Retired Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department lieutenant and former soul music vocalist Stephen B. Odle was a lifelong Indianapolis resident. Odle died June 19; he was 70 years old.
Odle’s life was filled with notable accomplishments, both as a musician and a law enforcement officer. But it’s Odle’s work in music that kept his name, and voice, in the public’s consciousness.
Odle’s group, Words of Wisdom, was a popular attraction in Indianapolis during the 1970s. Though Words of Wisdom came remarkably close to achieving national success, the group failed to produce a charting single.
But the music Odle recorded with Words of Wisdom has had an enduring appeal with soul music fans across the globe. In 2019, the group’s 1973 debut single, “You Made Me Everything,” was reissued by California’s Now Again Records on a compilation album titled “Lamp Records – It Glowed Like The Sun: The Story Of Naptown’s Motown.” The group’s second single, a 1976 disco track titled “You’re A Friend Of Mine,” has appeared on multiple compilation albums in both the United Kingdom and Japan.
In recent years, the music of Words of Wisdom has been sampled in prominent hip-hop tracks, including the Nigerian-Canadian rapper TOBi’s “Made Me Everything,” and “S.A.D. Lil Intro” by the St. Louis-born rapper and singer Smino.
Odle was a student at North Central High School when he formed his first vocal group with Herman “Butch” Slaughter in 1969. The group would eventually become known as Words of Wisdom, a mixed-gender ensemble that paired Odle and Slaughter with a rotating cast of female voices. “We were different,” Odle told me during a 2018 interview. “I think we had the group Friends of Distinction in the back of our minds.”
The group’s unique male/female interplay impressed WTLC disc jockey Rickie Clark, who took on management duties for Words of Wisdom. “No other group in Indy had the two guys and two girls singing like Words of Wisdom,” Clark told me during a 2017 interview.
With Clark’s assistance, Words of Wisdom landed prime gigs in Indianapolis, including a November 1972 date at the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ Coliseum with soul music icon Curtis Mayfield. A young Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds was in attendance that night, and during a 2017 interview, Edmonds told me he was inspired by Words of Wisdom. ”They were like superstars to us. We were like, ‘Oh my god, Words of Wisdom!’ They had already made it. They were who we were trying to be.”
In addition to their numerous local performances, Words of Wisdom also toured across North America, including a series of dates with James Brown in 1976. During my 2018 conversation with Odle, he shared with pride that Brown fired Words of Wisdom from the tour.
“We were in Selma, Alabama,” Odle said. “We’d been touring with Brown for a while. We put on one of the hardest shows we ever did that night. We finished up with a hot tune, and the crowd was going crazy. We did two or three encores that night, we just kept coming back, and coming back.”
According to Odle, the Godfather of Soul was not impressed. “James Brown fired us that night. We learned that you don’t do excessive curtain calls, that’s saved for James Brown, or whoever the headliner is.”
Odle told me that Words of Wisdom never earned much money for their work. “We had just enough money to buy rice and Kool-Aid,” he said. But Odle’s love for the music sustained him during the lean times. “My mind never strayed too far from that microphone. When we were gigging, I always thought if someone could guarantee me $150 a week, I could do this for the rest of my life.”
After the demise of Words of Wisdom in the late 1970s, Odle dedicated himself to his family and his career with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Odle joined the force in 1980 and was named “Rookie of the Year” in 1981. Odle earned many more honors during his 29 years of distinguished service with IMPD, including the Ruthann Popcheff Memorial Award.
Odle leaves behind three children, six grandchildren and his wife of 48 years, Elizabeth.
Kyle Long is a DJ and hosts two radio shows, “Cultural Manifesto” and “Echoes of Indiana Avenue,” on WFYI. Connect with him on Twitter @djkylelong.
