Óðinn Valdimarsson was a well-known singer in the North of Iceland when he started singing with the Atlantic Quartet in June 1958. The quartet was formed by pianist and band leader Ingimar Eydal, clarinet and saxophone player Finnur Eydal, drummer Sveinn Óli Jónsson, guitarist Edward Kaaber and last but not least singer Helena Eyjólfs. Atlantic Quartet only played in the summer for the first two years they played together but the latter two years they played the whole year long. They usually played at the Alþýðuhúsið in Akureyri, one of two dance halls in town at the time. Already in their first year their reputation had preceded them to Reykjavík because Helena was already famous in Iceland and Finnur had caught people’s attention by playing the clarinet and baritone saxophone which were unusual instruments for dance bands. The Atlantic Quartet was invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and were very well received. 

A year later they were asked to repeat their trip. They were a success and the label Íslenskir tónar (Icelandic Music) wanted to record their music. In 1959-1960 quite a few albums with their music were released and unfortunately the singers always got all the credit for the music so hardly anyone remembers the quartet today. The truth is that if it hadn’t been for Ingimar Eydal and his band the Atlantic Quartet these songs would never have been recorded because Ingimar chose and arranged all the songs.

In 1960 Óðinn left the band and went to Reykjavík to sing with the KK Sextet. With them he recorded his most famous song Í kjallaranum and a year later a single with the song 14 ára which  Jimmy Rodgers had made famous a few years before and the song Ég er kominn heim by Kálman.

In 1961 the Atlantic Quartet broke up and in the autumn Finnur Eydal and Helena moved to Reykjavík and Finnur formed the Finnur Eydal Band. They got Óðinn to record with them a song from the play Allra meina bót by Jón Múli Árnason and Jónas Árnason. Óðinn sang with the KK Sextet quite a lot but had left the band when the sextet broke up. Óðinn went back to Akureyri and sang with the Ingimar Eydal Band for a short while. For the next few years he didn’t perform often except a performance at a dance tune competition held by Iceland’s National Radio. An album with the songs from the competition was released in 1966.

Óðinn recorded two other records. The first was a single released in 1973, the other was the album Blátt oní blátt (Blue on Blue) in 1978. The album was a mix of known and unknown songs sung by Óðinn. The album was favoured by the average record buyer. Óðinn sang many wonderful songs in his time which people will remember him for, e.g. Einsi kaldi úr eyjunum, Útlaginn, Ég vil lifa, elska, njóta, Saga farmannsins og Í kjallaranum.