Odetta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Odetta | ||
|---|---|---|
 Odetta, 2005
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Odetta Holmes | |
| Also known as | Odetta Felious (her stepfather's surname), Odetta Gordon | |
| Born | December 31, 1930 Birmingham, Alabama |
|
| Genre(s) | Folk/traditional Blues Spirituals Country blues Jazz |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard | |
| Years active | 1944-present | |
| Label(s) | Fantasy Records Tradition Recordings Vanguard Records RCA Victor M.C. Records[1] Silverwolf[2] Original Blues Classics |
|
| Associated acts |
Leadbelly, Janis Joplin, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt[3], Harry Belafonte | |
| Website | M.C. Records | |
Odetta (b. December 31, 1930) is an African-American singer and guitarist whose repertoire consists largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. She was an important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and '60s, and a formative influence on artists such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Janis Joplin.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, grew up in Los Angeles, California, and studied music at Los Angeles City College. Having operatic training from the age of 13, her first professional experience was in musical theater in 1944, as an ensemble member for four years with the Hollywood Turnabout Puppet Theatre, working alongside Elsa Lanchester; she later joined the national touring company of the musical Finian's Rainbow in 1949.
[edit] Career beginnings
While on tour with Finian's Rainbow, Odetta "fell in with an enthusiastic group of young balladeers in San Francisco", and after 1950 concentrated on folksinging[1].
She made her name by playing around the United States: at the Blue Angel nightclub (New York City), the hungry i (San Francisco), and Tin Angel (San Francisco), where she and Larry Mohr recorded Odetta and Larry in 1954, for Fantasy Records.
A solo career followed, with Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and Odetta at the Gate of Horn (1957). Odetta Sings Folk Songs was one of 1963's best-selling folk albums.
Martin Luther King, Jr.called her "the queen of American folk music"[2], and poet Maya Angelou once said,
| “ | If only one could be sure that every 50 years a voice and a soul like Odetta's would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize time.[3] | ” |
[edit] Acting career
Having previous acting experience, Odetta has also acted in several films, notably in Cinerama Holiday (1955), the film of William Faulkner's Sanctuary (1961) and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974).
- See Filmography.
[edit] 1970s - 80s
Changing her musical direction, Odetta used band arrangements rather than playing alone, and released music of a more "jazz" style music on albums like Odetta and The Blues (1965) and Odetta (1967).
Odetta only released two new albums in the 20-year period from 1977-1997: Movin' It On and Christmas Spirituals, both in 1987.
[edit] Recent years
She continues to tour and record, having released a new album, To Ella (dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald, although only in the record's name, not its music), which was recorded live in 1998. Several new solo releases on M.C. Records followed, including Looking for a Home, a collection of Lead Belly covers; and Gonna Let It Shine (2005).
On September 29, 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Odetta with the National Endowment for the Arts' Medal of the Arts.
The 2005 documentary film No Direction Home, directed by Martin Scorsese, highlights her musical influence on Bob Dylan, the subject of the documentary. The film contains an archive clip of Odetta performing "Waterboy" on TV in the 1960s, and we also hear Odetta's songs "Muleskinner Blues" and "No More Auction Block for Me".
In 2005, Odetta opened shows for jazz vocalist Madeleine Peyroux, and in 2006 she toured the US, Canada, Latvia and Scotland, accompanied on piano by Seth Farber. Gonna Let It Shine received a 2007 Grammy nomination, for Best Traditional Folk Album.
[edit] Influence
Among the many musicians who cite Odetta as a major musical influence have been:
- Janis Joplin - "Janis spent much of her adolescence listening to Odetta, who was also the first person Janis imitated when she started singing"[4].
