Chris Owens is a Puerto Rican-born Black and white-Jewish artist with a songwriter’s lifelong dedication to truth-telling. Part of a creative family, Chris grew up harmonizing with his brothers in a household where classical, folk, pop, funk, and protest music all had a place. His mother was his first music teacher and his father 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. Over the next 35 years, however, Chris was more involved with civic and political activism than “cultural work”.
The 2013 death of Chris’s father stimulated Chris to form a band with his brothers to perform again. But it was the 2019 death of his wife, Sandra Dixon, 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-video tribute titled George Floyd: Say Their Names (Alyssa Dann, Director), 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 -- also crafted by creator/director Dann -- has also earned numerous awards from film festivals. Oledude’s early 2025 release, No Crowns For Clowns, is a powerful critique of the political environment and is also accompanied by a video.
With the release of his debut album, PREACHER MAN – VOL. 1, Oledude takes us on a journey from disturbing troubles to eternal hope. Oledude brings rhythm, roots, and righteous storytelling to the airwaves through a set of songs from multiple decades. If you’re seeking the right music for these times, listen to Oledude.
The singles released from PREACHER MAN - VOL. 1 have been doing well with listeners! Enjoy!
Oledude releases “in the modern era”:
SINGLES: My Tower (2020), George Floyd (2020), Orange Blues (2020), ORANGE BLUES 24 (2024), White Lie: Carolyn’s Story (2025), No Crowns For Clowns (2025), Turning Tables (2025), We Will Get Through This (2025), Rainbow Soul (2025), If A Woman Had Made The World (2026)
ALBUMS: PREACHER MAN - VOL. 1 (2025)
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...
