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The Elsewhere GazetteExtra
Etta James
American blues singer (1938–2012)
Jamesetta Hawkins, known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s as the Chitlin' Circuit.
She sang in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll and soul and gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower" (1955), "At Last" (1960), "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (1962), "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind". James faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch (1988).
labels: Modern Records, Cadet Records, Chess Records, Elektra, Island Records, RCA Records
genres: blues, soul, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel music, rock and roll
awards: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
plays: guitar, voice
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
soulbluesjazzrhythm & blues2008 universal fire victimblues rock
The Broken RecordExtra
1938–1959: Childhood and career beginnings
James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Hawkins, who was only 14 at the time. Although her father was never identified, James speculated that she was the daughter of pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, whom she met briefly in 1987. Her mother was frequently absent from their apartment in Watts, conducting relationships with various men, and James lived with a series of foster parents, most notably "Sarge" and "Mama" Lu. James referred to her mother as "the Mystery Lady". Growing up, James was raised by relatives and friends, and she began regularly attending a Baptist church while in the care of her grandparents.
In 2001, James was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the latter for her contributions to the development of both rock and roll and rockabilly. Two years later, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On her 2004 release, Blue Gardenia, James returned to a jazz style. Her final album for Private Music, Let's Roll, released in 2005, won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
James possessed the vocal range of a contralto. Her musical style changed during the course of her career. At the beginning of her recording career, in the mid-1950s, James was marketed as an R&B and doo-wop singer. After signing with Chess Records in 1960, James broke through as a traditional pop-styled singer, covering jazz and pop music standards on her debut album, At Last! James's voice deepened and coarsened, moving her musical style in her later years into the genres of soul and jazz.
American R&B/soul contralto vocalist (born January 25, 1938, Los Angeles, California, USA - died January 20, 2012, Riverside, California, USA), the most prominent female vocalist of the Chess label.
Etta James was discovered as a teenager by Johnny Otis, with her first hit in 1955. She recorded for Modern Records (2) and Kent Records for the remainder of the 1950's. She signed with Chess in 1960, recording with them until 1976. From 1965 to the mid 1970's she battled heroin addiction.
In 1978 she recorded the Jerry Wexler produced "Deep in the Night", which was her final recording until 1988, returning to the to record "Seven Years Itch". From 1988 through 2006, she recorded frequent albums.
She was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2008, the movie "Cadillac Records" told the story of her career through to the late 1970's, with her role being played by Beyoncé Knowles, who also recorded some of James' songs for the soundtrack.
For writing credits in her early career she used the last name from a couple that took care of her as a child, Jamesetta Rogers and on a rare occasion her real name Jamesetta Hawkins. Mother of and .
Also known as: E James, E. James, E.James, Ellta James, Etta
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Etta James, the records, oldest first
At Last!
1960 album
on the air
The Second Time Around
1961 album
wanted
Miss Etta James
1961 album
Etta James
1962 album
Etta James Sings for Lovers
1962 album
Queen of Soul
1965 album
Call My Name
1966 album
Tell Mama
1968 album
wanted
Etta James Sings Funk
1970 album
Losers Weepers
1970 album
Etta James
1973 album
Come a Little Closer
1974 album
Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!
1976 album
Deep in the Night
1978 album
Changes
1980 album
Seven Year Itch
1988 album
Stickin’ to My Guns
1990 album
The Right Time
1992 album
Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday
1994 album
Time After Time
1995 album
Love’s Been Rough on Me
1997 album
12 Songs of Christmas
1998 album
Life, Love & The Blues
1998 album
The Heart of a Woman
1999 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"All I Could Do Was Cry" is a doo-wop/rhythm and blues single recorded in 1960, and released in March that year by the singer Etta James. It was written for James by Chess songwriter Billy Davis, Berry Gordy and his sister Gwen Gordy.
The song eventually peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 33 on the pop chart. James would later re-record the song in the early 1990s.
Background
The song was said to be inspired by James' former boyfriend Harvey Fuqua dating Davis' former girlfriend, who was Gwen. Gordy and Fuqua later married the same year the song was recorded, which likely added to the tension in James' bluesy vocals.
Cover versions
Ike & Tina Turner released a version of the song on their live album The Ike & Tina Turner Show - Vol. 2 in 1965. They also included another live rendition on their 1969 live album In Person, and a previously unissued studio version was released on the compilation album The Kent Years in 2000.
"Don't Cry Baby" is a song composed by James P. Johnson, with lyrics by Saul Bernie, and Stella Unger.
The song was first recorded on October 11, 1929 by Bessie Smith, who was accompanied on piano by Johnson. The song was revived in 1943 by jazz bandleader Erskine Hawkins, who greatly simplified Johnson's original composition by removing both the introductory (sectional) verse and the "B" section of the chorus.
Cover versions
In 1943, Erskine Hawkins recorded a version of the song with vocals by Jimmy Mitchell. This version went to number one on the Harlem Hit Parade and number fifteen on the pop chart. With fourteen non consecutive weeks at number one, the Erskine Hawkins version was the most successful song on the Harlem Hit Parade for 1943.
Appearances in popular culture
The Erskine Hawkins recording of "Don't Cry Baby" is on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1992 film Malcolm X.
