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Folk Musician
Born: December 31, 1930
 I found the local record store in the heart of Dinkytown. What I was looking for were folk music records and the first one I saw was Odetta on the Tradition label. I went into the listening booth to hear it. Odetta was great. I had never heard of her until then. She was a deep singer, powerful strumming and a hammering-on style of playing. I learned almost every song off the record right then and there, even borrowing the hammering-on style.
-- from CHRONICLES
Odetta (birth name Odetta Holmes) was born in Birmingham, Alabama on New Year's Eve, 1930. She grew up in Los Angeles, where her potential as a singer was recognized before her teens, and she began traditional voice training at age 13. Odetta began her professional career with a part in the 1949 touring company of "Finian's Rainbow." The following year, she got a part in a summer production of "Guys and Dolls" in San Francisco. She became interested in folk music at the city's North Beach coffeehouses, and later performed folk music at the Tin Angel.
In 1953, Odetta performed at the Blue Angel folk club in New York City, and released her first album of folk music in 1954. First considered a coloratura soprano, Odetta became known for her great vocal range and her powerful performances, gaining fans including Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, and the young Bob Dylan. Odetta's recording career reached its peak in the 1960s, but she continues actively performing and recording today. In 1999, she was honored by President Bill Clinton with the National Endowment of the Arts Medal of the Arts.
SELECTED RECORDINGS
THE TIN ANGEL, Fantasy LP 3252, 1954
ODETTA SINGS BALLADS AND BLUES, Tradition TLP 1010, 1956
AT THE GATE OF HORN, Tradition STLP 201, 1957
SOMETIMES I FEEEL LIKE CRYIN', RCA Victor,1962
ONE GRAIN OF SAND, Vanguard VSD 2153, 1963
ODETTA SINGS FOLK SONGS, RCA Victor LPM-2643, 1963
IT'S A MIGHTY WORLD, RCA Victor LPM-2792, 1964
ODETTA SINGS DYLAN, RCA Victor LSP 3324, 1965
RELATED LINKS
Vanguard Records: Odetta
www.vanguardrecords.com/Odetta/Home.html
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 about other musicians, writers, and artists who have had an impact on Bob Dylan’s music.
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