Odetta

American folk singer
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Also known as: Odetta Holmes
Quick Facts
Née:
Odetta Holmes
Born:
December 31, 1930, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Died:
December 2, 2008, New York, New York (aged 77)

Odetta (born December 31, 1930, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.—died December 2, 2008, New York, New York) was an American folk singer who was noted especially for her versions of spirituals and who became for many the voice of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. After her father’s death in 1937, Odetta moved with her mother to Los Angeles. She began classical voice training at age 13, and she earned a degree in classical music from Los Angeles City College. Though she had heard the music of the Deep South as a child, it was not until 1950, on a ...(100 of 336 words)