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Etta James

Etta James began her long career as a singer early, singing doo-wop as a teenager in the 1950s. She has enjoyed equal success crooning blues ballads, belting out rhythm and blues and rock and roll, or interpreting jazz. While the ease with which she can navigate these various styles demonstrates her impressive skill, it has also served to confound the music industry as to how to categorize her. In the late 20th century and into the next, James has finally been widely acknowledged as one of the most talented singers of her era. James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California, on January 25, 1938. Dorothy, her mother, was just fourteen years old when she gave birth to James, and she never overtly named the father. James's care was left largely to relatives and friends, including a middle-aged couple by the name of Rogers. James and her foster mother, Lula "Mama Lu" Rogers, became particularly close. By the age of five, James was living with her grandparents in Los Angeles. It was at this time, while singing solos with the St. Paul Baptist Church's Echoes of Eden choir under the direction of musical director James Earle Hines that she began to get attention for her powerful voice. Soon she began performing gospel on a local radio broadcast. James turned to music, and when she was fourteen she formed the Creolettes with two other girls. They tracked down Johnny Otis, a bandleader and promoter, when he was playing at the Fillmore. On the strength of the Creolettes' audition for him, Otis arranged for the girls to tour. Otis renamed the group the Peaches and reversed Jamesetta's name, creating the stage name that has endured to this day. The girls started off earning ten dollars per night for their work with Otis's revue. James first recorded with the Peaches in 1955 on the Modern Records label. The song was her own composition and was called "Roll with Me Henry," a coarse response to a song by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters called "Work with Me Annie." The song was rechristened a less-racy "The Wallflower" and became a top-ten hit on the rhythm and blues charts. In 1955 James had another hit on the Modern label, "Good Rockin' Daddy." It became apparent that her talent overshadowed that of her friends, and she separated from the Peaches. Over the ensuing few years James, who was also known as Miss Peaches, toured the country on bills with stars such as Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Marvin Gaye, zydeco accordionist Clifton Chenier, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Minnie Riperton, and Chuck Berry.

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Radio & Podcasts

New Releases By Ada Rovatti, Christie Dashiell, Birthday Shoutouts To Etta James, Barbara Carroll & More

Read "New Releases By Ada Rovatti, Christie Dashiell, Birthday Shoutouts To Etta James, Barbara Carroll & More" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This broadcast includes new releases from Allison Adams Tucker, Ada Rovatti, Christie Dashiell, Danette McMahon and Joel Tucker Commodore Trio plus preview singles from Norah Jones and Lizz Wright, with birthday shoutouts to Etta James, Pureum Jin, Barbara Carroll, Alexis Cole, George Evans and Kaisa Maensivu, among others. Thanks for listening and please support the artists you hear by seeing them live and online. Purchase their music so they can continue to distract, comfort, provoke and inspire. Playlist ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Songs to Aging Children Come

Read "Songs to Aging Children Come" reviewed by Mary Foster Conklin


This week we celebrate new releases by vocalist Cyrille Aimee, pianist Betty Bryant, saxophonist Jazmin Ghent and we give a look at some interesting old and new duets of songs by Joni Mitchell, including a new single by Carol Lipnik and Rachelle Garniez in the final hour. Then some shout outs to Barbara Carroll, Etta James, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jerome Kern and Bob Mintzer, among others. Playlist Adi Meyerson “Rice & Beans" from Where We Stand (A:M Records) ...

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Album Review

Etta James: Blue Gardenia

Read "Blue Gardenia" reviewed by Dave Nathan


Etta James has been one of the foremost R & B and blues singer this country has produced. She has also demonstrated on many occasions that she can easily bring her hard charging style successfully to standards and traditional pop tunes, especially those to which she readily adapts her special singing style. Over the years, the voice has coarsened and the delivery mellowed a bit. But she can still hit you with that pain and anguish that have characterized her ...

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Album Review

Jimmy Smith: Dot Com Blues

Read "Dot Com Blues" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


He's known as one of the founding jazz fathers of Hammond B-3 organ funk, but Jimmy Smith has always played the blues. Born in December 1928 in a suburb west of Philadelphia, Smith has been performing since he was 12, at that time in a song and dance act with his father. After a stint in the navy, Smith took advantage of the GI Bill to study bass, piano and music theory upon his service discharge. During this period Smith ...

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Music Industry

Inside Music Analytics: Chris Stapleton Has More In Common With Etta James, Van Morrison, Otis Redding Than You Think

Inside Music Analytics: Chris Stapleton Has More In Common With Etta James, Van Morrison, Otis Redding Than You Think

Source: HypeBot

In this piece Glenn Peoples looks at the rise of Chris Stapleton's cross genre success with is cover of “Tennessee Whiskey" and how the soulful country number has been able to capture the attention of audiences typically more focused on R&B/soul legends. Guest post by Glenn Peoples, Music Insights and Analytics at Pandora, of Medium “Tennessee Whiskey” plays well with songs in the country, Americana, singer-songwriters, rock, R&B, and soul genres.  Stapleton’s music has a close relation to Etta James ...

