Etta James
Wikimp3 information about the music of Etta James. On our website we have 70 albums and 70 collections of artist Etta James. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Etta James represents Soul genres.
Biography
[Edit]Few female R&B stars enjoyed the kind of consistent acclaim Etta James received throughout a career that spanned six decades; the celebrated producer Jerry Wexler once called her "the greatest of all modern blues singers," and she recorded a number of enduring hits, including "At Last," "Tell Mama," "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "All I Could Do Was Cry." At the same time, despite possessing one of the most powerful voices in music, James only belatedly gained the attention of the mainstream audience, appearing rarely on the pop charts despite scoring 30 R&B hits, and she lived a rough-and-tumble life that could have inspired a dozen soap operas, battling drug addiction and bad relationships while outrunning a variety of health and legal problems.
Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California on January 25, 1938; her mother was just 14 years old at the time, and she never knew her father, though she would later say she had reason to believe he was the well-known pool hustler Minnesota Fats. James was raised by friends and relatives instead of her mother through most of her childhood, and it was while she was living with her grandparents that she began regularly attending a Baptist church. James' voice made her a natural for the choir, and despite her young age she became a soloist with the group, and appeared with them on local radio broadcasts. At the age of 12, after the death of her foster mother, James found herself living with her mother in San Francisco, and with little adult supervision, she began to slide into juvenile delinquency. But James' love of music was also growing stronger, and with a pair of friends she formed a singing group called the Creolettes. The girls attracted the attention of famed bandleader Johnny Otis, and when he heard their song "Roll with Me Henry" — a racy answer song to Hank Ballard's infamous "Work with Me Annie" — he arranged for them to sign with Modern Records, and the Creolettes cut the tune under the name the Peaches (the new handle coming from Etta's longtime nickname). "Roll with Me Henry," renamed "The Wallflower," became a hit in 1955, though Georgia Gibbs would score a bigger success with her cover version, much to Etta's dismay. After charting with a second R&B hit, "Good Rockin' Daddy," the Peaches broke up and James stepped out on her own.
James' solo career was a slow starter, and she spent several years cutting low-selling singles for Modern and touring small clubs until 1960, when Leonard Chess signed her to a new record deal. James would record for Chess Records and its subsidiary labels Argo and Checker into the late '70s and, working with producers Ralph Bass and Harvey Fuqua, she embraced a style that fused the passion of R&B with the polish of jazz, and scored a number of hits for the label, including "All I Could Do Was Cry," "My Dearest Darling," and "Trust in Me." While James was enjoying a career resurgence, her personal life was not faring as well; she began experimenting with drugs as a teenager, and by the time she was 21 she was a heroin addict, and as the '60s wore on she found it increasingly difficult to balance her habit with her career, especially as she clashed with her producers at Chess, fought to be paid her royalties, and dealt with a number of abusive romantic relationships. James' career went into a slump in the mid-'60s, but in 1967 she began recording with producer Rick Hall at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and, adopting a tougher, grittier style, she bounced back onto the R&B charts with the tunes "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind."
In the early '70s, James had fallen off the charts again, her addiction was raging, and she turned to petty crime to support her habit. She entered rehab on a court order in 1973, the same year she recorded a rock-oriented album, Only a Fool, with producer Gabriel Mekler. Through most of the '70s, a sober James got by touring small clubs and playing occasional blues festivals, and she recorded for Chess with limited success, despite the high quality of her work. In 1978, longtime fans the Rolling Stones paid homage to James by inviting her to open some shows for them on tour, and she signed with Warner Bros., cutting the album Deep in the Night with producer Jerry Wexler. While the album didn't sell well, it received enthusiastic reviews and reminded serious blues and R&B fans that James was still a force to be reckoned with. By her own account, James fell back into drug addiction after becoming involved with a man with a habit, and she went back to playing club dates when and where she could until she kicked again thanks to a stay at the Betty Ford Center in 1988. That same year, James signed with Island Records and cut a powerful comeback album, Seven Year Itch, produced by Barry Beckett of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The album sold respectably and James was determined to keep her career on track, playing frequent live shows and recording regularly, issuing Stickin' to My Guns in 1990 and The Right Time in 1992.
In 1994, a year after she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James signed to the Private Music label, and recorded Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday, a tribute to the great vocalist she had long cited as a key influence; the album earned Etta her first Grammy Award. The relationship with Private Music proved simpatico, and between 1995 and 2003 James cut eight albums for the label, while also maintaining a busy touring schedule. In 2003, James published an autobiography, Rage to Survive: The Etta James Story, and in 2008 she was played onscreen by modern R&B diva Beyoncé Knowles in Cadillac Records, a film loosely based on the history of Chess Records. Knowles recorded a faithful cover of "At Last" for the film's soundtrack, and later performed the song at Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural ball; several days later, James made headlines when during a concert she said "I can't stand Beyoncé, she had no business up there singing my song that I've been singing forever." (Later the same week, James told The New York Times that the statement was meant to be a joke — "I didn't really mean anything...even as a little child, I've always had that comedian kind of attitude" — but she was saddened that she hadn't been invited to perform the song.)
In 2010, James was hospitalized with MRSA-related infections, and it was revealed that she had received treatment for dependence on painkillers and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which her son claimed was the likely cause of her outbursts regarding Knowles. James released The Dreamer, for Verve Forecast in 2011. She claimed it was her final album of new material. Etta James was diagnosed with terminal leukemia later that year, and died on January 20, 2012 in Riverside, California at the age of 73.
