Folk legend and civil rights activist Odetta Holmes passed away this week from heart disease. She was 77.
Known to her legions of fans simply as Odetta, she rose to fame in the ’50s, and in 1961 none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed her as the “Queen of Folk Music.” Odetta lent her music and her name to the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. King in Selma, and performing at the 1963 March On Washington. She was a folk-music pioneer: the first female folksinger to record and tour solo, and an influence on people like Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, and Joan Baez.
She received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 1999, and in 2005, Odetta was honored with the “Living Legend Award” by the Library of Congress.
Please enjoy this video of Odetta singing “Midnight Special” in 2005.
RIP, Odetta.
