Wednesday’s wise woman … Odetta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iZj6P-bkcY

I was listening to Tom Jones on the radio recently promoting his latest album Spirit in the room; an album of covers.  During the programme he sang two tracks from the cd one written by Leonard Cohen called Tower of love and the other song Hit and Miss by Odetta.  Although I did not like Tom Jones’ versions particularly; it reminded me of musician that I had long forgotten; Odetta Holmes (1930-2008).  She is often referred to as the voice of the American Civil Rights Movement.  Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music.  However I believe her musical gamut was much broader. She trained as an opera singer from the age of 13; and performed folk, jazz, blues and spirituals as well as songwriting and playing various musical instruments.
Odetta influenced many musical legends such as Harry Belafonte and Bob Dylan.  Janis Joplin imitated her blues style.  Carly Simons admitted going weak at the knees when she had the opportunity to meet her at Greenwich Village.
My first encounter of Odetta her was when Eric Clapton recorded Sometimes I feel like a motherless child on his album Ocean Boulevard in 1974 and Clapton made reference to her version of the song in an interview later.  Although it had been recorded much earlier by Paul Robson in 1930.  The song of unknown origin, dating back as far as 1870s  is a traditional negro spiritual and possibly relates to the story of a child who had been born and then removed from her mother’s breast and sold into slavery.  It might also be a song of a man or a woman sold into slavery and yearning for his or her homeland  homeland or heaven.  Either way a  this poignant expression of grief and despair should not be so shabbily rocked, jazzed, popped or blues up!!

Although I am grateful to the likes of Ike and Tina Turner, Lou Rawls, and Richie Havens who sang it at Woodstock in 1969 and of course Odetta who made it her signature tune and sang it in 2008 just before she died – for the gentle reminder that violation of human rights is still happening.