Odin came from Sidney, Ohio, a one-man band and true outsider artist. His real name was Ed Willman and was known as Mike Willman. I’m not sure the extent of his recording, but he had two singles pressed by Columbia Records’s Chicago-office plant in Terre Haute, Indiana in the mid 1960s.

First came “Oh Why” / “True”, Odin singing two plaintive ballads accompanying himself on electric guitar, with a pause for each chord change. This single has a Columbia pressing code of ZTSC-107533/4. I’m not sure of the date, but maybe someone out there has a chart for dating Columbia pressings.

Odin has a more accomplished sound by the time of his next single, “Lost” and “I’m Out of Here”. His singing has improved and the instrumental backing of autoharp or guitar and snare drum is steady. The echo gives it an otherworldly sound. “Lost” was copyrighted with the Library of Congress in October 1966. This recording seems to be at least a couple years after “Oh Why” / “True”, with a Columbia code of ZTSC-12135/6.

Apparently this is the same Edward Michael Willman who was born on April 2, 1947 and died on December 24, 2007 in Daytona Beach. After serving in Vietnam, he studied mathematics at Wright State University and became a pilot. However, I would like to hear confirmation that this is indeed the same person.

Thank you to Mike Stuart for his comment below. Some information came from Edward Willman’s obituary.