Andrew 'Big Voice' Odom - Feel So Good

 Andrew Odom - One Bad-Ass Singin' Dude!


Andrew Odom was a BAAAAD MAN!  I don't care if it is BB Odum, Voice Odom, Big Voice Odom....call the man what you will, he is a Baaad Man, ain't no lie! Here is a guy who could fake you out into thinking you were hearing a Bobby Bland cut you'd missed, and at other times you'd swear it was some obscure BB King track, or most of the time you'd just wonder how anyone can sound like both guys at the same time and still have a quality all his own.

Biographical information on this dude is remarkably scarce, he doesn't even have a rudimentary  Wikipedia page! Livin' Blues, however, came to my rescue with some info:
   "ANDREW 'B.B.' ODOM - Andrew 'BB' Odom was born in Denham Springs, Louisiana in 1936, he moved to St. Louis in the 50’s. While in St. Louis he toured with Albert King and others, finally moving to Chicago in the early 60’s. He spent the next ten years traveling and recording as the featured vocalist with the Earl Hooker Band, an auspicious beginning as Earl Hooker was considered to be one of the greatest guitar players of his generation. After Hooker’s untimely death in 1970, Jimmy Dawkins hired Odom to tour Europe. It was Dawkins who gave him the name 'Big Voice'. BB King, along with Bobby Bland, were an early influence on Odom.
  

He traveled and recorded with Dawkins throughout the seventies while continuing to build a local reputation in Chicago’s south and west side Blues clubs. The realities of the music business and the need to support a wife and seven children prevented him from hiring a band to pursue his career on a full-time basis. Things seemed to be changing for Odom in the 90’s. In early 90s Odom was approached by Canadians Steve and Doran Katz to front their band, The Gold Tops. BB Odom worked with the band on a few dates in Ontario, which went extremely well.  A year later they were headlining the Toronto Blues Festival, and playing other summer festivals throughout Ontario. Flying Fish signed the band in December of ‘91 on the strength of their demo tape. Sadly, Odom did not live to see the release of this recording. In the early morning, on December 23, he died of a heart attack the wheel of his car. He was on his way to the Checkerboard Lounge from Buddy Guy’s Legends, where he had sat in earlier that evening which he often did in Sunday evenings after church. BB Odom’s death is a tragic loss to the Blues community. Throughout his career he had been in demand as a featured vocalist by top bandleaders like Buddy Guy, Little Milton, Magic Slim, and Jimmy Dawkins, who themselves were singers. His resonant voice, replete with Gospel fervor, lent another dimension to his Blues. He gave his all during a performance, whether he was paid for it or not. B.B. brought the healing quality of Gospel music to the Blues. He reached deep down into your soul and made you feel." Amen!