Barry, my comments about Odetta were in reference to her image and her spirit.

From that album cover, and from the few times that I chanced to see her on television or written up in some magazine {probably Ebony or some other Black magazine}, Odetta appeared to me to be not just proud but naturally engaging. Whether this was or is real or was just something that I projected on to her, it worked for me at a time when I needed all the positive self-esteem reinforcement that I could get. Therefore, regardless of how her voice is or is not now, Odetta is still a queen to me.