BATH – Odetta, who has influenced and inspired generations of artists from Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin to Tracy Chapman, will perform Saturday June 9, at the Chocolate Church Arts Center.
The performance was originally scheduled for April 28 and was rescheduled due to illness.
“For 50 years now Odetta has used her commanding power and amazing grace not just to entertain, but to inspire. She has sung for freedom with Dr. King, lifted the pride of millions of children, shaped the careers of young performers … reminding us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world,” former President Bill Clinton was quoted as saying.
Born on New Year’s Eve 1930 in Birmingham, Ala., Odetta’s early career began in California with the 1949 production of “Finian’s Rainbow,” which exposed her to Sonny Terry’s blues harmonica. As her career progressed, she was exposed to the growing American folk movement. On a 1953 trip to New York, she performed at the famed Blue Angel along with Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte, both of whom would become interested in her career. After more than two dozen albums, she still thrills audiences with her presence and elegance. Her latest album release, “Gonna Let It Shine” received a 2007 Grammy Nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album.
Odetta is a 1999 recipient of the National Medal of Arts and Humanities from President Clinton. Among her other, numerous awards are the first Duke Ellington Fellowship from Yale University, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Library of Congress, and the Presidente d’Honeurs from the Congac (France) Blues Festival.
Martin Luther King Jr. called Odetta “the Queen of American Folk Music,” and Bob Dylan had this to say about her: “The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta. I heard a record of hers … in a record store, back when you could listen to records right there in the store. Right then and there, I went out and traded my electric guitar and amplifier for an acoustical guitar.”
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $26 in advance, $30 at the door. For tickets, call the box office at 442.8455, or visit the Chocolate Church Arts Center Web site at www.chocolatechurcharts.org.
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