Birth name Dessie Mae Williams Years active 1950s–2007 | Occupation(s) Singer Genres Blues, Jazz | |
Born June 8, 1936
West Helena, Arkansas, United States ( 1936-06-08 ) Died 18 August 2007, Detroit, Michigan, United States Record labels Capitol Records, Eastlawn Records Similar Alberta Adams, Johnnie Bassett, Joe Weaver, The Devonnes, Jeanne Napoli | ||
Dessie Mae Williams, known professionally as Odessa Harris (June 8, 1936 – August 18, 2007) was an American blues and jazz singer.
In a lengthy career, Harris toured for two years with B.B. King, who gave her her stage name, recorded for Capitol Records, and returned to recording in 2003 after a three decade break to release her debut album.
Life and career
Dessie Mae Williams was born in West Helena, Arkansas, United States. 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. This led to work with a touring carnival show between 1949 and 1953, before she relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, in the late 1950s, singing in local nightclubs. In the summer of 1959, she and several of her friends attended a concert given by B.B. King, where she was urged by the audience to sing a few numbers on stage with King. His proclamation to her afterwards was "if you want a job, the bus leaves in the morning." She duly obliged and toured with King until 1961; it was King who named her Odessa Harris.
After leaving King's entourage, Harris engaged new management and moved to Miami, Florida. A chance meeting in 1962 led Harris to record four tracks for Capitol Records under Clive Davis' guidance. However the label was actively promoting the careers of Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson at the time, and her work floundered without any real support. In 1965, she recorded two singles for Uptown Records, including a version of the Buddy Johnson penned "Since I Fell for You". She moved on again eventually relocating to Detroit, Michigan, in 1972. Harris found freelance vocal work in the Midwest and sang on a regular basis with the former B.B. King drummer, Sonny Freeman. Upon Freeman's death in the late 1980s, Harris decided to retire from performing.
Harris lived in relative obscurity for a decade as a member of a local Buddhist community, until her fellow Detroiter, Buddhist and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, finally convinced her in 2000 to return to performing. She released The Easy Life, her first recording in 38 years, on Eastlawn Records (2003). 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." Her backing also included the drumming work of R.J. Spangler. Now under managerial guidance from Spangler, in early 2007 she toured Northwestern Michigan, doing well-received jazz concerts.
Having suffered from emphysema and cancer in her later years, Harris died from heart failure in Detroit on August 18, 2007.