Etta James

Jamesetta Hawkins was born January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles, fourteen year old African American mother, Dorothy Hawkins, and unknown father (the artist will be to convince Rudolf Walter Wanderone, Jr., a famous professional snooker player known by the nickname “Minnesota Fats “). Abandoned by Dorothy, who leads a crush and is not able to care for her daughter, spent a difficult childhood with adoptive families find some solace in singing at church. In 1950 he reunited with his mother in San Francisco and form a vocal trio, the Creolettes, thanks to which she was noticed by the famous musician, producer and talent scout Johnny Otis: he is to persuade her to change her name to Etta James and impact in 1955 first 45 laps, “Roll With Me, Henry”, a duet with Richard Berry (the individual encounters a problem of censorship for the title too “licentious”, becoming “Dance with Me, Henry” then “The wallflower” in the interpretation by Georgia Gibbs).

After being on tour with Little Richard and Otis and others have published pieces of success is signed to Argo, a subsidiary of Chess in Chicago, so it turns out a series of memorable songs as “At last!” (Initially a huge success, will become only many years after his most famous piece), “I just want to make love to you”, “Spoonful” (both classic blues written by Willie Dixon), “Something’s Got a Hold on Me “and” In the basement “(paired with Sugar Pie DeSanto), showing both fully at ease with the blues / r & b more blood than with the orchestral pop and elegant. In 1967 Etta arrives to celebrate Fame in Muscle Shoals studios where he recorded his masterpiece album, TELL MAMA, which besides the title track contains such classics as “I’d rather go blind” and “The Love of My Man”, but in that same period falls back into the abyss of drugs, disappearing for long periods scene to undergo detoxification. Resurfaces in 1973 with an album that bears his name and which has songs from Otis Redding and Randy Newman, and in 1978 returned to public attention thanks to a new contract with Warner and a record producer Jerry Wexler, DEEP IN THE NIGHT, where he recovers his “I’d rather go blind” (with the new title of “Blind Girl”) and “Piece of My Heart” known to rock audiences in the interpretation of Janis Joplin. The following years saw the recording for labels such as Fantasy Island and (SEVEN YEAR ITCH especially valuable, in 1988), while in ’94, with MYSTERY LADY, dedicates a tribute to Billie Holiday. From then on, continues to churn out a big production, ranging from disk live (the two albums with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, BURNIN ‘DOWN THE HOUSE-LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES), collections of unpublished material (LOVE’S BEEN ROUGH TO ME , 1998; LET’S ROLL, 2003) homages to pop standards and jazz (TIME AFTER TIME, 1995, HEART OF A WOMAN, 1999; BLUE GARDENIA, 2004), blues (LIVE, LOVE & THE BLUES, 1998; Matriarch Of The Blues, 2000; BLUES TO THE BONE, 2004) and soul (ALL THE WAY, 2006, which also contains a cover of “Imagine”), and enjoying a sudden flashback of popularity thanks to the inclusion of his classics in several commercials ( thanks to one of these, in 1996 “I just wanna make love to you” back to the top of British charts). It ‘s also a time of awards after the entry into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (both in 2001), in 2003 Etta received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement, which has doubled two years later by a statuette for best album of blues LET’S ROLL contemporary.

In 2008 he was immortalized on screen by Beyoncé Knowles, who plays his part in the movie “Cadillac Records” (inspired by the story of Chess): The version of “At last!” that the young American star plays the feast of inauguration of President Barack Obama, however, favors the interpreter does not meet the original, angry at not being invited in turn to ceriomonia. The last television appearance by the singer (who performs in turn with “At last!”) Takes place in April 2009 during an episode of “Dancing with the Stars.” In 2010, she is forced to cancel several concerts due to the increasingly serious health conditions (in addition to the leukemia is diagnosed with a form of dementia that drives her husband, Artis Mills, to declare it a failure to understand and desire). In November 2011 what is officially billed as his last album, THE DREAMER, shows her emaciated and suffering on the cover. Hospitalized a month later because of further complications and serious respiratory, died Jan. 20 of 2012, five days after his birthday seventy-fourth. At the funeral, which takes place eight days later in Gardena, California, performing in his honor Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera.

ESSENTIAL DISCOGRAPHY

AT LAST – 1961, Argo

THE SECOND TIME AROUND – 1961, Argo

ETTA JAMES – 1962, Argo

ETTA JAMES SINGS FOR LOVERS -1962, Argo

ETTA ROCKS THE HOUSE – 1963, Argo

ETTA JAMES TOP TEN – 1963, Argo QUEEN OF SOUL – 1964, Argo

CALL MY NAME – 1966, Cadet

TELL MAMA – 1968, Cadet

ETTA JAMES SINGS FUNK – 1970, Cadet

LOSERS Weepers – 1971, Chess

ETTA JAMES – 1973, Chess

ONLY A FOOL-1973, Chess

HOW A LITTLE CLOSER – 1974, Chess

ETTA IS BETTER THAN EVVAH! – 1976, Chess

DEEP IN THE NIGHT – 1978, Warner Bros.

CHANGES – 1980, T-Electric

BLUES IN THE NIGHT, VOL 1: EARLY SHOW – 1986, Fantasy. With Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson

THE LATE SHOW: BLUES IN THE NIGHT, VOL. 2 to 1987, Fantasy. With Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson

SEVEN YEAR ITCH – 1988, Island

Stickin ‘TO MY GUNS – 1990, Island

THE RIGHT TIME – 1992, Elektra

MYSTERY LADY – SONGS OF BILLIE HOLIDAY – 1994, Private

LIVE FROM SAN FRANCISCO – 1994, Private

TIME AFTER TIME – 1995, Private

LOVE’S BEEN ROUGH ON ME – 1997, Private

LIFE, LOVE & THE BLUES – 1998, Private

12 SONGS OF CHRISTMAS – 1998, Private

HEART OF A WOMAN – 1999, Private

THE CHESS BOX – 2000, Chess / MCA. Box set anthology

Matriarch Of The Blues – 2000, Private

BLUE GARDENIA – 2001, Private

BURNIN ‘DOWN THE HOUSE – LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES – 2002, Private

LET’S ROLL – 2003, Private

BLUES TO THE BONE – 2004, RCA

ALL THE WAY – 2006, RCA

THE DREAMER – 2011, Verve Forecast

Tags: ALL THE WAY, BLUE GARDENIA, BLUES TO THE BONE, BURNIN 'DOWN THE HOUSE-LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, Cadillac Record, Christina Aguilera, DEEP IN THE NIGHT, Etta James, HEART OF A WOMAN, I just wanna make love to you, Jamesetta Hawkins, LET'S ROLL, LOVE'S BEEN ROUGH TO ME, MYSTERY LADY, Piece of My Heart, Roll With Me, Rudolf Walter Wanderone, SEVEN YEAR ITCH, TELL MAMA, THE DREAMER, The Love of My Man, TIME AFTER TIME

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