Etta James was a Grammy Award-winning singer who bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938 in Los Angeles, California to 14-year-old Dorothy Hawkins, her father is unknown. As a baby, James was put in the care of a series of foster parents including “Mama” Lu Rogers, her mother’s landlady. James’ mother was away so often that she referred to her as “the Mystery Lady”. James was raised in the church and began singing gospel hymns in the St. Paul Baptist Church choir at a young age. The pastor would beat her to force her to sing from the stomach and she left the church after her foster father, James Rogers had an argument with the pastor. By the age of five, she was performing on Los Angeles gospel radio broadcasts.
In 1950, her foster mother Lulu Rogers died and James moved to San Francisco with her mother. James started acting out, drinking and skipping school. At this time, she began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a street corner group with two other girls called the Creolettes. At 14, she met the rhythm and blues bandleader, Johnny Otis and soon began working with him. He suggested that she begin calling herself Etta James, and gave her the nick name “Miss Peaches.” Otis helped the group sign with Modern Records, and renamed the Creolettes “The Peaches”. In 1954, the Peaches went on tour with Otis, earning ten dollars a night. That same year, the group recorded an “answer song” to Hank Ballards leering “work with Me Annie. “Roll with Me, Henry” was written by James, who was named as a co-author. The song became “Dance with Me, Henry” before its release, as roll had sexual connotations. In February that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart and stayed there for four weeks.
The success of “Dance with Me, Henry” lead to the Peaches touring with 1950s’ rock and roll sensation Little Richard. While on tour, Georgia Gibbs, a white performer, covered “Dance with Me, Henry”, although her version was titled “The Wallflower”. It became a huge crossover hit, outselling James’ version and reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1955, James left the Peaches and released her second R&B hit “Good Rockin’ Daddy”. She released many singles on Modern records, including an answer song to Muddy Waters’ “I’m A Man,” she sang gospel on Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s “Strange Things Happening” and provided background vocals for Marvin Gaye, Minnie Riperton, Harvey Fuqua and some of Chuck Berry’s early recordings.
In 1959, after recording If It Ain’t One Thing” with Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows as Betty and Dupree. Fuqua helped James sign with Chess Records in Chicago. James’ quickly scored a hit with a heart-wrenching ballad, “All I Could Do Was Cry” which become a number two R&B hit. She followed this with “My Dearest Darling” in May 1960, which reached the top 5 of the R&B chart, she also sang background vocals on Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A”.
In late 1960, James’ debut album, At Last! was released, showcasing her varied talent with it’s inclusion of jazz standards, blues numbers, doo-wop and rhythm and blues. It included “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, ”A Sunday Kind of Love” and what would become her best known song, “At Last” which she had persuaded Leonard Chess to allow her to record with Riley Hampton’s orchestra. In 1961, “At Last” was released as a single, reaching number two on the R&B chart and 47 on the Billboard Hot 100.
James continued to work with Chess record throughout the 1960’s and early 70’s. She continued to have hits with “Something’s Got A Hold On Me”, “Stop The Wedding” and “Pushover”, but these were followed by a period of minor hits. In 1967, James’ made her comeback, releasing the hit single Tell Mama followed by an album of the same name. James’ became an in demand performer once again, which was fortunate as she made the most of her income through live performances. For her 14 years at Chess, she only made $10,000. The label tried to keep its performers happy by giving them Cadillacs, as portrayed in the film, Cadillac Records (2008).
In 1978, James’ released her self-titled album which continued to explore a range of musical styles, venturing into rock and funk for the first time. The album was received well by critics and nominated for a Grammy Award but did not score any hits. She recorded two more albums, Come a Little Closer (1974) and Etta is Betta Than Evvah! (1976) for Chess Records. Two years later, she released Deep in the Night, which continued to explore the inclusion of rock in her music and then did not record anything more for a decade.
James had been struggling with drug addiction since 1961, and was often in and out of rehab. In 1969, she tried methadone to attempt to beat her addiction but it did not last long. Her husband, Artis Mills attempted to help her get off drugs and accepted responsibility when she was arrested for possession of heroin. He served 10 years. In 1973, James was arrested for writing bad cheques and was sentenced to rehab instead of prison, while at the Tarzana Clinic, Los Angeles she beat her drug addiction but gained weight, reaching 24 stone.
In 1984, she returned to singing, performing When The Saints Go Marching In at the 1984 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. James’ began recording and performing live once more. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, a year later she won her first Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance for her Billie Holiday tribute album Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday. The album marked the beginning of her using more jazz elements in her music. In 1995, she released her autobiography, co-authored by David Ritz entitled A Rage of Survive.
In 2003, James won her second Grammy Award for best contemporary blues album for Let’s Roll, which had been produced by her sons, Donto and Sametto James and Josh Sklair. Her next album, Blues to the Bone was inspired by Martin Scorsese’s TV series The Blues and won her a third Grammy Award for best traditional blues album.
James released her last album, The Dreamer in November 2011 and in January 2012, she died at her home in Riverside California. James and her music continue to be highly influential, and she is considered to be one of music’s most dynamic singers. She fought addiction to succeed and for a time, was considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in the musical history of the U.S. James bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll and had influenced a range of musicians, including Diana Ross, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Hayley Williams of Paramore , Christina Aguilera and Amy Winehouse. James won over 30 awards and recognitions for her work from organisations including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She received the first Pioneer Award for artists whose “lifelong contributions have been instrumental in the development of Rhythm & Blues music” from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and an NAACP Image Award for “outstanding achievements and performances of people of colour in the arts”.