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Odetta Holmes Dies at 77; Folk Singer Championed Black History, Civil Rights

Odetta, who used just her given name professionally, had trained as a classical vocalist as a child and later discovered folk music, which she said “really touched where I live.” She became an inspiration to other folk singers and eventually received a National Medal of Arts and a Living Legend Award. ( Los Angeles Times)

Odetta, the classically trained folk, blues and gospel singer who used her powerfully rich and dusky voice to champion African American music and civil rights issues for more than half a century starting in the folk revival of the 1950s, has died. She was 77.

She was admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City for a checkup in mid-November but went into kidney failure. She died there Tuesday of heart disease, her manager, Doug Yeager, told the Associated Press.