- Bob Dylan, who said, "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers [Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues] in a record store, back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar, a flat-top Gibson. ... [That album was] just something vital and personal. I learned all the songs on that record. It was her first and the songs were- 'Mule Skinner', 'Waterboy', 'Jack of Diamonds', ''Buked and Scorned'." [5]
In 1965, Odetta recorded an album of Dylan covers, Odetta Sings Dylan. - Joan Baez said "Odetta was a goddess. Her passion moved me. I learned everything she sang." [6]
[edit] Discography
** denotes Grammy nomination. *** denotes Grammy Winner
Studio & live albums:
- 1954 The Tin Angel (with Larry Mohr)
- 1956 Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues
- 1957 Odetta at the Gate of Horn
- 1959 My Eyes Have Seen
- 1960 Ballad For Americans and Other American Ballads
- 1960 Odetta At Carnegie Hall (live)
- 1960 Christmas Spirituals
- 1962 Odetta and The Blues
- 1962 Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin'
- 1962 Odetta At Town Hall (live)
- 1963 One Grain Of Sand
- 1963 Odetta Sings Folk Songs **
- 1964 It's A Mighty World
- 1964 Odetta Sings Of Many Things
- 1965 Odetta Sings Dylan
- 1966 Odetta In Japan (live)
- 1967 Odetta
- 1968 Odetta Sings the Blues
- 1970 Odetta Sings
- 1976 Odetta at the Best of Harlem (live) [4]
- 1987 Movin' It On
- 1987 Odetta Sings Christmas Spirituals
- 1998 To Ella (live)
- Also released as Odetta & American Folk Music Pioneer
- 1999 Blues Everywhere I Go **
- 2001 Looking for a Home
- 2002 Women In (E)motion
- 2005 Gonna Let It Shine **
Compilations:
- 1963 Odetta
- 1967 The Best of Odetta
- 1973 The Essential Odetta (live)
- This album is a combination of the Carnegie Hall & Town Hall albums
- 1994 The Best of Odetta: Ballads & Blues
- 1999 The Best of the Vanguard Years
- 2000 Livin' with the Blues
- 2000 Absolutely the Best
- 2002 The Tradition Masters
- 2006 Best of the M.C. Records Years 1999-2005
Albums on which Odetta features:
- 1959 Newport Folk Festival
- 1960 Belafonte Returns To Carnegie Hall (Harry Belafonte) [5]
Tracks: "I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain", "Water Boy", "There's a hole in the bucket" - 1960 Folk Festival At Newport Vol. 2
- 1963 Jimmy Witherspoon
Track: duet on "Lonesome Road." - 1964 We Shall Overcome: The March on Washington ***
Tracks: "Freedom Trilogy": "I’m on My Way", "Come and Go with Me" & "Oh Freedom". - 1968 A Tribute To Woodie Guthrie Vol. 1 **
Track:"This Land Is Your Land/Narration" (with Arlo Guthrie & co. and Will Geer) - 1970 A Tribute To Woodie Guthrie Vol. 2
- 1972 Greatest Songs of Woody Guthrie
- 1976 Aftertones (Janis Ian)
- 1987 Songs of the Working People
- 1988 Greenwich Folk Festival
- 1993 Other Voices, Other Rooms (Nanci Griffith) **
- 1993 Rare, Live and Classic (Joan Baez)
- 1994 Freedom is a Constant Struggle
- 1995 Scenes from a Scene: Greenwich Village
- 1995 A Folksinger's Christmas
- 1995 Assassins in the Kingdom (Michael Jonathan)
- 1996 At Home/Around the World (David Amram & Friends]])
- 1997 Mojo Club: V.4 Light My Fire
- 1998 Other Voices TOO (Nanci Griffith)
- 1998 Miriam McKeba-Odetta (Harry Belafonte)
- 1998 Giants of Folk: Leadbelly/Guthrie/Odetta [6]
- 1998 Where Have All the Flowers Gone
- 1998 Original Seeds: Songs that Inspired Nick Cave
- 1998 Folk Hits of the 1960s
- 2000 Sounds of a Better World
- 2000 The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack **
- 2000 Hyacinths and Thistles (the 6ths)
Track: "Waltzing Me All The Way Home" - 2000 Women of Silverworlf
- 2000 Rollin' Into Memphis: Songs of John Hiatt
- 2000 Gospel
- 2000 Route 50: Driving New Routes
- 2000 Queens of the Blues
- 2001 Roger McGuinn: Treasures from the Folk Den **
- 2001 Washington Square Memories
- 2001 Jazz Ladies
- 2001 Say Yo' Business
- 2001 Philadelphia Folk Festival: 40th Anniversary
- 2001 Say It Out Loud
- 2001 Folk Music
- 2001 Sounds of a Better World (Small Voices Calling) [7]
