http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4B21JC20081203

I couldn't believe I remembered this one but I specifically remember her being on the PBS Blues special they had a couple years ago. Not sure which volume it was but it very well may have been the first diected by Martin Scorscese. He did a pretty faithful job of attempting to put all the folk and blues singers into their proper perspective. If you weren't terribly grounded in the blues, which I don't necessarily think I am, Odetta came off as a little strange-sounding. I remember she had this way of singing and then give a loud-WHOP sound from her mouth, deep lungs. Anyway, I can't say much about her because my knowledge is very limited, only that I know she was an influence to many. Dylan gives her props in this article as being highly influential as do a lot of civil rights activists and anyone who appreciates the maintaining of a strong musical base as means of preserving the culture and mores of a people. But that's a bit high-flown, I suppose.