Odetta

Harry Belafonte introduced me to Odetta. Well, not personally. It was not Harry coming up to me and saying "Pete, I've got someone I want you to meet." Nothing like that.

It was in the 1950s and as Dick Clark was doing everything he could possibly do to kill rock 'n' roll, I found myself venturing into the realms of folk music. Nothing heavy at first, kinda like my experiments with controlled substances. Harry Belafonte's album "Calypso" was a big influence so I went to see him in concert when he played Carnegie Hall. He had two other performers singing with him during his show, Miriam Makeba and Odetta.

I vividly remember sitting there utterly transfixed as Odetta sang "Water Boy." Spellbinding. I would have followed that voice anywhere. I had a lot of satisfaction learning later that Bob Dylan ventured into folk music upon hearing Odetta sing.

Odetta died earlier today. She was was 77. In this tribute for the New York Times, writer Tim Weiner concentrates on Odetta's contributions to the civil rights movement. I'll always remember her, however, for one song sung one night 50 years ago in Carnegie Hall. That she left such an indelible memory says more than any other words possibly could.