Can you pleases help me summarize this ( 10 pts)?

Odetta was more than just a singer. She used her classically trained voice and some guitar playing to channel the colorful and sometimes deeply sad stories that make up American folk music. Odetta influenced generations of musicians and became an icon in the civil rights struggle. She died on December 2, 2008, after battling heart disease. She was 77 years old.



Odetta's voice sang for many. The highly praised folk singer gave life to the songs of working people and slaves, farmers and miners, housewives and washerwomen, African Americans and whites. She didn't just sing the notes in the songs. Odetta "became" the people in the songs and performed as though she felt what they felt.



"What distinguished [Odetta] from the start was the 鈥?care with which she tried to re-create the feeling of her folk songs [when she performed],'' Time magazine wrote in 1960.



Odetta's life began in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1930. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, when she was 6 years old. Odetta started studying music when she was 13 and later studied opera singing at Los Angeles City College, where she became interested in folk music. She came to prominence in the folk music world in the 1950s.



Odetta had not lived the lives of the people in her songs, but she was interested in their stories.





"I'm not a real folk singer,'' Odetta told The Washington Post in 1983. "I don't mind people calling me that, but I'm a musical historian. I'm a city kid who has admired an area and who got into it. I've been fortunate. With folk music, I can do my teaching and preaching 鈥?. ''



Odetta used music to preach messages of hope, justice, and humanity during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. She encouraged African Americans to take pride in themselves. In August 1963, she sang a song called "I'm on My Way" at the historic March on Washington, the civil rights demonstration where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.



During this time, folk music was experiencing a boom. Singers like Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan began performing and recording songs in which they expressed their views on civil rights and other issues of the day. They and many other folk superstars were influenced by Odetta.



"The first thing that [got me into] folk singing was Odetta," Dylan said in 1978.



Odetta released album after album of songs. She was considered for Grammys in the 1960s and as recently as 2005. In 1999, she was honored with a National Medal of the Arts. President Bill Clinton said her career showed "us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world.''





In spite of her failing health, Odetta performed 60 concerts in the last two years. Her singing ability never diminished. Neither did her enthusiasm for singing. In 1983, she said that for her, music was still a way to express hope and grief.





"There's always something to sing about," Odetta said.Can you pleases help me summarize this ( 10 pts)?
Odetta's life began in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1930. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, when she was 6 years old. Odetta started studying music when she was 13 and later studied opera singing at Los Angeles City College, where she became interested in folk music. She came to prominence in the folk music world in the 1950s. Odetta was more than just a singer, her voice sang for many. It was as though she transformed herself into thesongs she sung. Odetta had not lived the lives of the people in her songs, but she was interested in them.



Odetta's voice sang for many, The folk singer gave life to the songs of working people and farmers and miners, housewives and washerwomen, African Americans and whites.

Odetta was more than just a singer, her classically trained voice and some guitar playing channeled the colorful and sometimes deeply sad stories that make up American folk music. Odetta influenced generations of musicians and became an icon in the civil rights struggle. Odetta used music to preach messages of hope, justice, and humanity. In August 1963, she sang a song called "I'm on My Way" at the historic March on Washington, the civil rights demonstration where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

During this time, folk music was experiencing a boom. Singers like Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan began performing and recording songs in which they expressed their views on civil rights and other issues of the day. They and many other folk superstars were influenced by Odetta

"The first thing that got me into folk singing was Odetta," Bob Dylan said in 1978. Time magazine, "What distinguished her from the start was the care with which she tried to re-create in the feeling of her folk songs.'' "I'm not a real folk singer,'' Odetta told The Washington Post in 1983. "I'm a city kid who has admired an area and who got into it. I've been fortunate. With folk music, I can do my teaching and preaching 鈥?. '' President Bill Clinton said her career showed "us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world.''

Odetta performed 60 concerts in the last two years, due to heart health problems. Her singing ability never diminished. Neither did her enthusiasm for singing. In 1983, she said that for her, music was still a way to express hope and grief.





Odetta released album after album of songs. She was considered for Grammys in the 1960s. In 1999, she was honored with a National Medal of the Arts, than considered again as recently as 2005. At 77, on December 2, 2008, Odetta lost her battle with heart disease.

"There's always something to sing about," Odetta said
It's your homework, do it yourself.Can you pleases help me summarize this ( 10 pts)?
edit
haha i was too lazy to read it....maybe you shoudl try it yourslef! good luck!Can you pleases help me summarize this ( 10 pts)?
Read it through..maybe two or three times. Then take it one paragraph at a time. Summarize each paragraph into one or two sentences...using your own words. From there you can edit for style and grammar.