<back - ETTA 'Peaches' JAMES - Few singers have endured tragic travails on the monumental level that Etta James has and remain on earth to talk about it. Etta was there from the age of R&B and Doo Wop mid-'50s through Soul's '60s heyday and right up to the present, where her disc Mystery Lady, pays tribute to her idol, Billie Holiday. Born Jamesetta Hawkins, she was a child Gospel prodigy, singing in her Los Angeles Baptist church choir when she was only 5 years old under the tutelage of Professor James Earle Hines.  When she was 14, bandleader Johnny Otis gave her an audition. Against her mother's wishes, the young singer recorded Roll with Me Henry with the Johnny Otis Band and vocalist Richard Berry in 1954 for Modern Records. Johnny Otis devised her stage handle. 'Roll with Me Henry' topped the R&B charts in 1955.

Etta James kept on singing for Modern throughout much of the decade. Good Rockin' Daddy also did quite well for her later in 1955, but Etta James was looking for a whole new sound. She landed at Chicago's infamous Chess Records in 1960. Signing with Chess would prove to be a relationship lasting for over a decade. Leonard Chess viewed Etta James as a classy ballad singer with pop crossover potential, backing her with lush violin orchestrations for 1961's luscious At Last and Trust in Me. But James's rougher side wasn't forsaken. Although Chess hosted its own amazing house band, Etta traveled to Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals in 1967 and recorded her all-time classics Tell Mama and I'd Rather Go Blind. Despite the death of Leonard Chess, Etta remained at the label until 1977. After 7 years without on album, the Seven Year Itch LP of 1988 re-ignited her recording career. Two more Nashville albums ensued, followed by a Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocalist in 1994 for Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday and her WC Handy Award for Female Vocalist of the Year honor of 1994. Etta received the R&B Foundation's Pioneer Award in 1989 and was inducted into the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and was also inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 2001. Her music career is still going strong today. Backed by her two sons Donto and Sametto, Etta has made it a family affair. She sings at festivals and concerts around the world. Read her autobiography 'Rage to Survive'.  MP3- Loverman | At Last |