged for years thereafter.

In 1999 President Bill Clinton awarded Odetta the National Endowment for the Arts

Odetta was married three times: to Don Gordon, to Gary Shead, and, in 1977, to the blues musician Iverson Minter, known professionally as Louisiana Red. The first two marriages ended in divorce; Mr. Minter moved to Germany in 1983 to pursue his performing career.

She was singing and performing well into the 21st century, and her influence stayed strong.

The critic called her "a majestic figure in American music, a direct gateway to bygone generations that feel so foreign today."

Yes, barely seven months ago - note that she still had a very powerful voice, the microphone was set a good twelve inches away from her.

Thanks Vierotchka,

That's a great video! It's one of Odetta's very last public performances.

Hi Vierotchka,

Thanks very much for your comments, and also for your video postings of Odetta performing!!

Best wishes to you!

Yes, it would have been absolutely wonderful to have had her be able to sing at Obama's election. But at least she lived to see him elected President.

I had really hoped she would sing at Obama's Inauguration in January - it would have been so great! She was a bright shining light and had an incredible voice and message - RIP Odetta.

I've just added another video to this posting, a music video of Odetta singing "Halleluja" at St. John's Cathedral in New York City earlier this year.

Yes, she was truly a wonderful woman.

i saw her a few years ago, opening for Ray Charles. great singer. RIP.