Results: Weird Music Wednesday: The Legendary Stardust Cowboy

In his early 20s in the late 1960s, Norman Odom had the ambition to travel from his Lubbock, Texas home and bring his music to Johnny Carson's Tonight Show...without a manager, booking agent nor any of the professional relationships that usually precipitated the kind of broad exposure that TV program provided at the time. What Odom did have was years of experience regaling local audiences his high school, drive-in eateries and elsewhere with a unique amalgamation of rock 'n' roll, country and folk, as well as moxie enough to call himself The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, a name he sloppily spray-painted on the side of his car, along with a map of the moon on the same vehicle's roof. Before starting this survey, whether you've heard any of his music, had you ever heard of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy?

While on his way to get Mr. Carson's attention, Odom--or, "The Ledge," to abbreviate his stage name--made a stop in Fort Worth where he recorded his music for the first time. That studio session, helmed by future renowned singer/songwriter T-Bone Burnett, yielded what has become his signature song, "Paralyzed." Initially issued on a small, local label, it was later reissued on the larger Mercury Records. The machinations that led to The Ledge's rise culminated in an appearance on one of U.S. televisions top series in 1969, Laugh-In. Odom's most (in)famous song may sound unhinged, but he was sincere. Friend and fellow Texas musician Joe Ely in a documentary about The Legendary Stardust Cowboy characterized the way Laugh-In's hosts and cast interacted and responded to The Ledge's performance as disrespectful. Watching the segment again to prepare for this poll gives me the same impression. How about you?

Though the late 1960's was a time of great experimentation in North American popular music, The Ledge was a step too far into the extreme for commercial radio. His artistry remains too crazed for some to this day. Of the several requests I've made to a syndicated radio host who plays mostly 1960's pop, rock, and soul obscurities from his extensive record collection, "Paralyzed" is the only one he has refused to play. Mercury issued two more 45's of Odom's music before parting ways with him, but to diminishing returns. Does The Ledge's follow-up single, "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship," sound any more commercial to you than "Paralyzed"?

The energy and originality of The Ledge's first trio of records preceded a recording and performance career that has been intermittently active until at least 2017. His latest recording, it appears, is a 2017 recitation of the holiday recitation ""Twas The Night Before Christmas." It's fairly sedate by The Ledge's standards, but still engaging, perhaps especially for listeners who already have a fondness for his work (such as I). Do you like it when people you'd not expect put their own spin on classic works?

If Odom's alias reminds you of the character David Bowie voiced on one of his 1970's albums, that's no coincidence. While Bowie and The Ledge were both signed to Mercury in the U.S., the company's president handed the former copies of the latter's records with the promise that they'd change Bowie's life. Bowie not only showed his appreciation of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy by giving him a roundabout namecheck with his Ziggy Stardust persona, he also recorded a remake of "I Took a Trip On A Gemini Spaceship" for his 23rd studio album, 2002's Heathen. Were you previously aware of the connection between so famous a singer as Bowie and Odom/The Legendary Stardust Cowboy?