Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Encyclopedia
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy (born Norman Carl Odam on September 5, 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 sometimes considered a novelty artist, he regards himself a serious performer.
from early childhood, recalling that at kindergarten
age he "used to look at the moon and told myself 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 took up guitar and also taught himself to play the bugle. After high school he briefly attended college, majoring in electronics.
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. The song's title stems from the fact that the utterances resemble what a person who has suffered paralysis in the mouth (such as that from a stroke
) and subsequently lost the ability to speak would sound like when attempting to yell or sing; on some covers of the song, Odam can be somewhat clearly heard stating "left me paralyzed."
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."
had lapsed. Historian Rob Weiner of Texas Tech University
considers Odam's musical career "a product of desperation," a result of the adage that "there is nothing to do in Lubbock". "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 continued recording intermittently since "Paralyzed" and released several albums and singles. "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship
" was covered by longtime fan 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.
A documentary of Odam's career, entitled Cotton Pickin’ Smash! The Story of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, was prepared during the late 1980s. It remains unreleased commercially but is occasionally viewed non-commercially.
Odam currently resides in San Jose
, California
, and still performs regularly. Since the late 1990s Odam has played with a backing band called the Altamont Boys, which includes bassist Klaus Flouride
(formerly of the Dead Kennedys
), guitarist Jay Rosen, and drummer Joey Meyers. In May 2007, he played at the David Bowie High-Line festival in New York City
at Bowie's invitation. Weiner said that Odam has never returned to perform in Lubbock, having believed that his hometown, where he first gained experience by playing in parking lots to draw an audience, offered him little encouragement.
"I Took a Trip (On a Gemini Spaceship)"/"Down in the Wrecking Yard", Mercury
"Kiss and Run"/"Everything's Gettin' Bigger But Our Love", Mercury
"Standing in a Trashcan"/"My Underwear Froze to the Clothesline," Spider
"Relaxation"/"I Ride a Tractor", Norton
"I Hate CDs"/"Linda", Norton
Retro Rocket Back to Earth, Spider/New Rose
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy Rides Again, New Rose
Retro Rocket Back to Earth / Rides Again (combined on one CD) New Rose
Live in Chicago, Pravda
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) is a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
performer who invented an early example of the genre that came to be known as psychobilly
Psychobilly
Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...
in the 1960s. While sometimes considered a novelty artist, he regards himself a serious performer.
Early life
Odam was interested in space travelHuman spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
from early childhood, recalling that at kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
age he "used to look at the moon and told myself 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
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
he took up guitar and also taught himself to play the bugle. After high school he briefly attended college, majoring in electronics.
"Paralyzed"
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 BurnettT-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
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. The song's title stems from the fact that the utterances resemble what a person who has suffered paralysis in the mouth (such as that from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
) and subsequently lost the ability to speak would sound like when attempting to yell or sing; on some covers of the song, Odam can be somewhat clearly heard stating "left me paralyzed."
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
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, eventually entering the Billboard Top 200. The song's popularity earned "the Ledge" (as he is known by fans) an appearance on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
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."
Later career
Odam was invited to appear on other programs but these were canceled because of a musicians' strike that halted live television performances. By the time the strike was over, his 15 minutes of fame15 minutes of fame
15 minutes of fame is short-lived, often ephemeral, media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression was coined by Andy Warhol, who said in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The phenomenon is often used in reference to...
had lapsed. Historian Rob Weiner of Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
considers Odam's musical career "a product of desperation," a result of the adage that "there is nothing to do in Lubbock". "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 continued recording intermittently since "Paralyzed" and released several albums and singles. "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship
I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship
"I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship" is a song written by Norman Carl Odam, aka the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, who inspired the surname of David Bowie's character "Ziggy Stardust".Bowie recorded this song for his album Heathen in 2002...
" was covered by longtime fan David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
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
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...
" is taken from The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.
A documentary of Odam's career, entitled Cotton Pickin’ Smash! The Story of the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, was prepared during the late 1980s. It remains unreleased commercially but is occasionally viewed non-commercially.
Odam currently resides in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and still performs regularly. Since the late 1990s Odam has played with a backing band called the Altamont Boys, which includes bassist Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride
Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
(formerly of the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
), guitarist Jay Rosen, and drummer Joey Meyers. In May 2007, he played at the David Bowie High-Line festival in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at Bowie's invitation. Weiner said that Odam has never returned to perform in Lubbock, having believed that his hometown, where he first gained experience by playing in parking lots to draw an audience, offered him little encouragement.
Singles
"Paralyzed"/"Who's Knocking on My Door", Psycho-Suave; Mercury"I Took a Trip (On a Gemini Spaceship)"/"Down in the Wrecking Yard", Mercury
"Kiss and Run"/"Everything's Gettin' Bigger But Our Love", Mercury
"Standing in a Trashcan"/"My Underwear Froze to the Clothesline," Spider
"Relaxation"/"I Ride a Tractor", Norton
"I Hate CDs"/"Linda", Norton
Albums
Rock-It to Stardom, Luna/AmazingRetro Rocket Back to Earth, Spider/New Rose
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy Rides Again, New Rose
Retro Rocket Back to Earth / Rides Again (combined on one CD) New Rose
Live in Chicago, Pravda