For anyone old enough to have experienced the era of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, the rich, deep voice of Odetta is still a vivid memory.

Odetta, who hoped to sing at President-elect Obama’s inauguration next month, passed away Tuesday of heart failure at age 77.

Her emotion-laden, at times mournful and always heartfelt renditions of ageless folk songs, African American spirituals and protest music stirred an entire generation and helped prompt many to take up the cause of social justice. Appearing at the March on Washington in 1963 — where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his memorable “I have a dream” speech — Odetta sang a slavery-era song, “O Freedom,” which became a kind of anthem of the civil rights movement. along with “We Shall Overcome.”  The Freedom Center features “O Freedom” on many of its films and DVDs.

Her obituary in the New York Times is well worth reading, and if you have 20 minutes, click on the Times’ video feature to hear an interview with Odetta and listen as she performs.