Odessa Harris

Williams was born in West Helena, Arkansas.[1][2] She began singing in the church choir at her local Baptist church by the age of ten. After performing at several gambling houses, she gained a spot on the radio program King Biscuit Time at the age of 14 and then toured with Robert Nighthawk.[3] This led to work with a touring carnival show between 1949 and 1953,[4] before she relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, in the late 1950s, where she sang in local nightclubs.[2] In the summer of 1959, she and several of her friends attended a concert by B.B. King, where she was urged by the audience to sing a few numbers on stage with King. He told her afterwards, "if you want a job, the bus leaves in the morning."[3] She boarded the bus and toured with King until 1961; it was King who gave her the name Odessa Harris.[2]

After leaving King's entourage, Harris engaged new management and moved to Miami, Florida. A chance meeting in 1962 led her to record four tracks for Capitol Records under the guidance of Clive Davis.[2] However, the label was actively promoting the careers of Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson at the time, and Harris's work foundered without any real support.[3] In 1965, she recorded two singles for Uptown Records, including a version "Since I Fell for You", written by Buddy Johnson.[5] She moved again, eventually settling in Detroit, Michigan, in 1972.[2] Harris found freelance vocal work in the Midwest and regularly sang with Sonny Freeman, who was formerly the drummer for B.B. King.[1] Upon Freeman's death in the late 1980s, Harris retired from performing.[3]

Harris lived in relative obscurity for a decade as a member of a local Buddhist community, until her fellow Detroiter and Buddhist, the trumpeter Marcus Belgrave,[1] persuaded her to return to performing in 2000. Her album The Easy Life, her first recording in 38 years, was released by Eastlawn Records in 2003.[3] The Easy Life had a mixture of mid-tempo swing numbers including "As if You Didn't Know," which featured Belgrave; slow funk on the track "Pick up the Pieces," and Latin rhythms in "Road Warrior." The backing musicians included the drummer R. J. Spangler.[6] Under managerial guidance from Spangler, in early 2007 she toured northwestern Michigan, presenting well-received jazz concerts.[4]

Harris suffered from emphysema and cancer[1] in her later years. She died of heart failure in Detroit on August 18, 2007.[2]