Recording

Etta James, Sarah Vaughan & Brecker Bros Box Sets Due in August from Legacy

Etta James, Sarah Vaughan & Brecker Bros Box Sets Due in August from Legacy

Source: Sony Music Entertainment/Legacy

The ultimate year-round jazz festival from Legacy Recordings continues to set a new industry standard with three new Complete Album Collections from the Sony Music archives family of labels, by the greatest names in modern jazz: THE BRECKER BROTHERS - THE COMPLETE ARISTA ALBUMS COLLECTION (Arista/Legacy) – 8 titles, 8 CDs ETTA JAMES – THE COMPLETE PRIVATE MUSIC BLUES, ROCK ‘N’ SOUL ALBUMS COLLECTION – (Private Music/RCA/Legacy) – 7 titles, 7 CDs SARAH VAUGHAN - THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA ALBUMS COLLECTION ...

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Recording

Etta James: Heart and Soul

Etta James: Heart and Soul

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

When Etta James lashed out at Beyoncé in 2009 for singingAt Last at President Obama's inauguration party, most critics assumed James didn't like Beyoncé's interpretation of her 1961 hit. Or that she was envious of the invite. Truth is James probably didn't have a beef with Beyoncé's delivery at all. Case in point: James had recently publicly praised Beyoncé's depiction of her in the movie Cadillac Records. Instead, James' acidicwords more likely came from resentment—not of Beyoncé but of a system ...

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Recording

Etta James - Heart and Soul: A Retrospective (Hip-O, 2011)

Etta James - Heart and Soul: A Retrospective (Hip-O, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

Etta James was American singer who covered many genres, dabbling in jazz and rock 'n' roll while concentrating the bulk of her energies on blues and rhythm and blues. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had quite a bit of success and this four compact disc boxed set covers the majority of her most well known work. Taking songs from several labels including Modern, Argo, Chess, Warner Brothers, Fantasy, Island, Private Music, and RCA Records labels, the compilation covers music ...

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Recording

Etta James "Heart & Soul / A Retrospective" On Hip-O Select / Geffen / Chess

Etta James "Heart & Soul / A Retrospective" On Hip-O Select / Geffen / Chess

Source: Chris M. Slawecki

For better than five decades, the great Etta James has been a musical force—a dynamo in concert; a major R&B hit-maker in the '50s, '60s, right into the '70s; a jazz Grammy® winner in the '90s; and an acknowledged influence on singers from Irma Thomas to Janis Joplin to Christina Aguilera. Throughout that time, James created a remarkably deep and diverse catalog of R&B, blues, soul, pop and jazz recordings, a 53-year catalog of powerful music that this 280-minute, 4-CD ...

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Music Industry

Etta James Hospitalized in SoCal with Serious Infection

Etta James Hospitalized in SoCal with Serious Infection

Source: All About Jazz

R&B singer Etta James is hospitalized in Southern California with a very serious infection.

Donto James says his 72-year-old mother has been at Riverside Community Hospital for about a week and is recovering from sepsis caused by a urinary tract infection. It's believed she has had the infection for quite some time, he said. He says she has been “battling for her life and sanity" and it's possible something more serious is going on. Donto James says his mother entered ...

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Festival

Chaka Khan Replaces Etta James at George Wein's Carefusion Jazz Festival 55

Chaka Khan Replaces Etta James at George Wein's Carefusion Jazz Festival 55

Source: All About Jazz

Chaka Khan with the George Duke Trio kicks off George Wein's CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 on Friday, August 7, at 8:00 pm at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, 194 Bellevue Avenue. Due to illness, Etta James has cancelled her August concerts, including her performance in Newport. Hosted by radio announcer Ron Della Chiesa, the program also features Israeli clarinetist Anat Cohen with guitarist Howard Alden in a salute to Benny Goodman. Direct from critically-acclaimed appearances ...

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Performance / Tour

Etta James Versus Beyonce: Divas Duel No. 2

Etta James Versus Beyonce: Divas Duel No. 2

Source: Michael Ricci

That woman he had singing for him, singing my song she's going to get her a__ whipped. ETTA JAMES-- 71

Etta James on Beyonc and President Obama, in a recording obtained by TMZ; the pop singer performed James' signature song, “At Last," for the President and First Lady at an Inaugural ball. The ballad became a hit in 1961.

Etta James must be taking lessons from Faye Dunaway in how to be a diva. Etta James came out ...

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Recording

Beyonce Knowles Styles Etta James

Beyonce Knowles Styles Etta James

Source: All About Jazz

With A Double-Album, A World Tour, Starring Roles In Two Movies And Several Ad Campaigns In the Works, The Heat Is On For Beyonce

On a brisk March day in Rahway, N.J., Beyonce and Adrien Brody are filming a crucial scene for their upcoming movie Cadillac Records. The set is an old Ukranian social club that has been converted into a 1950s production studio, complete with vintage instruments and cream, perforated walls. Musicians, dressed in porkpie hats and carrying rusted ...

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Performance / Tour

Spotlight 29 Casino Welcomes Etta James

Spotlight 29 Casino Welcomes Etta James

Source: All About Jazz

Spotlight 29 Casino is proud to welcome multiple Grammy winner, Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee and legendary blues artist Etta James and the Roots Band on September 27. Also appearing are special guests Tower of Power, the band critics call “the premiere bastion of true soul and funk in modern music, “ who are on their 40th anniversary tour. James' distinguished career spans five decades, making her a true legend in the recording industry. She is a three-time ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

19 Greatest Hits At...

Private Music
2013

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The Dreamer

Private Music
2011

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At Last The Best Of...

Private Music
2010

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Let's Roll

Private Music
2003

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Blue Gardenia

Private Music
2001

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Tell Mama - The...

Private Music
2001

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