Biography
Born Norman Carl Odam in Lubbock, Texas, in 1947, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy surpassed even cult figure Hasil Adkins in untamed rock and roll primitivism. His raw rockabilly leaned heavily on Wild West imagery and science-fiction motifs while deploying an arsenal of vocal tricks that included rebel yells, war whoops, and an astonishing range of animal sounds. A withdrawn and unconventional youngster, he began shaping his singular vocal approach at fourteen, soon took guitar lessons, and mastered bugle, harmonica, and several other instruments on his own.
He quickly gained local infamy by performing in public venues: every morning on his high-school steps, from the roof of his car outside drive-ins and gathering spots, and at parties to which he had not been invited, a habit that earned both admiration and hostility. After graduation he headed to California in search of television spots, but returned empty-handed to Lubbock, where he took warehouse work and played occasional honky-tonk dates that often turned hostile, audiences frequently assuming he was a hippie satirizing country music.
Prompted by Tiny Tim’s 1968 appearance on The Tonight Show, Odam set out for New York with the same ambition. In Fort Worth he drew the notice of two vacuum-cleaner salesmen who knew a club owner; struck by the unpolished fervor of his set, they escorted him to a studio the following morning. There, with engineer T-Bone Burnett, he cut his first single, “Paralyzed.” Local promoter Major Bill Smith placed the record with Mercury for national release. The track reached the lower tiers of the Billboard singles chart, prompting an invitation to Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Although the cast laughed at rather than with him, the broadcast stirred interest and attracted further variety-show offers, yet a musicians’-union strike halted all live-music telecasts for a stretch; by the time the restriction lifted, public attention had moved on. Subsequent singles failed, Mercury ended the relationship, and Smith tried to seize a tape containing more than fifty new songs recorded at Burnett’s studio—an attempt the Ledge thwarted by reclaiming and destroying the reels.
Years of silence followed until Las Vegas disc jockey James Yanaway, a longtime admirer, invited him to record for the fledgling Amazing label. In 1984 the Legendary Stardust Cowboy issued his debut album, Rock-It to Stardom, the first occasion he worked with a full band. Still intent on The Tonight Show, he departed Amazing when that opportunity failed to appear. Relocated to the Bay Area, he recorded Retro Rocket Back to Earth in 1986 with local players; the album first appeared on Spider and later on the French New Rose imprint. The same musicians cut a follow-up, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy Rides Again, which found no American taker and was eventually released by New Rose in 1990. Apart from scattered Norton singles—the contemporary home of Hasil Adkins and, like the Ledge, an acknowledged precursor of psychobilly—he remained largely inactive through the nineties, residing in San Jose and employed as a security guard at Lockheed-Martin, the firm that designed the Mars-landing spacecraft. He resurfaced in 1998 with Live in Chicago on Bughouse, backed by guitarist Frank Novicki, ex-Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Fluoride, and drummer Mike Burns.
He quickly gained local infamy by performing in public venues: every morning on his high-school steps, from the roof of his car outside drive-ins and gathering spots, and at parties to which he had not been invited, a habit that earned both admiration and hostility. After graduation he headed to California in search of television spots, but returned empty-handed to Lubbock, where he took warehouse work and played occasional honky-tonk dates that often turned hostile, audiences frequently assuming he was a hippie satirizing country music.
Prompted by Tiny Tim’s 1968 appearance on The Tonight Show, Odam set out for New York with the same ambition. In Fort Worth he drew the notice of two vacuum-cleaner salesmen who knew a club owner; struck by the unpolished fervor of his set, they escorted him to a studio the following morning. There, with engineer T-Bone Burnett, he cut his first single, “Paralyzed.” Local promoter Major Bill Smith placed the record with Mercury for national release. The track reached the lower tiers of the Billboard singles chart, prompting an invitation to Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Although the cast laughed at rather than with him, the broadcast stirred interest and attracted further variety-show offers, yet a musicians’-union strike halted all live-music telecasts for a stretch; by the time the restriction lifted, public attention had moved on. Subsequent singles failed, Mercury ended the relationship, and Smith tried to seize a tape containing more than fifty new songs recorded at Burnett’s studio—an attempt the Ledge thwarted by reclaiming and destroying the reels.
Years of silence followed until Las Vegas disc jockey James Yanaway, a longtime admirer, invited him to record for the fledgling Amazing label. In 1984 the Legendary Stardust Cowboy issued his debut album, Rock-It to Stardom, the first occasion he worked with a full band. Still intent on The Tonight Show, he departed Amazing when that opportunity failed to appear. Relocated to the Bay Area, he recorded Retro Rocket Back to Earth in 1986 with local players; the album first appeared on Spider and later on the French New Rose imprint. The same musicians cut a follow-up, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy Rides Again, which found no American taker and was eventually released by New Rose in 1990. Apart from scattered Norton singles—the contemporary home of Hasil Adkins and, like the Ledge, an acknowledged precursor of psychobilly—he remained largely inactive through the nineties, residing in San Jose and employed as a security guard at Lockheed-Martin, the firm that designed the Mars-landing spacecraft. He resurfaced in 1998 with Live in Chicago on Bughouse, backed by guitarist Frank Novicki, ex-Dead Kennedys bassist Klaus Fluoride, and drummer Mike Burns.
Albums
