ODETTA

Odetta is a living legend of the civil rights movement and a giant of American music. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called her "the Queen of American folk music." As the voice of the civil rights movement, she crafted its musical backdrop, recalling the movement's poignant history while helping to define a new landscape for Americans of all backgrounds.

Odetta's most productive decade as a recording artist came in the 1960s, when she released 16 albums, including Odetta at Carnegie Hall, Christmas Spirituals, Odetta and the Blues, It's a Mighty World, and Odetta Sings Dylan. In 1999 she released her first studio album in 14 years, Blues Everywhere I Go. Vanguard Records has released two excellent Odetta compilations: The Essential Odetta (1989) and Best of the Vanguard Years (1999). On September 29, 1999, President Bill Clinton presented Odetta with the National Endowment for the Arts' Medal of the Arts, a fitting tribute to one of the great treasures of American music.

The next few years found Odetta releasing some new full-length albums, including Livin' with the Blues and a collection of Leadbelly tunes, Looking for a Home. She toured North America, Latvia, and Scotland during this time and was mentioned in Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary, "No Direction Home". That same year Odetta released Gonna Let It Shine, which went on to receive a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.

Today her voice remains as passionate and as clear as when she helped spark the flame of justice 33 years ago at Dr. King's March on Washington, at Selma, and at many other events of that era.