Friday, October 9, 2009

Legendary Stardust Cowboy



The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, born Norman Carl Odam in 1947 in Lubbock,Texas, is a rock and roll performer who invented an early example of the genre that came to be known as psychobilly in the 1960s. While often considered a novelty artist, he considers himself a serious performer.
He recorded his only hit, the song "Paralyzed", in 1968, in what was, apparently, a moment of spare time in a recording studio in Texas. T-Bone Burnett played drums on the record. The track features unintelligible snarls, growls, and similar vocalisms, surrounded by frantic strumming on acoustic guitar, Burnett's equally frantic drumming, and occasional yelps of what sounds like the song's title, "Paralyzed!"
Five hundred copies of the single were initially pressed. It earned the Cowboy an appearance on the TV comedy show Laugh-In. A musicians' strike forced the postponement of some follow-up TV appearances for Odam, and by the time the strike was over, his 15 minutes of fame were up. "Paralyzed" went on to be featured on several Doctor Demento compilations, and it often appears prominently in lists of the worst recordings ever made.
Odam has recorded a number of songs since "Paralyzed". "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship" was covered by David Bowie on his Heathen album. Odam returned the compliment by recording his version of "Space Oddity". Bowie himself has said that the term "stardust" in "Ziggy Stardust" is taken from The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.
Odam currently lives in the bay area in California, and performs regularly. In May 2007 he played the David Bowie High-Line festival in New York City, at Bowie's invitation.

(from Wikipedia)

This is a very interesting and way ahead of its time album. It sounds like this was a very influential album for Alan Vega.
Long live the LSD(C).

Learn more here.

Listen here.

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