Title: Her Essential Hit Recordings 57
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: Live And In The Studio (CD1)
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: He's Got The Whole World In His Hands (Single)
Artist: Etta James, Eddie Vinson
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Blues, Jazz
Title: These Foolish Things - The Classic BalLadry Of Etta James
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: Tell Mama
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock, Rock & Roll, Punk Rock, Pop
Title: The Genuine Article
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: The Hits - 27 Greatest Hits By The Soul Diva
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Jazz
Title: The Very Best Of Etta James: The Chess Singles (CD2)
Artist: Etta James
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Collections
Title: Gold - Jazz Divas
Genre: Jazz
Title: I ♥ Gospel / I Gospel
Genre: Gospel
Title: Amazing Grace - Gospel Greats
Genre: Gospel
Title: When the Saints Go Marching In - Gospel Classics
Genre: Gospel
Title: Greatest Big Hits of 1962, Vol. 27
Genre: Pop
Title: Jazz: All We Need Is Love
Genre: Jazz
Title: A Beginners Guide to Jazz Singers
Genre: Jazz
Title: Popcorn Party (Classics From The Popcorn Years Vol. 4)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Greatest Hits of 1960, Vol. 2
Genre: Pop
Title: Heritage of the Blues 1956, Vol. 2
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: Jazz Blues Essentials
Genre: Blues
Title: Greatest Hits of 1960, Vol. 25
Genre: Pop
Title: Masterpiece David Rodigan - Ministry of Sound
Genre: Reggae
Title: Essential Jazz Ballads
Genre: Jazz
Title: Most Wanted Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Essential Blues Anthems
Genre: Blues
Title: Real American Blues Anthems
Genre: Blues
Title: Classic Essential Hits, Vol. 10
Genre: Pop
Title: Coffee House Classics - Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Definitive Blues Collection, Vol. 10
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: Golden Oldies - Red Hot!
Genre: Pop
Title: Rock 'n' Roll, Pop & Soul Sisters, Vol. 14
Genre: Pop
Title: Rarities from the Bob Hite Vaults
Genre: Blues
Title: Blues at Night
Genre: Blues
Title: Top Rock Collection, Vol. 6
Genre: Rock
Title: Angel Eyes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Genre: Pop, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Doo Wop Classic Ballads, Vol. 2
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: The Greatest Blues Show On Earth
Genre: Blues
Title: Dancing Around the World, Vol. 2
Genre: Pop
Title: American Jazz Queens
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz Ladies
Genre: Jazz
Title: Chillin' in the Name of...Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: I ♥ Blues / I Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Boom Boom Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: American Blues Essentials
Genre: Blues
Title: The Dark Streets of Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Doo Wop Dance Classics Vol 6
Genre: Pop
Title: Great Day Coming (50 Gospel Greats) - Disc One
Genre: Rock
Title: From The Pen Of Hank Williams
Genre: Country
Title: I Love the 60's: 1961 (Re-Recorded Versions)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock
Title: Jazz Beat, Vol.1 (Live)
Genre: Jazz
Title: It's All In The Name - The Boys
Genre: Pop
Title: Gaz's Rockin' Blues
Genre: Blues
Title: Los Mejores Golden Oldies
Genre: Pop
Title: Big Hits & Highlights of 1954, Vol. 9
Genre: Pop
Title: Rock 'n' Roll, Pop & Soul Sisters, Vol. 2
Genre: Pop
Title: Red, White & Blues Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Blues Got Soul
Genre: Blues
Title: Finest Blues Ballads
Genre: Blues
Title: Greatest R & B Hits of 1960, Vol. 4
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Jazz Blues Divas
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz Classics
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz Divas
Genre: Jazz
Title: Sunday Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Top 20 Jazz Blues
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Classics - Greatest Jazz Songs Ever
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz Ballads
Genre: Jazz
Title: Soul Blues USA
Genre: Blues
Title: Sassy Soul Divas
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Popcorn Hits Vol. 2
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Featuring albums
Title: Pleasantville (Music from the Motion Picture)
Artist: Pleasantville & Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: DJ-Kicks
Artist: Hot Chip
Genre: Ambient, Electronica, House, Techno, Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Dancefloor, Dance Pop
Title: Best of Rock 'n' Roll Music - 100 Greatest Originals Hits from the 50s & 60s
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Rock
Title: Muscle Shoals Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Rain Man / Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Pleasantville -Music From The Motion Picture
Artist: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Genre: Pop
Title: Broken Hearted - A Collection of the World's Best Heartbreakers
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap
Title: The Smoky Bar Blues Club, Pt. 2 (Blues from a Smoky Bar)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues
Title: Back to the Future (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Queer As Folk: Second Season (Music from the Original Series)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Karaoke - Singing to the Hits: Sweet Soulful 60's (Rerecorded Version)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Karaoke: Gold - Singing to the Hits (Rerecorded Version)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock
Title: Rain Man (Soundtrack)
Artist: Hans Zimmer
Genre: Rock, Country, Pop Rock, Synth Pop, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: 80 From America. 80 Classic American Tracks (CD3)
Artist: Universal Music
Title: Soul Sisters: The Very Best Of Female Soul Singers
Artist: Jessie Ware
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Title: When Cool Was King (CD1)
Artist: Ministry Of Sound
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Blues, Crossover Jazz, Vocal Jazz