Folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta is dead at 77. Obituary here.
It’s strange. I feel like a part of my own personal history has left the earth, even though I was barely born at the time she was making her big impact. But it trickled down. My mother plays the guitar, and she used to play Odetta songs all the time when we were growing up. We had her records in the house, beat up, scratchy, and earthy as hell. You could feel the energy of the entire world behind those songs. I knew that Odetta really meant something, as a little kid, although I wasn’t sure what. I just knew that my parents loved her, and that we heard her music all the time.
Mitchell went to go see Odetta a couple of years ago at the Old Town School of Folk Music and his stories are wonderful. I will re-tell them here, but I hope he can show up today and tell them himself. It was a rainy day and he went to the concert by himself. There weren’t that many people there, folks sitting politely at little tables, clapping, but it wasn’t a huge crowd. Odetta, a woman nearly 80 years old, sat up on that stage, glasses perched on her nose, so comfortable in her skin that you felt like you were in the presence of something divine, and sang through all her old songs.
I cannot remember the song in question – was it “This Little Light of Mine”, Mitchell? Please remind me. I am pretty sure it was something Christian. Anyway, Odetta looked out at the 20 odd people in her audience and said, “We’re going to do this one together …” She was requiring participation. So there was Mitchell, the Jew, sitting by himself, singing at the top of his lungs about the glory of Christ, as Odetta had requested. I am laughing and crying right now. Mitchell was having the time of his life. But the crowd was small enough that people got shy, people weren’t really participating. It was a hesitant group. Mitchell found himself the only one singing along. But Mitchell was like, “What, Odetta’s gonna ask me to do something and I’m gonna say No? I will TOTALLY obey Odetta, even if she’s making me sing about being washed in the blood of Jesus … I’m IN. IT’S ODETTA, PEOPLE, get your hands together!”
Odetta stopped the song, and gently asked people again for their participation. She wasn’t going to go on if everyone wasn’t involved. Fearless, beautiful, inclusive. This time, it worked. The small crowd sitting in that small theatre on that rainy day all joined in, clapping and singing along.
It is true, a “force of nature” was Odetta. What a life. Here’s a great photo.
I miss her already.
i’ve only seen footage of her once, and i think it is in the dylan documentary ‘no direction home’. she is on a soundstage in a spotlight singing a spiritual…holy mackerel. just an unbelievably powerful voice.
Sheila..yes..u told that story brilliantly…i was in the front row…literally saw that she was there as i walked by the venue and decided to go…it WAS ” This Little Light of Mine”…she entered and sat on a chair and read Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech where he references the “who are we NOT to think we are gorgeous or special or talented”…then she asked us to sing and the nerdy, tree-hugging crowd barely made a peep…i began to belt the first line and found myself ALL BY MYSELF!!! lol..and u know im no singer!…then she looked over her bifocals and said in a gentle,warm but authoritative voice … “When we affirm ourselves…we do not do it quietly…now let’s try that again.”….um..yes Odetta…anything u ask, goddess!! Well..people SANG..and then she proceeded to take us on a musical and intellectual journey through the music, world and word of American Folk tradition…mostly the blues and Ledbetter…truly one the best concerts i have ever seen….she was majestic and earthy and funny and profound and soooo beautiful dressed in afro-centric headdress and attire…she sang for 2 hours in that deep,authentic and athletic voice that she never lost…this was her 2nd show of the night ..it started at 10pm….she was an original and we have lost a true artist..so i reccomend that today..we all AFFIRM OURSELVES…and not QUIETLY!
Oh God, I had forgotten about her great comment about “when we affirm ourselves, we do not do it quietly”. I have tears in my eyes. I kind of needed to hear that today.
I LOVE the story of you singing along … and in a way, she prepared you for the moment in the black choir on the cruise line!! Odetta was there!
Rest in peace, artist.
im listening to her now.
um, you could always sing perfectly on pitch when you were cher. this frustrates me to this day. if you can do it as cher, you can do it all the time.
haha…to be honest..ive gotten better..noone will ever buy my collection of Gershwin classics..but me and my cher-like vibrato have been singing quite well lately…in fact i did 3 solo songs in my Second City gig…and i didnt get thrown off the ship..so things are looking up…btw..go to my facebook page, i posted a couple of awesome Odetta clips!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=645939550&ref=name
Mitchell, what I love about the whole singing thing was that I was in Chicago to witness the “crazy eyes” during those first rehearsals when you were so freaked about the singing – and I love love love it that you triumphed. Of course you did!!
lol..u were here for my musical panic syndrome!!! …btw i added ur co-worker Patrick today…christ he’s cute!