Born on December 31, 1930, in Birmingham, Alabama, Odetta rose as a commanding presence amid the folk revival and civil rights campaigns. She relocated with her mother and younger sister to Los Angeles at age six. Musical curiosity appeared early, and around ten her vocal talent surfaced in settings that bridged church and school. Her mother accumulated savings for lessons yet followed guidance to delay until Odetta turned thirteen and had advanced through early adolescence. Classical instruction therefore began at that point, only to halt when funds ran short until puppeteer Harry Burnette stepped in to underwrite continued training.
At nineteen she joined the 1949 summer staging of Finian's Rainbow at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, where blues harmonica master Sonny Terry first reached her ears. The next summer placed her in a San Francisco production of Guys and Dolls; on free days she encountered the expanding folk scene while spending time in North Beach. After that engagement she returned to Los Angeles and took work as a live-in housekeeper, during which period she appeared on a bill alongside Paul Robeson.
She interrupted her household duties in 1953 to travel to New York City for an appearance at the Blue Angel folk club. Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte had already expressed interest in her development by then, and her debut album, The Tin Angel, arrived in 1954. From that point she concentrated on widening her repertoire and drawing maximum range from what she consistently called her “instrument.” Early on she was identified as a coloratura soprano, yet she later settled into mezzo-soprano territory, and immersion in folk material extended her voice from coloratura down to baritone.
Sixteen albums emerged during her most active recording decade in the 1960s, among them Odetta at Carnegie Hall, Christmas Spirituals, Odetta and the Blues, It's a Mighty World, and Odetta Sings Dylan. Her first studio release in fourteen years, Blues Everywhere I Go, appeared in 1999; on September 29 of that year President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Endowment for the Arts’ Medal of the Arts, recognizing one of American music’s enduring figures.
Further albums followed, including Livin’ with the Blues and the Leadbelly collection Looking for a Home. She performed across North America, Latvia, and Scotland, received mention in Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary No Direction Home, and issued Gonna Let It Shine that same year, earning a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. Heart disease ended her life in New York in December 2008.
