Etta James is dead at 73

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Singer Etta James is dead at 73

Etta James, the legendary rhythm and blues singer, has died, her son said Friday.

She was 73 and had been in failing health for years. She died at a Southern California hospital about 8 a.m., her son Donto James said.

"Me and my brother were right there," he said.

Weeks ago, her doctor announced that James had chronic leukemia. Court records in the singer’s probate case show she also suffered from dementia and kidney failure. Her two sons had been in a court battle with their stepfather over conservatorship of her $1-million estate.

James spent time in a detox facility for addiction to painkillers and over-the-counter medications, Donto James told Reuters in 2010. And she had wrestled with complications since undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2002 to remedy a lifelong struggle with her weight.

James’ six-decade recording career began at the top of the R&B charts when her bawdy 1955 single “The Wallflower,” better known as “Roll With Me Henry,” quickly made her a national star.

She is best known for “At Last,” the powerhouse ballad that became a hit in 1961 and which has been enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame. She also is inextricably connected with “I’d Rather Go Blind,” which conveys the desperation of a woman who prefers losing her sight to seeing her man with someone else.

 

[rosebud5]

Hate to say it, but I never heard of her?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Etta's 1968 Back-Up Band Trumpeter.

When Etta James performed in Anchorage AK back in the late 1960s, she hired some local musicians to fill out her back-up band, including a cornet-playing friend of mine from the 214th Army Band, Ft. Richardson AK.

Etta's favorable impression of my friend's trumpet artistry was so strong that she asked him to join her regular band for the rest of her tour. He had to turn her down because his enlistment still had a year or so to run.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Passepartout]

"At Last, My Love Has Come Along". I wonder how many weddings this has been sung at? No one will ever know.

R.I.P., Etta. You should have joined your idol, Billy Holliday decades ago, and you tried.

Have a great time singing in at choir yonder.

Jim

 

[pedro47]

"At Last, My Love Has Come Along". I wonder how many weddings this has been sung at? No one will ever know.

R.I.P., Etta. You should have joined your idol, Billy Holliday decades ago, and you tried.

Have a great time singing in at choir yonder.

Jim

R.I.P. to a great soul singer . I think she was in the era before the great Motown singers.

 

[rhonda]

Oh, I'll miss her voice! R.I.P. dear Etta.

 

[Talent312]

"At Last, My Love Has Come Along." I wonder how many weddings this has been sung at?

Count mine as one... I may I owe her estate a royalty check.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

R.I.P. to a great soul singer . I think she was in the era before the great Motown singers.

Yes. Her first hit song, IIRC, was "Dance with Me, Henry" , which must have been late 1950's. I think she was still a teenager when it was recorded. And I believe that was a retake because the original version was either "Work with Me Henry" or "Roll with Me Henry". That was OK on black stations, but to get it played on white stations she had to change the lyrics.

After that she was signed by Chess, for whom she recorded almost all of her early classic material - "At Last", "I'd Rather Go Blind", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", "Baby What You Want Me to Do", etc.

"Rocks the House" is one of the finest live club recordings around; you can sense Etta, her band and the audience all feeding off of each other.

 

[geoand]

I was lucky enough to see her at BB King's night club in NYC 2 or 3 years ago. DW & I had table seats directly in front of her chair about 8 ft away. I swear she sang every song just for me!

 

[AwayWeGo]

1969 Etta James Memorabilia From Anchorage AK.

Advertisement printed on the entertainment page of the Anchorage Times newspaper.

--- oOo ---

Etta James with her back-up lead trumpet player. Fake beard & false sideburns were not a disguise.
They made up for regulation G.I. haircut & clean-shaven appearance required for army band trumpet players.

(Ad & photo are hotlinked from FaceBook.)​

FaceBook comments by my army band colleague who backed up Etta James on cornet: "This was early 1969 in Anchorage, Alaska where many California artists honed their acts before hitting the road in the "Lower Forty-Eight". Notice my band had lower billing than the contortionist and dancers!!! Also note the show times and consider the four brass members of the Versatiles were US Army musicians who worked six days a week. We got out of the club after 5AM!! Oh to be young again.
Etta had her drug problems but was always kind, gracious, and generous to those who knew her. I will never forget her regular renditions of "At Last" and "Jesus is My Kind of People", etc. She was a true entertainer and friend who is truely missed. Her voice will live on.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​