NEW YORK - MAY 11: (FILE PHOTO) Odetta performs during a fundraiser to increase minority voter registration and voter mobilization hosted by Voices for Working Families and the MoveOn. org Voter Fund at the Apollo Theater May 11, 2004 in New York City. It was reported that Odetta, a influential folk singer during the civil rights movement died at the age of 77 after being hospitalized for kidney failure December 3, 2008.