The Pagemeister Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Remembering Etta James, Stunning Singer by Neda Ulaby January 20, 2012 The "Matriarch of the Blues" has died. Music legend Etta James died at Riverside Community Hospital in California from complications of leukemia. She was 73. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938. Her first manager and promoter cut up Jamesetta's name and reversed it: Etta James. Her talent was discovered when she was 14 — the same age her mother was when James was born. Within three years, the foster-home runaway had her first hit, with the girl group The Peaches. Back then, "Roll With Me Henry" was deemed too racy for radio, "roll" being a sexual euphemism. Etta James was still a minor when she toured with Little Richard. Then, she signed with leading blues label Chess Records and bleached her hair platinum blond. "What I was doing was trying to be a glamour girl," she told NPR's Fresh Air in 1994. "Because I'd been a tomboy, and I wanted to look grown and wanted to wear high-heeled shoes and fishtail gowns and big, long rhinestone earrings." Darkness Beneath The Joy James had grit in her voice that could melt like sugar or rub like salt in a wound. Between 1960 and 1963, she had 10 records on the R&B charts, including "Something's Got a Hold on Me." Darkness runs beneath that joy — as does anger, says David Ritz, who wrote a biography of James. "It isn't like she sings that song," Ritz says. "Sometimes, you feel she was going to war with the song." By the mid-1960s, James was into hard drugs, and her career hit the skids. She bounced checks, forged prescriptions and stole from her friends. A judge finally gave her a choice: prison or rehabilitation. In 1974, she spent months in recovery at a psychiatric hospital. "I was around nothing but a lot of white kids," James told Fresh Air. "They were all younger than I was. I remember on Saturdays, they would play rock 'n' roll records and I would say, 'That music is really happening.' My song, 'I'd Rather Go Blind' — they had a version by Rod Stewart, and they kept saying, 'This is the song you wrote!' And I'd say, 'All right!' " Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones sent James a letter while she was in rehab and invited her to tour with the band if she stayed clean. In 1978, she joined the Stones on tour. By the '90s, she'd reached a new generation of fans and won a Grammy. The next challenge was jazz. "[Jazz] was too disciplined and too confining," James said on Fresh Air. "I thought you had to be bourgeois to do that. I was a sloppy kid, wanted to be just wild. I think it took me maturing." James said making her tribute to Billie Holiday, 1994's Mystery Lady, also honored her mother, who loved both Holiday and jazz. She said it helped make peace with the woman she idolized, and who had abandoned her. It's often said of Etta James that you could hear her whole life in her voice. James told NPR in 1989 that that made sense, though she mostly sang for herself. "When I sing for myself, I probably sing for anyone who has any kind of hurt, any kind of bad feelings, good feelings, ups and downs, highs and lows, that kind of thing," she said. Etta James went to extremes, and owned them in her life, and in her music. http://youtu.be/WzibSiJv8hc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Bless the Queen of R&B, the brilliant and bold Etta James. RIP http://youtu.be/cfPlb3mtAZM Etta James was the subject of Jimmy's OTD for January 20, 2012 http://forums.ledzep...post__p__558241 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedcat Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHF2SI6PYtY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrycja Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 A very sad day indeed. RIP, Etta :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 A true musical legend with a one of a kind voice. Gritty, sultry, and all soul...like a shot of great whiskey. My first encounter with the magnetism of Ms. James was when she opened for the Rolling Stones at Anaheim Stadium the summer of 1978(Peter Tosh and The Outlaws were also on the bill). All I knew of her at that point was "At Last", but the force of nature that I saw that summer day inspired me to search my dad's records for any Etta James I could find. What he didn't have, I accumulated myself from the used bins at record shops. Over the ensuing years, I always endeavored to catch her shows whenever I could...and really, it was more rewarding to see her in a small, intimate club like the Vine St. Bar and Grill or the Jazz Bakery. I probably saw her around 10 times. But I long lost count of the number of times I've swayed around the room in the embrace of a woman to the romantic strains of "At Last"...or the makeout sessions and writhings under the sheets with Etta James providing the soundtrack. What a loss. What a life. What a legacy. Rest In Peace Dame Etta James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Melanie Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I just heard this. So sad. I loved her voice... It sounds kinda silly writing about but "At Last" was the song my husband and I danced to at our wedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhairedqueen22 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 my thoughts and prayers are with her family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dawg Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 My coworkers all remember her for this number: http://youtu.be/_1uunRdQ61M One great set of pipes. We will miss you Etta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 RIP Etta, thanks for the music, it will live on.... I remember when this aired and if you don't have this DVD I highly recommend it (BB King& Friends-A Night of Blistering Blues): Etta James + Doctor John 'I'd Rather Go Blind' 1987 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagittarius Rising Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow, this is so strange, Etta passing the day after Jimmy posts a tribute to the grate lady herself. She was a unique voice and one that will be missed. I hate to sound like an old geezer but all the greats of music are almost gone, only a handful are left. I just do not see any comparable talent of the past 10 years or so. I sure hope this trend changes, then again maybe I am just stuck in a particular time like most and just don't have an ear for the new stuff. I kind of dismiss this though because I am always looking for new music, good music. God bless you Etta, thanks for all the songs and the memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross62 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 RIP Etta James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepscoda Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 RIP Etta...........very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I wasn't aware of it until recently but apparently Etta recorded a version of "I Can Give You Everything" which was originally written by Al Anderson (NRBQ) and Terry Anderson (Fabulous Knobs, the Woods, Olympic Ass Kickin' Team, The Yayhoos). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pagemeister Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 http://youtu.be/Khdm4eg-kCA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 RIP Etta James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Etta's version of Al Anderson and Terry Anderson's (no relation) of "I Can Give You Everything". For anyone that's interested, Terry's rendition can be heard on the The Yayhoos' debut record, Fear Not the Obvious. By the way, it looks like this clip was uploaded to YouTube by "KiwiZepFan87", not sure if that is our same Kiwi but if is, thank you very much. http://youtu.be/7Um4bYDFGBY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 ^^^Yes, this is our very own smart and sexy KiwiZepFan87! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Zep_Fan87 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I can indeed confirm that it was me who posted that song on my Youtube channel And honestly, the pleasure was all mine! I was gutted on hearing about Etta's death But I am not the biggest Etta James fan in my family. That honour goes to my mom. She has been a fan of Etta since her teenage years (since 1973 I believe), her favourite songs being Tough Mary, I Can Give You Everything, I'd Rather Go Blind, Only Time Will Tell (to name a few) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I can indeed confirm that it was me who posted that song on my Youtube channel And honestly, the pleasure was all mine! I was gutted on hearing about Etta's death But I am not the biggest Etta James fan in my family. That honour goes to my mom. She has been a fan of Etta since her teenage years (since 1973 I believe), her favourite songs being Tough Mary, I Can Give You Everything, I'd Rather Go Blind, Only Time Will Tell (to name a few) Thanks, Kiwi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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