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ETTA JAMES
Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los
Angeles, California. She is a noted blues, soul, R&B, and jazz singer and songwriter. In the 1950s and 60s, she had
her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer. She is best known for her
1961 ballad "At Last", which has been classified as a "timeless classic" and has been featured in
many movies and television commercials since its release.
She received her first professional vocal
training at the age of five, from James Earle
Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden
choir at St. Paul Baptist Church in Los
Angeles.
Her family moved to San Francisco in 1950, and James joined two other girls to form a
singing group. When the girls were fourteen, they auditioned for bandleader Johnny Otis,
singing an answer to Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie " called "Roll With Me
Henry." Otis liked the song, and against her mother's wishes, James and the trio went to
Los Angeles to record the song in 1954, on Modern Records. They renamed the song "The
Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" and released it in 1955,
when it went to #1 on the R&B Charts for the vocal trio called
"The Peaches".
Etta left the group and continued to record successful albums. Her
next hit, "Good Rockin' Daddy" was released in the late fifties. Though "Tough Lover" and
"W-O-M-A-N" were less successful, James toured with Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Otis Redding
and called Watson the most significant influence on her style.
In 1960, Etta signed with Chess Records and
recorded her biggest and most memorable hits. This
company went into high gear with James, releasing duets with her boyfriend
Harvey Fuqua, the lead singer of the Moonglows.
One duet, "If I Can't Have You", became a hit on the R&B charts in 1960. As a solo artist, she had
greater success. One of her first singles released in 1960 was "All I Could Do
Was Cry". This Blues number became a big hit on the R&B charts
for James whose sassy vibe added a
significant touch of personality to the song.
Leonard Chess, one of the founders of Chess Records, saw the potential for James to go into a
direction more pop oriented. The year 1961
brought great changes for James with the release of
her most famous song, "At Last" that reached
#2 on the R&B charts and #22 on the
Pop charts, proving that the Pop crossover was successful
for her because it made the Top 30 and became her signature song.
Other songs that were successful for James
were "Trust In Me" and "Something's Got a Hold On Me" recorded in
1962, in the England by Elkie Brooks, showing James' Gospel side, a genre she had sung
in since childhood.
The next boost to her career was the 1963 album Etta James Rocks the House
recorded at the New Era Club in Nashville. She had other big hits in
the sixties, on the R&B charts, including "Pushover" in 1963,
and "Stop the Wedding", "Fool That I Am" and "Don't Cry
Baby", recorded between 1961 and 1963.
James became one of the most successful R&B
artists of the 1960s, with several Top Ten and
Top Twenty hit singles on the charts. She is
classified as one of the pioneers of the
Blues, among artists like B.B. King who
performed in Memphis, Tennessee, the city
where blues started. In 1967, she release the
single, "Tell Mama" that was a Top Ten hit on
the R&B charts, making Etta James a household
name. The follow-up, "Security" proved James'
staying power.
After the death of Leonard Chess, Etta
stayed with the Chess label until the end of
1975, when she moved into rock music. Etta
recorded for numerous labels and continued to
release albums, like Deep In the Night
on Atlantic Records, in 1978.
Etta received accolades for her 1981 rendition
of Randy Newman's "God's Song". The 1988 album
Seven Year Itch displayed her Soul
side. In 1989, Etta recorded "Avenue D" with
David A. Stewart of Eurythmics fame. This song
was featured on the soundtrack of the Robert
Wise film "Rooftops". She performed with the
Grateful Dead for two shows, in 1982,
demonstrating the diveristy of her admirers.
Well into the nineties, she recorded and
performed. Her albums varied, widely, in
styles and genres of music. The Right Time
was (1992) was an upbeat Soul album on Elektra
Records. She recorded Jazz on many of her
1990s albums. In 1998 she released "An Etta
James Christmas".
Etta is known for the Muddy Waters song I
Just Wanna Make Love to You, used in
television commercials for Coca-Cola and John
Smith's Bitter. Though it was recorded by The
Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and Foghat, Etta's
version was a surprise Top 10 UK hit in 1995.
Drugs, obesity and romantic problems
interfered with her career, but James
maintained notoriety throughout the latter
half of the 20th century. She reached more
than 400 pounds, experienced strained mobility
and knee problems and needed a wheelchair. In
2003, she underwent gastric bypass surgery and
lost over 200 pounds.
James was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Blues
Hall of Fame in 2001. Her pioneering
contribution to the genre has been recognized
by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003, she
got her star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In
2004, Rolling Stone Magazine
ranked her #62 on the list of the
100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
She was still toured, in 2007.
James won three Grammy's for Best Jazz Vocal
Performance for Mystery Lady in 1994;
Best Contemporary Blues Album for Let's
Roll in 2003; and Best Traditional Blues
Album for Blues to the Bone in 2004. A
new album released in 2006, was All the Way,
on RCA Records.
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