Norman Carl Odam (born September 5, 1947, in Lubbock, Texas),[1] known professionally as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, is an outsider performer who is considered one of the pioneers of the genre that came to be known as psychobilly in the 1960s.
As a teenager he combined his interests in outer space and the American west to create the name "Stardust Cowboy", adding the word "legendary" because "I am a legend in my own time."
The words that are uttered change with each performance, and are occasionally somewhat intelligible; the song's main storyline centers on Odam's unrequited love for a real-life "beautiful cheerleader from Lubbock.
The song's popularity earned "the Ledge" (as he is known by fans) an appearance on NBC's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in comedy television series, season 2, episode 10.
He dressed in his trademark buckskin jacket, boots and spurs, and ten-gallon hat and, presumably backed by T-Bone Burnett on drums, performed "Paralyzed" and its B-side, "Who’s Knocking On My Door".
They write that the Legendary Stardust Cowboy was "a one-man band incapable of playing any instrument, singing in tune, or keeping in time even with himself," but note that "certain outlaw country fans consider 'Paralyzed' a camp classic.
[citation needed] In 1976, "Paralyzed" ranked 15th in the first ever Festive Fifty, a top 50 list documenting the favourite songs of listeners of John Peel's radio show.
Historian Rob Weiner of Texas Tech University considers Odam's musical career "a product of desperation," a result of the adage that "there is nothing to do in Lubbock".
[11] On a live online chatroom in his own ISP, BowieNet, Bowie was asked where he had discovered the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, to which he replied: "When I first joined Mercury Records in the late 60s, he was one of the only other artists they had.
Since the late 1990s, Odam has played with a backing band called the Altamont Boys, which includes bassist Klaus Flouride (of Dead Kennedys), guitarist Jay Rosen (of The Better Beatles), and drummer Joey Meyers.
Weiner said that Odam has never returned to perform in Lubbock, having believed that his hometown, where he first gained experience by playing in parking lots to draw an audience, offered him little encouragement.
The names refer to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Raquel Welch, actress; and performing artist David Bowie, all longtime fans of The Ledge's work.