A blog about Bloomsbury Academic's 33 1/3 series, our other books about music, and the world of sound in general.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Odetta, R.I.P.

Another sad death to report - that of Odetta, one of the great singers of the last 50 years. Here's a part of the entry on Odetta, from Michael Gray's Bob Dylan Encyclopedia..., and below, an all-too-brief clip of Odetta at the Newport Folk Festival.

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She was encouraged through the 1950s by many in the music business, especially Harry Belafonte, on whose 1959 TV Special she appeared to great effect. This can be readily imagined by anyone who saw the vintage footate of Odetta performing 'Water Boy' shown within Scorsese's No Direction Home in 2005, on which the stark, ferocious power of her field-holler delivery and explosive use of the sound-box on her guitar were matched only by her terrifying teeth. This all leapt out at the viewer across a 50-year divide to explain instantaneously why Bob Dylan had found her so revelatory and important to his early entrancement with folk - and when it was new, such a performance must have exploded into Eisenhower America's living rooms as the nightmare embodiment of the nation's oppressed ex-slaves rising up as if to start a slaughter of revenge.

But Odetta was no field-hand, as made clear when, appearing at Belafonte's Carnegie Hall concert of May 1960 - billed above Miriam Makeba and the Chad Mitchell trio - she followed a medley of 'I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain' and 'Water Boy' with a double act with Belafonte on that tiresome old Leadbelly song 'There's a Hole in the Bucket', on which the timing and delivery of her spoken lines is that of a professional actress. To track back through her 1950s recordings is to recognise that despite the marvellous ferocity of 'Water Boy', the great majority are understandably invaded by the well-spoken gentility and concert-platform formality of musicianship that were prevalent in 1950s folk music, despite the way that both the blues and rock'n'roll had demonstrated the artistic glory to be had from abolishing these aspirations.

***

1 comment:

Stephen Alcorn said...

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Back to the Garden whence we came
Back to the spring of your sweet refrain
"All the way to freedom land...
All the way to freedom land"
Across the skies and back through time
Back to the cradle of humankind

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

She was a force of nature, second to none
Earth, wind and fire rolled into one
Rolling thunder across the sky
Sweet Black Angel from on high
Mighty river crisscrossin' our land
Inviting everyone to stand hand-in-hand
To gather 'round and sing a song
Of hope and redemption--it won¹t be long

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

You can trace her song to the heart of the South
One New Year¹s Eve and the cry from a mouth
Of a big baby girl, strong and sweet
To a tear of joy on a Mama¹s cheek
What¹s in a name? Father Time do tell
So her folks made sure to choose a name well
The name Odetta, once akin to melody,
Foretold a future--a destiny

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

Odetta, she could sing before she could talk
Odetta, she could dance before she could walk
The gift of music flows through her veins
And bursts at the seams like a runaway train
Classically trained right from the start
Along came the music that stole her heart
Music of the people, music of the land
Pure and simple--noble and grand

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

Straight from the "Bam" she moved out to L.A.
Then it was on to the 'Frisco Bay
She joined a theater, and started to sing
Then picked up a guitar and let it ring
Her Fate was sealed when she was still young
A folk musician she would become
To souls of the past she¹d lend her voice
May their spirits arise--and may they rejoice

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

With an Afro like a halo, she could be seen
All decked out like an African Queen
And just about the time she was being discovered
The glory of her people was recovered
People flocked in to catch the new sound
As it traveled by train from town to town
Guided by a spirit that beamed a light
Black Is Beautiful--Right Is Might

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

Arriving in the Village, she was given the keys
And greeted with bows on bended knees
Within weeks she was proclaimed
The Queen of Folk, and to this day she remains
The Mother Hen of folk musicians
The guardian angel of a sacred tradition
Casting her spell both day and night
Bridging the gap between black and white

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

One fine hour back in '63
Odetta sang her famous Freedom Trilogy
By her side stood Martin Luther King
His "I Have A Dream" speech about to take wing
And to the whole world she sang with pride
Of freedom sought and freedom denied
As centuries of trials, troubles and tribulations
Gave rise to the dream of a... United Nation!

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea

Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Back to the Garden whence we came
Back to the spring of your sweet refrain
"All the way to freedom land...
All the way to freedom land"
Across the skies and back through time
Back to the cradle of Humankind
...Humankind
...Humankind

And before I'll be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave

••••••

Ode To Odetta
Words and music by Stephen Alcorn ©2008

Should you wish to listen to a homespun demo, you may do so via the following links/pages of my website:

LYRICS:

http://www.alcorngallery.com/adesso//media/OdeToOdetta_lyrics.php

MP3 AUDIO DEMO:

http://www.alcorngallery.com/adesso//media/Ode-To-Odetta.mp3

ADESSO page:

http://www.alcorngallery.com/adesso//adesso_mp3_samples.php

And on a purely visual note:

MODERN MUSIC MASTERS cycle of portraits:

http://www.alcorngallery.com/rbp/relief-block-prints.php


The Alcorn Studio & Gallery
112 West Main Street
Cambridge, NY 12816
Tel. (518) 677-5798
e-mail: stephen.alcorn@verizon.net
on the web: www.alcorngallery.com