iSound

Henry Oden grew up in Richmond, California. Born the 8th day of February 1947 to parents who migrated from rural Alabama and Arkansas to work in the Kaiser Shipyards of Richmond, Henry’s father would order him his first guitar from a Montgomery Ward mail order catalogue. Robert Kelton, a neighbor and former Jimmy McCraklin guitarist, would give Henry his first guitar lesson. Within one year of his first lesson, and not yet legally old enough to enter night clubs, Henry would be found at Sunday jam sessions in and around Richmond. Henry has accompanied a who’s who of blues luminaries in his 40 plus years as blues musician and as such could be defined as a “Uomo Universale” of the blues. Jimmy Reed, Big Mama Thornton, Pee Wee Crayton, High Tide Harris, the King Brothers, L.C. “Good Rocking” Robinson, Buddy Ace, Michael Bloomfield, Bill Withers and Little Joe Blue are but a few of the artist he has backed . Henry’s musical career began playing in the “gut-buckets” and blues lounge...