R.I.P. Etta James 1938-2012
Etta James
Today, January 20th 2012 marked the passing of classic R&B Blues singer Etta James. Born January 25th 1938 under her birth name, Jamesetta Hawkins, James rose to fame as a 6 time Grammy winning entertainment figure in the 1950s and 60s African American music community. Regarded by many as a trail-blazer for women specifically in the music community, James often bridged the genre gaps of R&B, Blues, and the then fresh sound of Rock & Roll.
For a time her personal life was also just as famous for complications related to her struggle with heroin addiction. To both fans and music history in general however, James’ musical influence out weighed her personal issues in every way. She grew to have an intense impact on the culture of American Music as a whole, by being one of the first female African American singers to be tailored into into a crossover success that charted on both Billboard’s R&B and Hot 100 chats.
Thanks to the vision of pioneering record executive Leonard Chess’s, the sheer power of James’ voice was able to be packaged into a string accompanied signature sound that helped her have one of the most diverse audiences of her time. She was then able to later take advantage of that rare freedom after Chess’ death in 1969 to have a career that evolved to cover six different genres and span five decades.
Etta James died from terminal leukemia which was diagnosed early last year. She was 73 years old. Her death came only three days after the death of Johnny Otis, the man credited with her discovery, and five days before her own 74th birthday.
In a related note, younger music fans can connect with the story of Etta James by checking out the Sony Music Entertainment film Cadillac Records, the biography picture about James and her then record company, Chess Rec0rds.
Related Media:
Etta James
“At Last”
Argo Records
Cadillac Recods (Trailer)
Sony Music Film/Parkwood Pictures/Tri Star Pictures
