Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.
This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/63807.html
Theme: A Tribute to Odetta (1930-2008).
Odetta, the magnificent and highly influential African American folk and blues singer, who died in 2008 at the age of 77, was born Odetta Holmes in Birmingham, Alabama. She originally trained to be an opera singer and her earliest professional jobs were in musical theatre. In 1949, while singing in the touring company of Finian’s Rainbow, she met some folksingers and fell in love with the genre. From then on, she turned her attention to folk and blues, performing concerts and recording prolifically starting in the mid-1950s.
I met Odetta for the first time in 1977 in the hallway of the hotel we were staying at during the Philadelphia Folk Festival. I was there with Priscilla Herdman, who knew Odetta, and when she introduced us, Odetta gave me one of her big hugs. In the 1980s, I brought Odetta to The Golem, the folk club I ran in Montreal, numerous times.
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| Odetta, pianist Dave Keyes & Mike Regenstreif (2008) |
The last time I got to work with Odetta was when I hosted a workshop with her at the 2008 Ottawa Folk Festival, just a few months before she passed away. I was deeply honored when she told me that my friendship over the years meant a lot to her.
All of the songs on this show were from Odetta’s repertoire.
Odetta- Stranger Here
Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin’ (RCA)
Lead Belly with The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet- Alabama Bound
Take This Hammer – When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 5 (Bluebird)
Bessie Smith- Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
Bessie Smith: The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection (Big3)
Josh White- House of the Rising Sun
The Josh White Stories, Vols. I & II (Jasmine)
Odetta- Roberta
Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly (M.C.)
Odetta- Freedom Trilogy: Oh Freedom/Come & Go with Me/I’m On My Way
Gonna Let It Shine (M.C.)
Gina Coleman- Glory Glory
Tell Me Who You Are: A Live Tribute to Odetta (Guitar One)
Kim & Reggie Harris- Wade in the Water
Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad (Appleseed)
Odetta- Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Odetta at Carnegie Hall (Vanguard)
Bob Dylan- No More Auction Block
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 [Rare & Unreleased] 1961-1991 (Columbia)
Odetta- Blowin’ in the Wind
Odetta Sings Dylan (RCA)
Chaim Tannenbaum- Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos
Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)
Rhiannon Giddens- Waterboy
Tomorrow is My Turn (Nonesuch)
Sweet Honey in the Rock- The Midnight Special
A Tribute: Live! Jazz at Lincoln Centre (Appleseed)
Coco Love Alcorn- This Little Light of Mine
Rebirth (Coco Love Alcorn)
Odetta & The Holmes Brothers- Down By the Riverside
Gonna Let It Shine (M.C.)
Tom Jones- Hit or Miss
Spirit in the Room (Island)
Penny Lang- Careless Love
Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)
Misty Blues- Go Down, Sunshine
Tell Me Who You Are: A Live Tribute to Odetta (Guitar One)
Odetta & Dr. John- Oh Papa
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)
Odetta- Goodnight Irene
Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly (M.C.)
Next week: A Tribute Jelly Roll Morton on Mardi Gras Day.
--Mike Regenstreif
