Chris Oledude: Evolution Of An Artist
Chris Owens is a Puerto Rican-born artist with a songwriter’s lifelong dedication to truth-telling. Part of a creative family, Chris grew up harmonizing with his two brothers in a household where classical, folk, pop, funk, and protest music all had a place. His mother, the late Ethel Werfel Owens, was his first music teacher, and his father, the late Major R. Owens, was a librarian-turned-elected official.
In the 1980s, Chris performed on the streets of New York City, in dance bands, and with his brother Geoffrey Owens (yes, that Geoffrey Owens). His only album-length cassette, 1984’s Anyone’s Revolution, voiced frustration with the Reagan era and caught the attention of family friend and folk icon Pete Seeger, who encouraged Chris to continue writing songs promoting peace and social justice and to collaborate with like-minded artists. Chris joined the People’s Music Network for Songs of Freedom and Struggle. Over the next 35 years, however, Chris was more involved with civic and political activism than “cultural work”.
The death of Chris’s father stimulated Chris to form a band with his brothers to perform again. But it was the death of his wife, Sandra Dixon, from cancer, that led Chris to re-examine his life and reconnect with music in a new way. In 2020, reborn as Chris Oledude, he re-emerged in the digital age with a renewed mission: to blend “old school” genres – particularly pop, funk, and R&B – with the urgency of these times.
Chris Oledude’s song “George Floyd” became a powerful video tribute titled George Floyd: Say Their Names (Alyssa Dann, Director), which earned more than 150 film festival accolades around the world. Looking ahead to his first album, Oledude continued to develop songs, including “Orange Blues 24.” Originally recorded in 2020, OB24 is a blistering blues jam. The stop-motion video, crafted over a year with 2,000 photographs by creator/director Alyssa Dann, has also earned numerous awards from film festivals. Oledude’s 2025 release, No Crowns For Clowns, is a powerful critique of the political environment and is also accompanied by a video.
With the upcoming release of his debut album, PREACHER MAN – VOL. 1, Oledude takes us on a journey from disturbing troubles to eternal hope. In addition to “Orange Blues 24” and “No Crowns for Clowns”, there are powerful statements like “The Choice” and “Save The Children” as well as joyful anthems like “Rainbow Soul” and “If a Woman Had Made the World”, and a call for comfort with “We WIll Get Through This”.
In a time of cultural crossroads, Chris Oledude proves that art can “speak truth to power” and groove. Oledude brings rhythm, roots, and righteous storytelling to the airwaves. If you’re seeking a guest who brings lived wisdom, creative fire, and timeless perspective, Oledude is ready to roll.
Music
Videos
Questions:
From Chris Owens to Oledude:
What inspired you to reinvent yourself as “Oledude,” and how has your music evolved through that transformation?Legacy of Protest Music:
You were encouraged by Pete Seeger and have deep ties to political music—how do you see the role of activist songwriting today?Behind “George Floyd: Say Their Names”:
Your first music video earned over 150 awards. What was the creative process like, and how did it feel to see that impact?PREACHER MAN – VOL. 1 and Beyond:
Can you tell us what themes or stories are driving your upcoming albums—and why now is the time to release them?Brooklyn Roots, Global Message:
Growing up in a politically engaged and musically gifted household, how did your upbringing shape your approach to art and activism?Music After Loss:
You’ve shared that losing your wife during the pandemic was a turning point. How did grief inform your creative process?What’s Next for Oledude?
Beyond the albums, what’s on the horizon—touring, new collaborations, community work?
TRIVIA:
Chris Oledude's musical influences include Bach, Beethoven, The Beatles, Elton John, Jethro Tull, Prince, all of Motown, Earth Wind & Fire, Kansas, Phil Collins, Parliament Funkadelic, The Ohio Players, Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...
Chris Oledude's first piano lessons were on an Acrosonic upright piano bought for his mother, Ethel, by his grandmother, Lena, when Ethel was 16 years of age. That was back in ...
Chris Oledude attended his first real "rock concert" at the old Boston Garden in 1977 and saw Chicago. Prior to that, the biggest concert he had attended was an early Clearwater Festival near Poughkeepsie, NY. There, he first heard Arlo Guthrie perform “Alice's Restaurant”.
As a high school student, Chris Oledude performed at Carnegie Hall, singing baritone with the St. Cecelia Chorus. He also played at Avery Fisher Hall (Lincoln Center) as a cellist with the All-City Orchestra.
The most important holiday in the Owens household, as Chris grew up, was Passover.