Etta James
Etta James
Etta Jameswas an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBlues Singer
Date of Birth25 January 1938
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Long as I was riding in a big Cadillac and dressed nice and had plenty of food, that's all I cared about.
I’ve learned to live with rage. In some ways, it’s my rage that keeps me going. Without it, I would have been whipped long ago. With it, I got a lot more songs to sing.
I've gone through so much in my life. I should have been dead a long time ago, but I am still here, and I'm the happiest I've ever been.
The only time that I am really truly happy - when I feel at my best - is when I'm on the stage.
Most of the songs I sing, they have that blue feeling to it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don't know what I'm sorry about.
The music was thunder and joy. Lightning bolts of happiness and praise, foot-stomping, dance-shouting, good-feeling singing from the soul.
I talked to the record company about what I had in mind. They said they wanted something lush. I figured the best thing to do was let them hear what I had in mind.
It's the same thing now. When I go onstage the young people scream and holler as much as the older generation.
Once you lose the weight, you're really anxious to eat healthy.
My mother used to play nothing but Billie Holiday.
Johnny Guitar... just one of my favorite singers of all time. I met him when we were both on the road with Johnny Otis in the '50s when I was a teenager. We traveled the country in a car together.I would hear him sing every night.
I'm not starry eyed, and I'm not money crazy.
It feels so good to be happy.
When Malcolm X was assassinated I was working at the Apollo. They brought his body to the Unity Funeral Home, which was around the corner.