R.I.P. ETTA JAMES (1938 - 2012)

Rhythm and Blues.  Rock and Roll.  Pop and Soul.  Jazz and Gospel.  Etta James was beyond category.  You name it - SHE COULD SING IT! 

Forever in a rage to survive, nothing but death could ever contain the singer's raw vocal power.  And so it is that  after a lengthy struggle with Leukemia, Hepatitis C and Dementia, the incomparable Etta James lost the battle.  She passed away this morning, January 20, 2011, at the age of 73.  The days are certainly dwindling down to a precious few because Ms. James was one of the last true, great original singers that we had left!  She was the type to shoot first and ask questions later; her autobiography, Rage To Survive (1995) is an unbridled account of finally pulling in the reigns on a wild, rocky life left unchecked for far too long.

Etta's influence is still heard in many of the female singers that we now call legends like Janis Joplin, all the way up to current pretenders like Joss Stone, but no matter how they continue to try and sound like her, there will never be another Etta James!  That's just part of the beauty of coming from an age when individuality was prized and prerequisite!

 

A powerhouse vocalist, Etta James was about so much more than just being known for one song!  Consider hits like Tell Mama, Something's Got A Hold On Me b/w Waitin' For Charlie To Come Home, Fool That I Am, I'd Rather Go Blind, All The Way Down or the whole Etta James Rocks The House album.  Sunday Kind of Love was one of the very first songs that I ever heard in my LIFE, and James' interpretation of the lyrics left me awestruck in a way that I was much too young to ever understand.  But now that I am a grown man, the depth and experience in a song like Trust In Me can make the tears flow like wine.

  There aren't many female singers who can tackle Otis Redding's material and get away with it.  There aren't many who would dare!  Here, James handles Cigarettes and Coffee from her last CD, The Dreamer (2011) with such brilliance and aplomb thus proving that she still had the goods right up to the very end.  She will be sadly missed, indeed, but Etta James is finally at peace At Last!

 

Goodnight, Mama Etta!  We'll always remember, love and appreciate you!

  

 

 

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[thegaytekeeper]

R.I.P.