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Folk Giant Odetta Dead at 77

Odetta's powerful songs were soundtrack of '60s struggle

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 3, 2008 2:37 AM CST

(Newser) – The woman Martin Luther King Jr. called "the queen of American folk music" has died of heart failure at the age of 77, the New York Times reports. Odetta was a huge influence on dozens of musicians from Bob Dylan to Janis Joplin as her powerful voice and songs of freedom became the soundtrack for the civil rights movement. Odetta had hoped to play at Barack Obama's inauguration.

Her blues and spirituals naturally fused with the civil rights movement, capturing "the fury and frustration that I had growing up," Odetta told an interviewer. Rosa Parks, asked which songs meant the most to her, said simply, “All of the songs Odetta sings."

[Images (3)]

[Videos (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Odetta arrives to the "Salute to the Blues" concert at Radio City Music Hall in this 2003 file photo taken in New York. (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

Folk performer Odetta sings at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in this 1978 file photo. (AP Photo )

American folk singer and songwriter Odetta sings and plays acoustic guitar on stage in the 1960s. (Getty Images)

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Odetta sings 'The Midnight Special.' (mejillahyde)

Odetta sings 'Amazing Grace' at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, 2003. (worldofAJ)

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School taught me how to count and taught me how to put a sentence together. But as far as the human spirit goes, I learned through folk music. - Odetta

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Showing 3 of 4 comments

Guest

Dec 3, 2008 11:23 PM CST

Nine short weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Odetta perform at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in a tribute to the 50th Anniversary of McCabe's Guitar Shop, an icon of the folk music world. The concert lasted nearly five hours and Odetta closed the show with all musicians who played that evening. I had my eleven year old son and my thirteen year old daughter with me. We feel so blessed to have seen Odetta perform just befor her passing. She was a national treasure and will be dearly missed but her voice and her message will rein eternal! MEMcCabe

Guest

Dec 3, 2008 5:46 AM CST

She will be missed though her music lives on.

Guest

Dec 3, 2008 3:13 AM CST

All her fears, Lord, now be over ... readinto

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Folk Giant Odetta Dead at 77