Etta James

Genres:	Blues • Christian & Gospel • Holiday & Seasonal • Jazz • Music Videos & Concerts • Musicals & The Arts • Pop / Rock • R&B / Soul • Vocals • World Music
Descriptive "tags":	blues • jazz • soul • female vocalists • rhythm and blues
Decades Active:	1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Artist Compilations:	Harvey Fuqua & Etta James
Links online:	BBC Music • Facebook • MusicMoz • MySpace • Official Homepage • Wikipedia

Biography

Jamesetta Hawkins, 25 January 1938, Los Angeles, California, USA. James’ introduction to performing followed an impromptu audition for Johnny Otis backstage at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. ‘Roll With Me Henry’, her ‘answer’ to the Hank Ballard hit ‘Work With Me Annie’, was retitled ‘The Wallflower’ in an effort to disguise its risqué lyric and became an R&B number 1. ‘Good Rockin’ Daddy’ provided another hit, but the singer’s later releases failed to chart. Having secured a recording contract with the Chess Records group of labels, James, also known as Miss Peaches, unleashed a series of powerful songs, including ‘All I Could Do Was Cry’ (1960), probably the best ever version of ‘At Last’ (1961), ‘Trust In Me’ (1961), ‘Don’t Cry Baby’ (1961), ‘Something’s Got A Hold On Me’ (1962), ‘Stop The Wedding’ (1962)...

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