Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012) and was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, Rhythm & Blues, soul, Rock'n'Roll, jazz and gospel.
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
the St. Paul Baptist Church, in South-Central Los Angeles.
Under his tutelage, she suffered physical abuse during her formative
years, with her instructor often punching her in the chest while she
sang to force her voice to come from her gut. As a consequence, she
developed an unusually strong voice for a child her age. In 1950 she moved to San Francisco and within a couple of years, she began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a group, The Creolettes.
At the age of 14, she met musician Johnny Otis who took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and changing their name from the Creolettes to the Peaches. He also gave the singer her stage name, changing Jamesetta into Etta James. James recorded the version, for which she was given credit as co-author, in 1954, and the record was released in early 1955 as "Dance with Me, Henry". The original title of the song was "Roll with Me, Henry", but it was changed to avoid censorship due to the title (roll connoting sexual activity). In February of that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart. Its success gave the group an opening spot on Little Richard's national tour.
While James was on tour with Richard, pop singer Georgia Gibbs recorded a version of James's song, which was released under the title "The Wallflower" and became a crossover hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which angered James. After leaving the Peaches, James had another R&B hit with "Good Rockin' Daddy" but struggled with follow-ups. When her contract with Modern came up for renewal in 1960, she signed a contract with Chess Records instead.
Her first solo hit on Chess was the doo-wop–styled rhythm-and-blues song "All I Could Do Was Cry", which was a number two R&B hit. The first string-laden ballad James recorded was "My Dearest Darling" in May 1960, which peaked in the top five of the R&B chart. Her debut album, At Last!, was released in late 1960 and was noted for its varied selection of music, from jazz to blues to doo-wop and R&B. The album included the future classic "I Just Want To Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love". In early 1961, James released what was to become her signature song, "At Last", which reached number two on the R&B chart and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that same year, James released a second studio album, The Second Time Around, that took the same direction as her first, covering jazz and pop standards and with strings on many of the songs. It produced two hit singles, "Fool That I Am" and "Don't Cry Baby".
James started adding gospel elements in her music the following year, releasing "Something's Got a Hold on Me", which peaked at number four on the R&B chart and was a Top 40 pop hit. That success was quickly followed by "Stop the Wedding", which reached number six on the R&B chart and also had gospel elements. In 1963, she had another major hit with "Pushover" and released the live album Etta James Rocks the House. After a couple years of minor hits, James's career started to suffer after 1965. After a period of isolation, she reemerged in 1967 with more gutsy R&B numbers thanks to her recording at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. These sessions yielded her comeback hit "Tell Mama", which reached number ten R&B and number twenty-three pop. The B side was "I'd Rather Go Blind", which became a blues classic.
Following this success, James became an in-demand concert performer though she never again reached the heyday of her early to mid-1960s success. Her records continued to chart in the R&B Top 40 in the early 1970s, with singles such as "Losers Weepers" (1970) and "I Found a Love" (1972).
In 1989, she signed with Island Records and released the albums Seven Year Itch and Stickin' to My Guns. She carried on touring for twenty years but by 2010 had to cancel concert dates because
of her gradually failing health. In November 2011, James released her final album, The Dreamer, which was critically acclaimed upon its release.
She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal, and she died on January 20, 2012.
