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Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Norman Carl Odam (born September 5, 1947, in Lubbock, Texas), known professionally as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, 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 slurred yelps of the song's title, "Paralyzed!" The words that are uttered change with each performance, and are occasionally somewhat intelligible; the song's main storyline centers on Odam's unrequited love for a real-life "beautiful cheerleader from Lubbock."
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. 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, season 2, episode 10. He dressed in his trademark buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, and ten-gallon hat and, presumably backed by T-Bone Burnett on drums, performed "Paralyzed" and its B-side, "Who’s Knocking On My Door". During the latter song the entire Laugh-In cast joined him on stage and began cavorting and clowning around. The Ledge, in his words, "got mad and ran off the set. That wasn't part of the act." The song also made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon during the show's 'Do Not Play' sketch.
In 1973, NASA used the song to wake up members of its space crew. The crew was allegedly so distracted from the shock over the course of the day that NASA forbade the use of the song for that purpose ever again, effectively banning the song from space.
In the 1994 book The New Book of Rock Lists, writers Dave Marsh and James Bernard name "Paralyzed" the "Worst Song Issued by a Major Label". They write that the Legendary Stardust Cowboy was "a one-man band incapable of playing any instrument, singing in tune, or keeping in time even with himself," but note that "certain outlaw country fans consider 'Paralyzed' a camp classic." Conversely, critic Toby Creswell includes the song in his book 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them (2005).[citation needed] In 1976, "Paralyzed" ranked 15th in the first ever Festive Fifty, a top 50 list documenting the favourite songs of listeners of John Peel's radio show. Classical pianist Paul Lewis considers the song his guilty pleasure.
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 fame 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.
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Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Norman Carl Odam (born September 5, 1947, in Lubbock, Texas), known professionally as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, 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 slurred yelps of the song's title, "Paralyzed!" The words that are uttered change with each performance, and are occasionally somewhat intelligible; the song's main storyline centers on Odam's unrequited love for a real-life "beautiful cheerleader from Lubbock."
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. 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, season 2, episode 10. He dressed in his trademark buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, and ten-gallon hat and, presumably backed by T-Bone Burnett on drums, performed "Paralyzed" and its B-side, "Who’s Knocking On My Door". During the latter song the entire Laugh-In cast joined him on stage and began cavorting and clowning around. The Ledge, in his words, "got mad and ran off the set. That wasn't part of the act." The song also made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon during the show's 'Do Not Play' sketch.
In 1973, NASA used the song to wake up members of its space crew. The crew was allegedly so distracted from the shock over the course of the day that NASA forbade the use of the song for that purpose ever again, effectively banning the song from space.
In the 1994 book The New Book of Rock Lists, writers Dave Marsh and James Bernard name "Paralyzed" the "Worst Song Issued by a Major Label". They write that the Legendary Stardust Cowboy was "a one-man band incapable of playing any instrument, singing in tune, or keeping in time even with himself," but note that "certain outlaw country fans consider 'Paralyzed' a camp classic." Conversely, critic Toby Creswell includes the song in his book 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them (2005).[citation needed] In 1976, "Paralyzed" ranked 15th in the first ever Festive Fifty, a top 50 list documenting the favourite songs of listeners of John Peel's radio show. Classical pianist Paul Lewis considers the song his guilty pleasure.
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 fame 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.