- 2002 Blues Treasures
- 2002 This Land Is Your Land
- 2002 Soul & Inspiration
- 2003 Broken Hearted Blues
- 2003 Blues Had a Baby & It's Rock 'n Roll
- 2003 In the Wind
- 2003 Beginner's Guide to Folk Music
- 2003 Seeds: The Songs of Pete Seeger
- 2003 Respond II [8]
- 2003 The Prestige Blues Sampler
- 2003 Corner of Bleeker and Blues
- 2003 Best of M.C. Records 1996-2002
- 2003 Let Freedom Sing
- 2003 Best of Kerrville Festival
- 2003 Patriot's Songbook
- 2003 Blue Box of Blues
- 2003 Shout Sister Shout: Rosetta Tharpe Tribute
- 2004 Baby Don't Tear My Clothes (James Cotton)
- 2004 Ladies Man (Pinetop Perkins) **
- 2004 My Country Awake: Freedom Compilation
- 2004 Eric Bibb & Friends
- 2004 Salute to the Blues: Listening in the Bottle
- 2005 Folk: The Life, Times & Music Series
[edit] Filmography and TV appearances
| Film/programme title | Info | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cinerama Holiday | Film | 1955 |
| Lamp Onto My Feet | TV | 1956 |
| Tonight with Belafonte | TV/Musical Variety | 1959 (Emmy Award) |
| Toast of the Town | TV [9] | 1960 |
| Sanctuary | Drama[10] | 1961 |
| Have Gun — Will Travel episode 159/226: "The Hanging of Aaron Gibbs" |
TV drama[11] | 1961 |
| Les Crane Show | TV/Talk/Variety | 1965 |
| Festival | documentary film[12] | 1967 |
| Live from the Bitter End | TV - Concert | 1967 |
| Clown Town starring Odetta & Bobby Vinton |
NBC Music Special | 1968 |
| The Dick Cavett Show | TV/Talk/Variety | 1969 |
| The Johnny Cash Show | TV/Musical Variety | 1969 |
| The Virginia Graham Show | TV [13] | 1971 |
| The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | TV film | 1974 |
| Soundstage: Just Folks with Odetta, Tom Paxton, Josh White, Jr. and Bob Gibson |
TV - Concert Special | 1980 |
| Ramblin': with Odetta | TV - Concert Special | 1981 |
| Chords of Fame | doc.[14] | 1984 |
| Boston Pops with Odetta, Shirley Verrett and Boys Choir of Harlem |
TV - Concert | 1991 |
| Tommy Makem & Friends | TV - Concert | 1992 |
| The Fire Next Time | TV film[15] | 1993 |
| Turnabout The Story of the Yale Puppeteers |
doc.[16] | 1993 |
| Odetta: Woman In (E)motion | German TV - Concert Special | 1995 |
| Peter, Paul and Mary: Lifelines | TV [17] | 1996 |
| National Medial of Arts and Humanities Presentations | C-Span TV | 1999 |
| The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack | Drama[18] | 2000 |
| 21st Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards | Awards ceremony[19] | 2000 |
| Songs for a Better World | TV - Concert Special | 2000 |
| Later with Jools Holland with Odetta, and Bill Wyman & His Rhythm Kings |
BBC-TV | 2001 |
| Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher | TV Talk Show | 2001 |
| Late Night with David Letterman | TV/Talk/Variety Show | 2001 |
| Pure Oxygen | TV - Talk Show | 2002 |
| Newport Folk Festival | TV - Concert Special | 2002 |
| Janis Joplin: Pieces of My Heart | BBC-TV Biography Special | 2002 |
| Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop and Protest |
doc.[20] | 2003 |
| Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | TV Musical Variety (Re-Broadcast) | 2003 |
| Ralph Bunch: An American Odyssey | PBS-TV Biography | 2003 |
| Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin | PBS-TV Biography | 2003 |
| Visonary Awards Presentation | PBS-TV - Award Presentation | 2004 |
| Lightning in a Bottle - Salute to the Blues | doc.[21] | 2004 |
| No Direction Home | doc. | 2005 |
| Talking Bob Dylan Blues | BBC-TV Concert Special | 2005 |
| Odetta: Blues Diva | PBS-TV - Concert Special | 2005 |
| Odetta: Viss Notiek | Latvian TV Weekly Journal | 2006 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Odetta biography, 1956: back cover of "Sings Ballads and Blues"
- ^ Folk Alley radio - about Odetta
- ^ Maya Angelou, Concerted Efforts.
- ^ Janisjoplin.net - page about Odetta's influence on Janis Joplin
- ^ Playboy interview with Bob Dylan, March 1978
- ^ Loder, Kurt (1983). "Joan Baez: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone 4/14/83 (issue # 393)
