MP3 of the Day: Odetta

In memory of Odetta, the beloved folk singer who died at age 77 of heart disease on Tuesday, our MP3 of the Day today is her version of a great song, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." The track is available for streaming at Last.fm, alongside a good little selection of her repertoire (which comprises over two dozen recordings) which ran from the blues to folk and spirituals, with a strong bent towards songs of the civil rights movement. "Nobody Knows..." is a jazzy number (sung over the years by Bessie Smith and Eric Clapton, among others), one of those uplifting tunes that subverts self-pity with the power of a voice as strong yet sympathetic as Odetta's. -- Jennifer Maerz