The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
| Legendary Stardust Cowboy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Norman Carl Odam |
| Born |
September 5, 1947 Lubbock, Texas, U.S. |
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Psychobilly, rockabilly, outsider music, country rock, surf rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, dobro, bugle |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Psycho-Suave, Mercury Records |
Legendary Stardust Cowboy (born Norman Carl Odam on September 5, 1947, in Lubbock, Texas) is an outsider performer who is considered one of the pioneers of the genre that came to be known as psychobilly in the 1960s.
Odam was interested in space travel from early childhood, recalling that at kindergarten age he "used to look at the moon and [tell himself] that some day man will go to the moon." As a teenager he combined his interests in outer space and the American west to create the name "Stardust Cowboy," adding the word "legendary" because "I am a legend in my own time." The fact that the initials of "Legendary Star Dust", LSD, referred to a popular drug at the time was coincidental; he claims to have adopted the name in 1961, before the drug was popularized.
Odam took up music in his high school years as a means toward popularity and impressing girls. Inspired by Chet Atkins, he learned guitar and also taught himself to play the bugle. After high school he briefly attended college, majoring in electronics.
While in college Odam had the idea of "writing a wild song that would captivate everybody." This led to his writing of a song, "Paralyzed,", which he performed at local talent contests. He recorded "Paralyzed" in 1968 in what was apparently a moment of spare time in a recording studio in Fort Worth, Texas. He played dobro and bugle, while T-Bone Burnett played drums. 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 the song's title, "Paralyzed!" The exact words that are uttered change with each performance, and are occasionally somewhat intelligible.
Five hundred copies of the single were initially pressed and were released on Odam's own "Psycho-Suave" label. The song gained some regional popularity and was picked up by a major label, Mercury Records, eventually entering the Billboard Top 200. The song's popularity earned "the Ledge" (as he is known by fans) an appearance on NBC's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in comedy television series in which he dressed in his trademark buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, and ten-gallon hat. He performed "Paralyzed" and its B-side, "Who’s Knocking On My Door". During the latter song the Laugh-In cast began cavorting and clowning around him. The Ledge, in his words, "got mad and ran off the set. That wasn't part of the act."
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