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R.I.P. Etta James

HeisenbergHeisenberg Los Pollos Hermanos Posts: 4,957
edited January 2012 in Other Music
CNN reports that soul and blues legend Etta James has passed away after a battle with leukemia. She was 73.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, James was singing gospel in churches and on radio stations at the age of five. In the mid-50s, she launched a solo career, releasing hits like "Good Rockin' Daddy". In 1960, she signed with Arco, a subsidiary of Chess, and her partnership with the label would be long and fruitful. Working with Chess, James released her most iconic songs, including "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Trust in Me", and the eternal wedding staple "At Last".

During the 1960s, James battled heroin addiction, but she stayed productive, recording the classic 1968 LP Tell Mama with the great Muscle Shoals house band. She recorded for Chess until the mid-70s, and continued releasing albums and touring through the mid-2000s.

Beyoncé Knowles played James in the 2008 film Cadillac Records and sang "At Last" at Barack Obama's inaugural ball-- something that didn't thrill James herself.
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Comments

  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    The world has lost an important figure in music. R.I.P., Etta.
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
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  • Citizen ZackCitizen Zack Posts: 1,763
    Did the first dance at our wedding to 'At Last' just last month. RIP Etta.
    "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." - Thoreau

    No time to be void, or save up on life, you've got to spend it all
  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,472
    RIP
    I LOVE MUSIC.
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  • frazbafrazba Posts: 601
    Very sad, another legend gone.
  • veddertownveddertown Scotland Posts: 5,260
    Sad news. I was just discussing her music at work with a colleague a few days ago. She re-recorded some of her classics quite recently and her voice was still as sweet as honey. We are starting to run out of real musical legends now and she was most certainly that. RIP.... :(
    Like a book among the many on a shelf...

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  • Stardog3..Stardog3.. Posts: 1,527
    RIP Etta

    one of my favorites:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfNLspDL3ns
  • frazbafrazba Posts: 601
    An obvious choice maybe, but still amazing, what a voice.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YApNirMC9gM
  • stargirl69stargirl69 Posts: 6,387
    So sad to hear this.There are very few truly greats left,I doubt that many of the musicians today will be mourned in the same way for the musical legacies left behind
    “There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen”
  • samjamsamjam New York Posts: 9,283
    R.I.P. Etta. What an amazing talent she was.
    "Sometimes you find yourself having to put all your faith in no faith."
    ~not a dude~
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  • Drum Machine89Drum Machine89 Posts: 2,157
    RIP
    Let them wash away
    All those yesterdays
    All those yesterdays
    All those paper plates
  • rollingsrollings unknown Posts: 7,124
    awww.

    sad to hear that.

    thanks for reporting
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