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Tributes are paid to soul singer Etta James

Tributes are paid to soul singer Etta James

THE soul singer Etta James has passed away. She was 73 and had been battling leukaemia.

She was best known for hits At Last (see below) and I’d Rather Go Blind.

Ms. James, who was known as ‘Miss Peaches’ had first enjoyed success as a teenager with The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry) which she wrote along with Johnny Otis and Hank Ballard. 

Otis, who was a bandleader, had spotted Ms. James in her first group, The Creolettes, which she had formed in San Francisco.

Despite her early popularity in the R&B and Blues sectors, mainstream recognition took longer to come about.

In 1960 she signed with Chess Records and this was to mark a turning point in her solo career. Successful albums At Last! and The Second Time Around were to follow.

She had included a cover of I Just Want To Make Love To You, which had been a hit in the 1950s for Muddy Watters, on the At Last! album. Her gutsy rendition has been used in numerous advertising campaigns over the years.

But the success that she began to enjoy was overshadowed by an addiction to heroin. She eventually quit the drug in the early 1970s and began to rebuild her career.

Ms. James went on to win six Grammys and was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In recent years she had continued to tour, although problems with her knees and weight meant that she would remain seated for most of the time on stage.

To see Etta James perform At Last click here.

 

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