American folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta Holmes has died at the age of 77.

Holmes, who had been hoping to sing at Barack Obama's inauguration, died of heart disease at her home in Manhattan, her manager Doug Yeager announced.

She was first admitted to hospital in November with Kidney failure.

She was renowned for her deep voice and her recordings of 19th century slave songs, spirituals, blues and ballads, having a highly influential role in the rise of folk during the 50s and 60s influencing such artists as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and Joan Baez.

Holmes began singing in bars and coffee houses, eventually rising to venues such as Carnegie Hall.

Her songs were the soundtrack to the American civil rights movement and were favourites of Rosa Parks.

In 1963 she marched on Washington with Dr Martin Luther King and performed for the then President John F Kennedy.

Holmes was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 31, 1930 and in 2005 the Library of Congress honored her with a Living Legend Award.

(by Daniel Melia)