Folk Singer Odetta passes away

Odetta, a folk singer heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the 1950's and 60's, passed away on Tuesday. The New York Times has posted a interview with her here. I would love to find her cover of Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels (And Nothing On," but the closest I could find is a grainy video of Springsteen singing live. Here is a very nicely aged video of Springsteen singing "No Surrender," which later became the theme song of the John Kerry presidential campaign. Or a rocking duet from the campaign trail with Eddie Vedder. Springsteen and Neil Young blasting through a fiery live version of "All Along the Watchtower." On second thought, the audio on that one sucks. Here's a slightly better, if sedated, recording.

But this is Odetta's moment, so we should end with a few highlights from her career. On "The Johnny Cash Show." A snapshot slideshow set to her rich cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." "Midnight Special" with keyboard accompaniment. One in the stranger video category... And singing "Pastures of Plenty" last year in Michigan.